Berman Accepts Seat on House Ethics Panel

Rep. Howard L. Berman, heeding the pleas of party leaders, agreed Tuesday to join the House Ethics Committee as its ranking Democrat.

Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt prevailed on Berman, a respected eight-term Democrat from Mission Hills, to join the panel, regarded as one of the least-coveted duties in Congress.

The panel has the ticklish responsibility of sitting in judgment of erring House members--sometimes friends and acquaintances.

“Members have never competed for the privilege of serving on the Ethics Committee, and I am no exception. Condolences are appropriate,” Berman said only half in jest.

He joins the committee in a period of transition. After a Congress in which a spiraling number of complaints were filed--and a pitched battle waged over Speaker Newt Gingrich’s ethical lapses seared partisan nerve endings--both parties say the panel, now chaired by Republican Rep. James V. Hansen of Utah, will strive to regain a sense of comity.

Known as a sharp, but fair, partisan, Berman said he will leave partisanship out of his Ethics Committee work. “I am charged, together with Chairman Hansen . . . with helping to restore the Ethics Committee to its rightful position as an impartial arbiter of legitimate complaints,” Berman said.

The Valley representative will retain his seats on the Judiciary and International Relations committees.

The Ethics Committee, unlike other House panels, has an equal number of members--five--from each party. Often members carry over from one Congress to another. But given the rancor that characterized the committee’s last two years, the panel will probably be stocked with fresh faces.

Gephardt, a Missouri Democrat, said that all Democratic members will be new. A spokesman for GOP Majority Leader Dick Armey of Texas said that only one Republican member, Rep. Steven Schiff of New Mexico, is in line to rejoin the panel. But it is unclear if he will be asked to take on another tour of duty.

Both parties hope to name the remaining members of the panel later this week.

In the wake of bitter political infighting on the committee over the Gingrich affair, Gephardt and Armey also plan to name a task force of members to review committee rules and make recommendations on how to improve its procedures.

“The process is in tatters,” said Berman. “It’s just one part of an increasingly confrontational Congress in the past two years.”

Much of the burden of repairing the damage will fall on Berman and Hansen. On a personal basis, the two will start from scratch.

“We have not dealt with each other,” Berman said, “but he comes with a tremendous reputation for integrity and being a straight shooter.”

A call to Hansen’s office was not returned.

Berman was the Democrats’ “first and only choice--the clear unanimous choice,” Gephardt said.

But that was small consolation to Berman when the call came to drop by Gephardt’s office a week and a half ago.

“He came in and said, ‘No way,’ ” and we hadn’t even talked to him yet. I think he suspected something,” Gephardt said. “But he was willing to let us make our case to him. I didn’t ask him to do it, I asked him to consider doing it.”

After consulting with his wife and family, Berman agreed to take the sensitive post.

“I don’t think he was enthused, but he was willing to do it,” Gephardt said.

“I started out very resistant,” Berman conceded. “They said it was time to do your duty to your country.

“In the end I decided that there is an obligation to [the House] . . . to devote some portion of your time to the institution rather than issues. I was also challenged by the charge to restore some confidence in the ethics process.

“The Ethics Committee is neither a member-protection agency nor a forum for deciding partisan and ideological battles. Those battles should be carried out at the polls.”

Given the daunting realities that come with joining the Ethics Committee as ranking member, could Berman have demurred?

“Sure. It would have caused [party leaders] some problems that they would have ended up dealing with. Maybe the relationship would have become a little less good,” Berman said. “But I’m certainly not currying favor by taking the job.”