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December 14, 2011

CREW Calls for Quick Passage of the Clean Up Government Act

Ethics, Congressional Ethics, Governance & Legislation, Clean Up Government Act, Honest Services , Letters, Press Releases, House Members, Eric Cantor, John Boehner, Open Government

Washington, D.C. – Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) urged the House Republican leadership to schedule a floor vote for the “Clean Up Government Act of 2011” (H.R. 2572). The bipartisan bill restores important tools to federal prosecutors fighting public corruption and was approved unanimously by the often rancorous House Judiciary Committee earlier this month. Click here to read CREW’s letter to Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA).

“This should be a no-brainer. With Congress’ approval ratings at all-time lows, members should be eager to prove they have no interest in protecting legislators who violate the law,” said CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan. “Republicans and Democrats alike ought to agree that corrupt public officials must be held accountable.”

The “Clean Up Government Act” responds to last year’s Supreme Court decision in Skilling v. United States, which eliminated an entire category of deceptive, fraudulent and corrupt conduct from the scope of what was known as the Honest Services fraud statute. In addition, it amends the illegal gratuities statute to prevent public officials from accepting gifts given because of their governmental position, and makes clear public officials who accept private compensation may be subject to prosecution. Identical legislation (S. 401) sponsored by Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and John Cornyn (R-TX) has passed the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Click here to read CREW's letter.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a non-profit legal watchdog group dedicated to holding public officials accountable for their actions. For more information, please visit www.citizensforethics.org or contact David Merchant at 202.408.5565 or dmerchant@citizensforethics.org