The ethical course

Before his conversion to Christianity, St. Augustine prayed: “Grant me chastity and continence, but not yet.” We were reminded of Augustine’s hesitation last week when Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) reiterated her support for an independent ethics office for the House of Representatives even as she was withdrawing legislation to create such an office from the House floor.

Like Augustine, the speaker and her colleagues should see the light and make good her promise that this would be the “the most honest, ethical and open Congress in history.” As we have argued before, redeeming that pledge requires that complaints about misbehavior by members be scrutinized by an independent watchdog who could then forward complaints to the House Ethics Committee.

A bill proposed by Rep. Michael E. Capuano (D-Mass.) would create an Office of Congressional Ethics governed by a six-member board comprising experts in law, regulatory policy or professional ethics. The board would conduct both preliminary and advanced investigations and refer serious charges to the Ethics Committee. If the committee were to reject a recommendation for further investigation, the board’s report would be made public -- a powerful incentive for the committee not to engage in cover-up.

The House could vote as early as today on a new version of the Capuano measure. Some of the changes Capuano has floated are improvements, such as a requirement that all six members of the board be jointly appointed by the majority leader and the minority leader. That would discourage the appointment of highly partisan individuals regardless of their party. If all six members must have bipartisan support, there is no need for another concession Capuano has floated -- a requirement that the board could initiate an investigation only if at least one member from each party agreed.

The most positive change in the legislation would be one that Pelosi and Capuano aren’t promoting -- subpoena power for the new office. Without that power, the office could find it difficult to assemble the sort of case against a member that would require the Ethics Committee to take notice. Capuano’s bill would allow the office to identify potential targets of subpoenas in the reports it sends to the Ethics Committee, but that’s a poor substitute for the ability to examine documents and witnesses itself.

Because House Republicans are cool to the creation of any independent ethics operation, Pelosi needs overwhelming support from her party to launch a new era in ethics enforcement. What matters isn’t the number of Democrats who vote to create a new ethics office, but that office’s ability to pursue allegations of wrongdoing into hidden recesses of lawmakers’ dealings with lobbyists, contractors and contributors. A toothless watchdog would be as bad as no watchdog at all.