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Today's sentencing of disgraced former Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) is a resounding victory for those who want to see public officials held accountable for their misdeeds. His conviction and sentencing proves that he was not a victim of the "criminalization of politics" as he claimed in August...
We commend Speaker-designee John Boehner (R-OH) for including the continuation of the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) in the draft of the operating rules for the House for the 112th Congress. The OCE has faced opposition and criticism from Members from both parties because it has brought a...
Today reform groups called on Speaker-designee John Boehner (R-OH) to preserve and strengthen the strong new rules adopted by the House in 2007, including the creation of the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE). The new rules were instituted in response to a series of high-profile scandals...
Today, Representative Charles Rangel was found guilty of hubris. Hubris in a powerful public official is especially damaging because it sends a message that a so-called public servant feels he is above the law. Despite, or perhaps even because of, a long and distinguished career as a public...
Today’s verdict was an important victory for our democracy. It proves that even highly placed government officials are accountable for their violations of law. Our campaign finance laws are important to our system of self-government, and laundering money in an attempt to evade those laws...
As Staff Director of the Office of Congressional Ethics, Leo Wise served the House with distinction and deserves great credit for putting the OCE on the right track from the beginning. His unwavering commitment to fair and impartial investigations brought new credibility to an ethics process in...
Today, Representative Devin Nunes (R-CA) introduced The Congressional Redistricting Formula Act to reform the manner in which Congressional Districts are drawn following the decennial census. The legislation, which would require states to follow certain criteria as they undertake congressional...
Reform groups today urged Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) to publicly commit to stand behind the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) in the face of numerous threats to dismantle or disempower the Office. In the letters, the groups expressed their...
Today’s decision of the Florida Supreme Court rejecting last minute ballot challenges to Florida’s redistricting reform initiatives (Amendments 5 and 6) clears the way for Florida voters to decide for themselves this November whether they want to stop politicians from gerrymandering themselves into...
The Statement of Alleged Violations issued by the subcommittee of the House Standards of Official Conduct Committee presents a disturbing pattern of behavior. Rep. Rangel deserves the opportunity to present his case in these proceedings, but he has already acknowledged conduct that supports many...
The way most states draw congressional districts must change if we are to break the partisan gridlock in Washington. Representatives John Tanner (D-TN) and Mike Castle (R-DE) and Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) are to be commended for moving the ball forward on reforming this process with the...
In a letter sent today, a coalition of reform groups urged Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to stand behind the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) against the latest challenge by Members seeking to undermine the OCE. The groups expressed their continued support of the OCE which has helped to...
Today the Campaign Legal Center urged Representatives to co-sponsor H.R. 4918, the Redistricting Transparency Act of 2010 introduced March 23 by Representatives John Tanner (D-TN) and Michael Castle (R-DE). In a letter to Members of the U.S. House of Representatives, Executive Director J. Gerald...
The "Redistricting Transparency Act of 2010" (H.R. 4918), introduced by Rep. John Tanner (D-TN) and Rep. Michael Castle (R-DE), will bring the redrawing of congressional districts into the light of day. The secretive process employed in too many states has left citizens in the dark while...
This week the Campaign Legal Center offered testimony and submitted comments in three matters before the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The Legal Center filed comments opposing an advisory opinion request by the National Democratic Redistricting Trust to allow Members of Congress to solicit...
Statement of Campaign Legal Center, Common Cause, Democracy 21, League of Women Voters, Public Citizen and U.S. PIRG:
Our organizations have sought to improve and strengthen a discredited congressional ethics process, including the creation of a more independent investigatory office. We note that...
A report released today reveals that the House Ethics Committee has until Friday October 30, 2009 to empanel investigative subcommittees or to release reports compiled by the independent Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) related to ethics questions raised about Members of the House. The third...
Today a broad range of reform, business, and taxpayer organizations urged House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) and Ranking Member Lamar Smith (R-TX) to hold hearings on the Fairness and Independence in Redistricting (FAIR) Act (H.R. 3025). The legislation to improve the corrupted...