Congressional Ethics

Aaron Scherb, director of legislative affairs at Common Cause and a campaign finance expert, agreed on the apparent personal use question. He also told The Daily Beast that the FEC “needs to do some digging and ask what those wire transfers and checks are for.” “I can’t remember ever seeing line items like this before,” Scherb said.

Common Cause is urging every member of the U.S. House of Representatives to vote “no” when H.R. 192 is expected to be brought to the floor later today. Common Cause plans to key-vote this legislation in its Democracy Scorecard, which is sent to its 1.5 million members and state and national press.   The proposed legislation is the latest effort by Congress to interfere in the lives and self-government of the residents of Washington, DC, who have been denied equal representation in Congress since the city was founded in 1790. The letter sent to every Member of the House, reminds lawmakers that the bill would disrupt the District’s 2024 primary elections by changing election guidelines and eligibility in the middle of an election that is already underway.

“Overall, the Republican Party is on fairly shaky ground on ethical issues given who the de facto leader of their party is,” Aaron Scherb, the senior director for legislative affairs at the good-government group Common Cause, told me. “I’m sure to some extent they’re worried about being called out for hypocrisy.”

Common Cause is urging every member of the U.S. House of Representatives to vote “no” when the so-called “Equal Representation Act” (H.R. 7109) is expected to be brought to the floor later this afternoon. The proposed legislation would impede the U.S Census Bureau from performing its constitutionally mandated responsibility to count the number of persons in the United States each ten years in the Census. The bill also ignores the Constitution.

With 2024 congressional races in full swing, Common Cause is again tracking the positions of every Member of Congress on issues vital to the health of our democracy. For the fifth cycle in a row, Members of the House and Senate have received letters from Common Cause asking them to co-sponsor and support up to ten democracy reform bills. The letters inform Members that their voting and co-sponsorship record will be published in Common Cause’s “Democracy Scorecard,” which will be distributed to the organization’s 1.5 million members, as well as to state and national media, during the lead-up to Election Day.

As the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) marks its first 15 years, Common Cause is releasing, “The Little Engine that Could,” a short analysis examining the watchdog’s impact in the House of Representative. The report looks at the history behind the creation of the OCE, its successful nonpartisan record, and the most serious attempts by House Members to undermine or do away with the watchdog entirely. The report also suggests reforms, like codifying the OCE into law and giving it subpoena power, to further strengthen the independent watchdog.