House May Add Outside Watchdog For Ethics

A House task force yesterday recommended creating an independent Office of Congressional Ethics that would have the power to initiate reviews of lawmakers' behavior.

The new office, whose creation requires the approval of the full House, which reconvenes in mid-January, would be the first in either chamber to allow an outside body of nonmembers to examine alleged ethical misdeeds.

"It breaks the appearance of the good ol' boy network," said Rep. Michael E. Capuano (D-Mass.). Capuano headed a task force that spent a year trying to craft a compromise for the new ethics office in the wake of the lobbying scandals that helped sweep Democrats into power.

But some ethics watchdogs warned that the office, if approved, would not be strong enough, particularly because it would lack subpoena power.

Others, such as Common Cause, support the office as the best that can be achieved, given the constitutional stipulation that only members of Congress -- acting through their ethics committees -- can administer punishment to other lawmakers for internal infractions.

The office would have a six-member board, with three appointed by the speaker and three by the minority leader. The group would be able to initiate its own preliminary investigations. After 30 days, a matter would be dropped or referred to the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, as the ethics panel is formally known, for another review.