Houston Democrats

Apparently, the Legislative Resource Center in the Cannon House Office Building has been abuzz as lawmakers compete with journalists and political operatives to file 'corrections' to their expense records before someone else beats them to it.

Many members have reportedly greatly limited their staff travel, while others have suspended their travel altogether because they fear a rigorous review in the not too distant future. Congressional members have been making sure they pay off outstanding restaurant bills, filing missing forms, and correcting erroneous ones. Apparently, the multitudes of journalists and political opponents scrutinizing their expense files makes them nervous. Maybe that's because the representatives know they have violated some of the same rules as DeLay.

Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) wrote to the Federal Election Commission on April 15 to report that he had discovered that the Washington restaurant Signatures had not charged his credit card -- as he said he had directed -- for a 2003 fundraiser for 16 people that cost $1,846. The event was hosted by Jack Abramoff, a lobbyist and part-owner of the restaurant who is now under congressional and criminal investigation for his handling of millions of dollars in fees from Indian tribes. Abramoff was not at the event.

"I never thought about this event again until it was brought to my attention very recently that no payment or reimbursement for the event has ever appeared on our FEC report," Vitter wrote. He wrote to Signatures at the same time, directing the management to "charge my credit card today."

Right, you mean that you never would have thought about it again if Jack Abramoff hadn't been so careless as to become the center of a Justice Department probe, possibly tieing you to Tom DeLay's web of shame.

A DeLay staff member has stated that DeLay will hand over his records to the ethics committee. His records include such items as letters detailing travel arrangements. However, the ethics committee is still in deadlock as a result of the Republican rule changes that make it much easier to block an ethics investigation. Additionally, the new rules require a dismissal of an investigation within 45 days if the committee members have not agreed upon a course of action. Some members are now actually resorting to asking for an ethics investigation in order to clear themselves.

An aide to DeLay sent letters to the House clerk and the ethics committee on March 22 reporting that he "discovered today that I inadvertently neglected to file" two travel reports for conferences in December and January with a total reported cost of $1,500.

I think it may have been a good idea for DeLay to use responsible reporting methods and not the administration's "fuzzy math."

Out of fairness, it's not just Republicans who are updating their records. However, I think that Tom DeLay and certain Republicans have bent (or blatantly broken) the rules to a much more extreme degree than any Democrats have done in the past, at least in recent history. Republicans forced Former House Speaker Jim Wright to resign from Congress for selling a labor union several thousand copies of a book he wrote, something that pales in comparison to DeLay's glut of allegations of ethical violations. Nevertheless, it does not make what Jim Wright did right.

In another case, an aide to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) had not reported a 2004 trip to South Korea until a Washington Post reporter asked her office about it. Eddie Charmaine Manansala, Pelosi's special assistant on East Asian affairs, filed a disclosure form for the $9,087 trip a few hours after the newspaper's inquiry and sent a note to the ethics committee saying, "I did not know I was supposed to file these forms and I apologize for its lateness."

Here's a case where Pelosi should have just known better. Honestly, you just shouldn't neglect to report any overseas trip, especially when it costs close over $9,000. If anything reporting would help to preserve one's image and provide evidence that one followed the rules if any allegations are made.

In support of Pelosi, she did provide cancelled checks proving a nonprofit group, not a lobbyist, paid for her 2001 trip to Puerto Rico. Two freshman Republican representatives, Patrick McHenry (NC) and Lynn Westmoreland (GA), alleged Pelosi "may have violated House Rules regarding" regarding her Puerto Rico visit. The controversy arose as a result of Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH) listing the lobbyist as a sponsor.

Yesterday, an aide to Rep. Ruben Hinojosa (D-Tex.) filed a report saying she had not reported an $800 trip to Austin in January "due to pressing House business."

This case is an insignificant amount, but the principle is still the same: members should fully disclose their expenses.

Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) even asked the ethics committee to investigate him after a reporter for the newspaper Roll Call pointed out that a travel disclosure form from 2001 listed the lobbying firm Rooney Group International as paying for a $1,782 trip to Boston, which would be a violation of House rules.

His aides say they determined a nonprofit group, the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts, Abercrombie addressed on the trip reimbursed Rooney Group International. However...

House rules state that the prohibition against lobbyists paying for members' travel applies "even where the lobbyist... will later be reimbursed for those expenses by a non-lobbyist client."

Currently, the filing of travel reports is based on the honor system. It seems that is certainly in need of changing to ensure their completeness and accuracy. 'Not knowing' about having to report, or just 'overlooking' the need to report one's expenses is not a reasonable excuse, regardless of a member's political party. As a member of Congress, it is one's duty to understand the rules one must follow. I mean how often has saying, "I didn't know the speed limit was only 60 mph," worked for anyone? "Oh, I didn't know I was supposed to follow the speed limit. I thought they were just 'recommendations.'" Yeah right!

Additionally, representatives shouldn't be satisfied with stating a lobbyist paid their expenses, even if it is a true clerical error. Better yet, maybe every representative should audit themselves periodically to ensure their records are up to date and correctly filed. For example, Representative Tom Feeney (R-FL) listed a lobbying firm as a sponsor for a 2003 Florida trip, but after being asked about his filing, Roe apologized for the "clerical error." Similarly, in the case of Pelosi's 2001 Puerto Rico trip, Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones should not have been content with listing the lobbyist as a sponsor instead of the group that actually paid for the trip. Furthermore, Pelosi's office should have checked the record to ensure it was accurately reported. It appears Congressional members are only doing the minimum (or less) required and then just forget about it. Of course I do not know the exact story on these examples, but in any case, members should make it their perogative to ensure their records follow the rules, are comprehensive, and ultimately that they are accurate.

Lawmakers should not place themselves above the rules. They are no different from us, except that they were chosen by the members of their districts to represent the people’s interests. By disregarding the rules, Congressional members dishonor and disrespect the contract between them and their constituents.

I think it would be a very good idea to place a statute of limitations on how long a member has to correct any filings. There is no reason why corrections should be made two, three, or more years after the fact. At least this would give Congressional members a much needed incentive to get their expense reports in order and compiled by a strict deadline. In addition, it may be beneficial to establish an independent commission to update and clearly state reporting rules and standards by which members must abide, if Congress is unwilling or incapable of doing so.

This Congressional stampede to the Legislative Records Center to refile expense reports only serves to highlight the hypocrisy and shady dealings that occur on the Hill by members of both parties. It seems Congressional members are throwing insults from their own glass houses and proving the adage that "it takes one to know one."

In any case, the House ethics committee held an hour-long "ethics briefing" to inform members and their staff on ethics rules, including rules on gifts, travel, campaigning, and outside employment. What's really pitiful is that these rules are PUBLICLY POSTED on the Committee of Official Standards and Conduct's web site. I haven't been able to find who or how many representatives attended the session.

If anything good can come out of the DeLay debacle, I hope that it will be a renewed from all Congressional members to make a renewed commitment to responsible and complete reporting of all their activities.

A piece of good news:

House Republican aides said yesterday for the first time that they believe they will have to reverse or modify the ethics rules that were passed on a party-line vote in January and have caused Democrats to refuse to allow the ethics committee to organize. Republican leaders had been trying to avoid a new floor vote over the rules, but aides said they now are convinced that they need to get the committee going so that Democrats cannot accuse them of squelching an investigation of DeLay.

Finally, some sense starts to return to the ethics process. Hopefully, Republicans will now follow through and reverse the rules changes. I appreciate the pressure Democrats have been putting on the Republicans to get them to admit their mistake in ramming the new rules through earlier this year.