An editorial in today's NY Times [1] supports the call for subpoena power for the new House Ethics Office.  CREW agrees.  We want outside groups to be able to file complaints, too.  The Times reminds us all of the relationship between Rep. John Doolittle and Jack Abramoff -- and how little the House Ethics Committee did to investigation Abramoff-realted matters.   Very little.  

Congress can't -- and doesn't -- police itself.  That's why the new office needs real power:

Speaker Nancy Pelosi is reportedly determined to move ahead with the proposal for a new oversight office employing six nonpartisan outsiders, appointed by the two party leaders. This would be a definite step forward — one that so far the Senate has shown no interest in emulating. The office would vet allegations of members’ misconduct and refer serious cases to the ethics committee for, we hope, conclusive investigation. The office would also be required to make a public accounting of what it refers to the committee, to make it harder to sweep its work under the carpet.

Unfortunately under the current plan, the new ethics office would be denied the subpoena power it needs to do a thorough job. Most House members, whose enthusiasm for house cleaning has clear limits, want it that way. A few members of both parties — particularly Democratic freshmen — are pressing the subpoena issue. We encourage them to fight on.

These newcomers, elected in the wake of the Abramoff scandal, understand the voters’ revulsion against corruption. Ms. Pelosi, who owes her leadership to these same forces, should listen and ensure that this badly needed oversight office has all the credibility and all the investigative power it needs.