My must read of the day is "Everyone on the Hill Gets Ethics Training – Except House Members," in National Journal:
Who needs ethics training? Two lawmakers say they and all of their colleagues in the House do.
Reps. David Cicilline (D., R.I.) and Scott Rigell (R., Va.) are urging congressional leaders to end what government watchdogs say has been a peculiar exemption for House members from such mandatory lesson—annual ethics courses otherwise required of all House staffer, senators, and Senate staffers.
The two wrote Thursday to GOP and Democratic leaders of the Rules Committee asking that they incorporate that change in the upcoming House rules package that the new Congress will vote on in January.
"It is our belief that a change in House rules will help increase understanding and reduce confusion of the rules, help decrease the number of future ethics violations by members, and, most importantly, help restore the public's faith and trust in Congress," the two lawmakers wrote to Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions, R-Texas, and ranking member Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y.
Cicilline and Rigell do not point to any specific ethical breaches by colleagues. But then, they don't have to.
Some Congressman will go to ethics training, some whine about the idea of it, and these two want to make sure they don’t have a choice in the matter.
As with any bill, the devil will be in the details and I have not read the text of this legislation, but the general idea is spot on.
Lawmakers need ethics training, and any rule that provides lawmakers an exemption is obnoxious. If everyone else has to do it, they should as well. Let them come into their office buildings through special doors. Let them use special elevators, but they should not be exempt from training that aims to ensure ethical behavior. You can never have too many reminders of that, and there’s plenty of evidence that they do need it.