By Max Cacas
Washington, DC – Congresswoman Louise Slaugher is leading House Democrats in pushing for more reform of House rules in the wake of recent lobbying and ethics scandals.
Slaughter is the ranking Democrat on the House Rules Committee. And she believes any meaningful reform of ethics has to include changing how the GOP-dominated House does business:
"The lobbyists are only the symptom," Slaughter said. "The disease is here in the Capitol. It is important to remember that as corrupt as some lobbyists may be, they can only be as bad as the Republican leadership allows them to be."
Most of the reforms proposed by the New York Democrat involve the intricate internal House processes by which bills become law...procedures which Slaughter says now give undue power to the majority Republicans.
House Republicans say they'll consider their own version of reform legislation later this month.
It's uncertain how the full House Rules Committee will vote on Slaughter's proposal when the committee holds its first meeting.