Despite a push from two of their own, U.S. House members will still be exempt from the ethics training that their staffers and the Senate members are required to complete.
Mandatory ethics training is off the table for next year, Roll Call reported, as the House puts together its rules resolution.
House Rules Chairman Pete Sessions told Roll Call that he does not think it would be “proper” to add ethics training to the list of requirements for serving in the chamber.
“We look at the Constitution and say 25 years old, elected, and that’s your obligations,” he said.
The “Honest Leadership and Open Government Act” became law in 2007, but the House simply decided they didn’t want to be included in the version of the law they passed. Instead, it just requires that House staffers, senators, and Senate staffers take part.
Reps. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), and Scott Rigell (R-Va.) urged congressional leaders to end this House exemption.
“It is our belief that a change in House rules will help increase understanding and reduce confusion of the rules, help decrease the number of future ethics violations by members, and, most importantly, help restore the public’s faith and trust in Congress,” the lawmakers wrote in late November.
Sessions said that instead of ending the exemption they will mail a letter to each new member reminding them of their “authority and responsibility” to make sure all their staff undergo mandatory training within 60 days of their employment.
“The rationale behind it is that we’re encouraging them to be aware they’re still responsible,” Sessions said. “Just because they don’t take the training, that’s no excuse.”
