Congress and Ethics

Here is something I just learned. Of the three branches of the federal government, Congress has the fewest prohibitions on conflicts of interest and acts of self-dealing.

Officials in the executive branch and judiciary are required to divest themselves of any investment in or ownership of for-profit entities that may be within the purview of their agency or court. They are also under strict limits on the extent to which members of their immediate families may benefit directly from their position.

Members of Congress are not required to divest themselves of any financial interest, even if that interest is subject to their official oversight and influence. Nor are they required to recuse themselves from voting on issues that may harm or benefit the personal investment interests of themselves or their relatives. They have free reign to pass any legislation that will benefit themselves, their family and their friend (and lobbyists) in anyway that can. And trust me, they do.

I find it very telling about the overall character of the members of congress that they have not yet enacted even the most miniscule ethical measure to govern themselves in this matter. They may not be legally bound by the written law to divest themselves of financial interests, but each member should hold themselves to the higher standard of ‘moral’ and ‘ethical’ laws. Perhaps this is why so many have been caught in ‘conflict of interest’ situations and have been convicted of unethical and downright illegal acts. It seems some people need to have their restrictions and boundaries spelled out for them and written into law before they can appear to be ethical and moral.

Don’t these members of congress take an oath stating that they will not doing anything unethical or immoral?

The extent to which some Members of Congress have taken advantage of this lack of ethical restrictions can be seen in the number of congress members who has brought unfavorable media attention to themselves by bribe taking and power brokering.

In response to unfavorable media attention, Members of Congress have introduced legislation that would deter conflicts of interest in some federal spending decisions, although these limits would apply only to earmarks (whatever these are). Having finally recognized and proposed remedies for the conflicts of interest inherent in one source of spending, a good place for Members to begin expanding the ethics enhancement process would be the $25 billion per year that the federal government spends on subsidies to farmers and ranchers.

See how it took media attention to get them to start thinking in the right direction. I don’t believe for a minute that any legislation they come up with on their own will make these guys any more accountable.