Freshmen face early test on ethics

U.S. Representative Tim Mahoney, at podium, and his freshmen colleagues held a May 16 news conference pushing for tougher ethics rules. Mahoney received $2,000 from Jack Murtha, who has been accused of violating House rules. Mahoney will be asked to vote on whether to reprimand Murtha as early as today.

Just days after a media-blitz calling for stronger House ethics rules, a group of 23-freshmen Democrats will face their first real world test when the House considers reprimanding one of its own for an alleged rules violation.

Late Monday, U.S. Representative Mike Rogers, R-MI, submitted a privileged resolution calling for the House of Representatives to rebuke U.S. Representative Jack Murtha, D-PA, for allegedly threatening Rogers after the Michigan lawmaker tried to remove a Congressional earmark to continue funding a controversial project in Murtha’s district.

“I hope you don’t have any earmarks in the appropriations bills,” Murtha is reported to have said, “because they are gone and you will not get any earmarks now and forever.”

It is Murtha’s second such infraction in just the past few weeks. Nine days earlier, it was reported that Murtha accosted Kansas Republican Todd Tiahrt after he opposed that same earmark, threatening to kill a project in Tiahrt’s district that would create between 800 and 1,000 jobs.

Murtha has not denied threatening either Tiahrt or Rogers.

Majorityap.com was the first to report that Murtha’s action could place him afoul of House’s Code of Official Conduct, which states that a Member “may not condition the inclusion of language to provide funding for a congressional earmark…on any vote cast by another Member.”

Rogers cited that provision of the House rules in his resolution, stating that “Murtha has been guilty of a violation of the Code of Official Conduct and merits the reprimand of the House for the same.”

Murtha’s alleged threatening of Rogers came the day after that group of freshmen House Democrats held a Capitol Hills news conference pushing for tougher ethics enforcement.

“People are tired of the scandalous headlines coming out of Washington, and Congress should move forward soon to clean up its act,” U.S. Representative Chris Murphy, D-CT, said, claiming in his hometown paper to be leading the freshmen efforts.

Following the news conference, Ohio Representatives Zack Space and Betty Sutton told the Cleveland Plain Dealer that they, too, “were fighting for tougher ethics enforcement.”

“The biggest problem we had to face,” Florida Democrat Tim Mahoney said from the podium, “was that the people had lost trust and faith in this body.”

In Albany, New York, U.S. Representative Kirsten Gillibrand told her paper “there's a sense that the new members have an opportunity to make a difference. They want to go and clean up the place;” with New Hampshire’s Paul Hodes adding “the freshmen are determined to make incremental strides in ethics reform.”

One of those “incremental strides” could come as early as today, when the House is expected to vote on Rogers’ resolution to condemn Murtha. If the 23 House freshmen supporting that ethics reform package were to support the reprimand of Murtha, Rogers’ resolution would be adopted by the House.

But for those same freshmen, the decision may not be that easy. That’s because 19 of the 23 received financial backing from the Pennsylvania Democrat.

When the House convenes later today, those Members will be forced to pit their publicized commitment to ethics reform against their political and financial loyalty to Murtha.

U.S. Representative Jack Murtha has contributed to the following freshmen Democrats. Each is either a co-sponsor of more stringent House ethics rules, attended a May 16 news conference calling for its adoption, or publicly announced their support.

Patrick Murphy, PA, $7,000; David Loebsack, IA, $4,500; Peter Welch, VT, $4,000; Yvette Clarke, NY, $4,000.

$2,000 each to Harry Mitchell, AZ; Jerry McNerney, CA; Ed Perlmutter, CO; Chris Murphy; CT; Tim Mahoney, FL; Bruce Braley, IA; Brad Ellsworth, IN; Baron Hill, IN; Tim Walz, MN; Paul Hodes, NH; Albio Sires, NJ; Kirsten Gillibrand, NY; Betty Sutton, OH; Zack Space, OH; Steven Kagen, WI.