LIMA — It was bad timing, not a bad idea.
That’s how U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan summed up a secretive meeting held Monday by Republican congressmen in which they voted to severely weaken the House’s independent ethics panel one day before the new GOP-led Congress was set to get to work.
The vote brought outrage from Democrats and the public once it became known. It also infuriated president-elect Donald Trump, who scolded his party for its actions. “With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it may be, their number one act and priority. Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance!” he tweeted.
Less than 24 hours later, House members removed the portion of the rules that partially placed the Office of Congressional Ethics under control of the House Ethics Committee.
“I agree with Trump’s position on we have bigger things,” Jordan told The Lima News. “Our job right now is very basic. Take care of the border, get rid of Obamacare and focus on Justice Department values and equal treatment for all.”
Jordan said his problem with the Office of Congressional Ethics is it’s being used for political purposes and does not allow the accused to face their accuser.
“Everyone deserves the right to face their accuser,” Jordan said. “The OCE has been used as a political tool. There is no due process and you don’t face your accuser. It is an ability for the far left to bring up bogus claims against a Republican and it can be done anonymously. You wind up with a bunch of headlines, but if there is no proven wrongdoing, the headlines are still there. We all want the highest ethics, but this has turned into a politically driven entity.”
Bluffton resident Perry Bush is one of Jordan’s constituents who was upset with the congressman’s actions Monday. He disagrees with Jordan’s assessment.
“The House Office of Ethics has served a valuable watchdog function in keeping the heat on representatives who accept special interest money or take lavish trips funded by corporations. Yet Rep. Jordan seems to want to reduce its power,” Bush wrote in a letter to The Lima News.
Per the GOP plan, the Office of Congressional Ethics was to be renamed the Office of Congressional Complaint Review, and that panel would be blocked from investigating misconduct that occurred before 2011. Also, the release of findings to the public by the Office of Congressional Complaint Review would not be allowed without the authorization of the House Ethics Committee.
Jordan said there was no problem because “the House Ethics Committee is completely bipartisan.”
“I know the members of that committee take their jobs very seriously,” he said. “I am confident they will continue to work together in a nonpartisan way to make sure members of Congress follow the rules of the House, and that they don’t receive any special treatment under the law.”
The rule change was backed by 119 House Republicans. U.S. Rep. Bob Latta was among at least 14 Republicans who voted against the action. Not all Republicans voted and Democrats, in the minority, did not get to vote on the change.
Latta represents Putnam, Hancock and parts of Hardin, Mercer and Van Wert counties. Jordan represents Allen, Auglaize, Logan, Shelby and parts of Mercer county.
Drew Griffin with Rep. Bob Latta’s office offered the following statement:
“The Congressman voted against the proposal on Monday to alter the powers of the Office of Congressional Ethics. On Tuesday, the vote to strip the amendment was passed by unanimous consent, so the Congressman obviously voted to remove it in that case.”
The House Ethics Committee oversees review of potential ethics problems for members of Congress and congressional workers. However, the independent OCE was formed in 2008 after several bribery and corruption cases in the House, but some lawmakers of both parties have complained about the way it operates. The OCE has no official “power” but refers its findings to the HEC.
The OCE includes six voting members and two alternates. The Speaker of the House appoints three members and an alternate, designating one board member as chairman. The minority leader appoints three members and an alternate, and designates one board member as co-chairman. The Speaker and the minority leader each must agree on the other’s appointments.
