Ethics Committees Won't Commit to ANY Investigative Action

The leaders of Congress' ethics committees are not committing to any investigation of misconduct despite the growing revelations about the favors that lobbyist Jack Abramoff won for clients and the largesse he arranged for lawmakers. The committees, for now, are poised to remain on the sidelines. The House committee, stymied by partisan disagreements, launched no investigations in 2005 even after former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, requested an inquiry into his foreign travel arranged by Abramoff. The lack of commitment to investigate issues about lawmakers' conduct with Abramoff, his lobbying team and his clients is raising anew the question of whether Congress adequately can discipline its own. ''There have always been questions about whether Congress can police itself,'' said Kathleen Clark, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis who specializes in ethics. ''The situation in the House removes all doubt. The House is not policing itself.''