The House ethics rules were just changed in January. There is an ethics task force already studying ways to change the current system. But apparently none of that is enough for the Minority Leader. Roll Call (sub. req'd) reports that Boehner now wants a task force to sort through what the ethics rules mean:

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) wants to create a bipartisan task force to assess and clarify the chamber’s “hopelessly broken” ethics rules, he said today in a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

“Members on both sides of the aisle are understandably frustrated because they know you can’t ‘clean up Congress’ with confusing rules that are as difficult to comply with as they are to enforce,” he wrote, referencing part of the Democrats’ campaign message from last year.

Boehner is proposing a working group made up of six to eight Members from both sides of the aisle with an even partisan split, “including a member of the ethics committee from each party (but neither its chairman nor ranking minority member), one elected leader from each party, and one or two additional Members from each side of the aisle,” he wrote. Boehner said the group should report back recommendations by July 1 to consider the potential reforms before the August break.

The last time the House created a successful bipartisan ethics task force was in 1997, headed up by then-Reps. Bob Livingston (R-La.) and Benjamin Cardin (D-Md.).

Republicans have criticized Democratic reforms enacted earlier this year in the House Rules package for being unilaterally and sometimes hastily written. Some of the new rules have caused consternation on both sides of the aisle, but Democrats have defended the reforms as keeping good on their effort to end a “culture of corruption” in the House under 12 years of Republican control.

Here's an idea for the House. Enforce the existing rules. There are several members of Congress facing serious legal issues, yet not one ethics complaint has been filed against any member.