House Republicans vote to rein in independent ethics office (of course)

[CousinIT]

Defying the wishes of their top leaders, House Republicans voted behind closed doors Monday night to rein the independent ethics office created eight years ago in the wake of a series of embarrassing congressional scandals.

The 119-to-74 vote during a GOP conference meeting means that the House rules package expected to be adopted Tuesday, the first day of the 115th Congress, would rename the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) to the Office of Congressional Complaint Review and place it under the oversight of the House Ethics Committee.

The OCE was created in 2008 to address concerns that the Ethics Committee had been too timid in pursuing allegations of wrongdoing by House members. Under the current House ethics regime, the OCE is empowered to release a public report of its findings even if the Ethics Committee chooses not to take further action against a member.

The move to place the OCE under the Ethics Committee’s aegis stands to please many lawmakers who have been wary of having their dirty laundry aired by the independent entity, but some Republicans feared that rolling back a high-profile ethical reform would send a negative message as the GOP assumes unified control in Washington. President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly promised to “drain the swamp” and has proposed a series of his own ethics reforms.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/01/02/house-republicans-vote-to-rein-in-independent-ethics-office/?postshare=8771483411245157&tid=ss_tw&utm_term=.78b5ab4dd6e4

[Generator]

1. We got to get into the streets

Don't we. I'm not even drinking but angrier than ever. Seriously we cannot give an inch to this madness. I am actually looking forward to 1/20. I will be middle aged in the streets and I don't care.

[TheDebbieDee]

2. So, these phuckers went in on a federal holiday...

to do this $hit? UNBELIEVABLE!

[Takket]

3. starting right now...

someone should make a list of all the shit they do for the next two years, and present to the DNC for them to publicize before the midterms.

Trump not even sworn in yet, the the wolves are eating up the hen house.

[spanone]

4. fuckers. they will loot the treasury.

[OhioBlue]

5. Why did only Rs vote on this?

If I understand correctly, there is a Rules bill that was scheduled to be sent to the floor tomorrow for a full vote. In a secret meeting, against Speaker Ryan's wishes, the Rs voted to attach an amendment to the bill to gut the ethics oversight office.

Does this amendment now need to be voted on by the full House or is it already attached? If Ryan was against it, couldn't he just refuse to call for a vote? Again, why did only Rs vote? If anyone has insight, I would love to gain a better understanding of this. I have read several articles but none of them explain the process here.