Lucas,
Most Americans think members of Congress are dishonest and unethical.
That's the takeaway from a Gallup poll* released last week, which shows that the public ranks congressional representatives abysmally low in terms of honesty and ethical standards (barely better than car salespeople, who got last place).
How can Congress improve its standing with the public?
It can start by keeping the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), its in-house, independent ethics watchdog, open for business.
Urge Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to re-authorize and appoint new board members to the OCE.
The OCE is charged with making sure that representatives in the U.S. House who violate ethics rules are investigated and held accountable — and it does so in a way that is transparent with the public. It also accepts tips about potential violations from the public.
Instead of being staffed by currently sitting lawmakers (who have an inherent self-interest in turning a blind eye to all but the most egregious violations), the OCE is staffed by a bipartisan board of private citizens.
Re-authorizing the OCE is easy — it does not require the passage of new legislation.
All Speaker Boehner and Minority Leader Pelosi have to do is re-authorize the OCE in the rules for the next Congress and appoint four new board members (two each) to replace the four outgoing members whose terms expire at the end of this month.
Nevertheless, it would be even easier for Boehner and Pelosi to do nothing and let the OCE die — but only if they think no one is paying attention.
If the OCE isn't re-authorized and a new board isn't appointed in the next Congress, it dies. Current investigations into member misconduct will grind to a halt, and 2013 will begin with an even more corruption-prone Congress.
Tell Boehner and Pelosi: Re-authorize and appoint new members to the OCE.
Thanks for all you do,
Rick Claypool
Public Citizen's Online Action Team
action@citizen.org
*Gallup: Congress Retains Low Honesty Rating