mr. speaker , i thank the gentleman for yielding me this time . 
i thank the gentleman from colorado ( mr. hefley ) xz4001740 for his presentation . 
we were told the president wants to proceed on a bipartisan fashion in the next 4 years to deal with the important issues that confront our nation . 
i think that is appropriate and , hopefully , we will do that . 
however , on this first day , the rules package is usually a partisan package . 
it was when democrats were in charge ; it is now when republicans are in charge . 
that is understandable . 
but as the gentleman from colorado ( mr. hefley ) xz4001740 has so correctly pointed out , there was an exception , and that exception was dealing with the ethics of this institution which , in fact , deals with the confidence that the american public has in this institution . 
mr. speaker , the opening day of a new congress should be one in which the interests of this institution are paramount . 
the body of rules we adopt to govern debate , decorum , and the actions of our members should reflect that . 
to be sure , the american people who elected us to this great body can expect to see sharp differences on this floor over the substance of legislation . 
that is as the framers of the constitution planned . 
but the framers also intended , i believe , and the american people deserve to know , that this house is committed to holding its members to the highest ethical standards . 
today , as i think has been attested to by the gentleman from colorado ( mr. hefley ) xz4001740 , the house moves in the wrong direction . 
the rules proposed for the 109th house ignore the fundamental principle of protecting the ethics of this house . 
the proposed republican rules before us will seriously weaken the ability of the committee on standards of official conduct to enforce standards of integrity by providing that no action will be taken on a properly filed ethics complaint after 45 days unless the committee votes by a majority vote to take action . 
the gentleman from maryland ( mr. cardin ) xz4000640 will speak , who chaired with bob livingston , our former colleague , the amendment of these rules . 
under the current rules , which have functioned well since 1997 , a properly filed complaint that has not been addressed by the chair and ranking member or the committee itself automatically goes to an investigative subcommittee . 
that is as it should be . 
inaction ought not to be tantamount to dismissal . 
that is what this proposal does . 
the republican proposal would make it extremely difficult to investigate properly filed complaints . 
under this new rule , either side , either side will be able to guarantee a deadlock when a legitimate , factually strong ethics complaint against a member is filed , provided the chair or ranking member take no action . 
we have been told that the most egregious attempts to weaken the ethics systems have been abandoned . 
i beg to differ . 
the most egregious attempt is the one before us now currently remaining in this rule . 
let no one miss this distinction : the proposal to protect an indicted leader , a proposal that has been withdrawn by the majority , always was speculative , because we do not know if a leader will be indicted . 
in sharp contrast , however , the rule before us will have a concrete , demonstrable effect on every ethics complaint filed from this day forward . 
mr. speaker , the committee on standards of official conduct is the only mechanism that this institution has to police itself . 
when we weaken the committee , we weaken the standards that we are all expected to uphold , and we erode public confidence in this institution . 
the gentleman from california ( mr. dreier ) xz4001150 spoke eloquently to the maintenance of the status quo when he was in the minority urging us to be vigilant in rooting out unethical behavior in this institution . 
he was right then . 
he is not correct now in offering this rule which weakens that process . 
the adoption of this rule will substantially weaken our commitment to ensuring ethical conduct . 
i think the gentleman from colorado ( mr. hefley ) xz4001740 was right in his letter . 
i think he had the intellectual honesty and integrity on this floor when he spoke . 
he is going to vote for the rule because he believes that some offensive aspects of the proposal have been taken out . 
but i tell my friend that the most egregious , long-lasting , impacting change remains in this package . 
therefore , i urge my colleagues on behalf of the american people , on behalf of the integrity of this institution , on behalf of our commitment to ensure ethical conduct on behalf of the american people , that this not be passed . 
