We write to update you about the activities of the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct through the end of June 2009. Below we have included a table summarizing statistics relating to the Committee’s work through June 30, 2009, along with a brief summary of the Committee’s accomplishments through the end of June 2009.
About the Committee
The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct is tasked with interpreting and enforcing the House’s ethics rules. The Committee has sole jurisdiction over the interpretation of the Code of Official Conduct, which governs the acts of Members and staff. The Committee is the only standing House committee with equal numbers of Democratic and Republican members. The Committee’s staff is required by rule to be-and it is-professional and nonpartisan.
Much, if not most, of the Committee’s work is conducted confidentially. Members and staff are, by and large, prohibited from discussing the Committee’s work. Confidentiality promotes compliance with the rules and, in the investigative context, permits the Committee to independently investigate matters fully without interference or undue influence.
Nevertheless, the Committee’s duty to maintain confidentiality can make the Committee appear insufficiently accountable or transparent. The Committee, to the extent our confidentiality obligations permit, intends to be transparent, and it will be accountable. To that end, we are submitting the Committee’s first semi-annual report on its activities.
The Committee’s Responsibilities
The Committee manages five critical responsibilities:
1. Training. The Committee provides mandatory annual ethics training to over 10,000 employees of the House. In addition, the Committee provides additional, mandatory training for senior staff. Trainings take the form of in-person and computer-based seminars, briefings and interactive presentations. The Committee is in the process of updating its online training materials and has put into place systems for monitoring and enforcing compliance with the House’s training requirements.
2. Advice and Education. The Committee provides both formal and informal guidance to Members and employees of the House. Through published guidance, the Committee updates the House on the ethical standards regulating the conduct of Members and staff. It also provides confidential written guidance to Members and staff on specific questions. In addition, the Committee’s staff gives informal, confidential advice to Members, staff and the public every day. The Committee has recently set a goal of completing responses to written requests for advice within two weeks of submission and has made significant progress toward improving the timeliness of responses to requests for formal advice.
3. Travel. The Committee is responsible for reviewing and approving all privately-sponsored travel related to official duties offered to Members and staff. The Committee is in the process of reviewing its travel regulations. Exercising its oversight jurisdiction, the Committee, with the benefit of two years’ experience implementing the House’s travel rules, expects to revise its travel regulations in the near future.
4. Financial Disclosure. The Committee reviews and certifies all financial disclosure reports Members, candidates and senior staff are required to file. These are time-intensive reviews, which require the dedication of substantial staff resources to complete. The Committee is putting into place systems for monitoring and enforcing compliance with the House’s financial disclosure rules.
5. Investigations. The Committee investigates and adjudicates allegations of impropriety and violations of House ethics rules by Members and staff. The Committee actively investigates allegations against Members and staff, using a mix of informal and formal investigative techniques to determine the validity of factual allegations, explore potential rules violations and recommend appropriate sanctions and corrective actions. Where appropriate, the Committee refers matters to federal and state law enforcement authorities.
In addition, the Committee performs other critical functions to ensure compliance with House ethics rules. Several of these functions are noted in the table below, which summarizes the Committee’s activities for the first half this year.