Today, CREW sent a letter to the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, more commonly known as the Ethics Committee. We want the Committee to take immediate action in the face of the developing crisis of members illegally using official resources for campaign purposes. A copy of the letter can be found here.

As we reported yesterday, Last week, Laura Flores, a former aide to Reps. Jane Harman (D-CA) and Neil Abercrombie (D-HI) received a reduced sentence for embezzlement in return for her cooperation in a probe into whether members of Congress have been using congressional staff and resources for campaign purposes. The Washington Post reported that the Department of Justice is investigating whether members of Congress have used phones, supplies and staff time for campaign purposes and whether staff have been directed to perform personal errands on government time:

In the course of plea negotiations, however, Flores provided testimony and documents as part of a previously unreported Justice Department investigation into whether members of Congress used phones, supplies and staff time for campaign purposes, according to the source.

Investigators also are looking into whether members of Congress directed their staffs to perform personal errands on government time, said the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is at an early stage.

Congressional aides are prohibited from raising money or participating in campaign activities while on the government payroll, said election law expert Lawrence M. Noble. "It's a serious matter," he added.

In 2006, the FBI began investigating allegations made by former congressional staffers to Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA) that they were forced to work on campaign matters during office hours. Similar allegations have been made by former staffers to Reps. David Scott (D-GA) and Gary Miller (R-CA).

Despite the burgeoning number of stories suggesting that members may be routinely forcing staffers to illegally engage in campaign work – and firing some who go public with such allegations – the House Ethics Committee has taken no action.

CREW has asked the Committee to proactively begin investigating the scope of this problem and require members of Congress to attend mandatory training sessions on the proper use of staff and congressional research. CREW has further asked the Committee to establish a procedure allowing staffers to file complaints about such conduct without fear of retaliation.

CREW's Melanie Sloan summed up the situation:

Once again, a major scandal is brewing on Capitol Hill and the House ethics committee is sitting it out. The question is, when -- if ever -- is the Ethics Committee going to prove itself more than a paper tiger?

We're waiting.

News from Pittsburgh this weekend that another member of Congress is under federal investigation. Tim Murphy is facing scrutiny for having his legislative staff undertake campaign work -- while on federal time. That's not permitted -- and let's just say, everyone in the business knows it's not permitted:

Authorities are investigating whether Rep. Tim Murphy's legislative staff members performed campaign work while on government time, which would violate federal law, according to a broadcast report.

Federal authorities have started interviewing Mr. Murphy's former staff members, according to KDKA-TV, which cited anonymous sources.

Mark Carpenter, Murphy's press secretary, declined to comment on the report of a federal investigation, but acknowledged that the lawmaker had forwarded similar allegations to the House ethics committee for review.

Citizens Blogging first reported on this brewing scandal on October 30th:

Using tax-payer funded staff and resources for partisan political work is not permitted. Congress has strict rules governing this area. Everyone on "the Hill" knows that. It's unusual that congressional staffers would ever report that kind of activity occurring in their offices, but that's what has happened in the case of Tim Murphy (R-PA):

U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy, who is seeking his third term in Congress, has mixed campaign activities and official government work in a manner that present and former staffers consider unethical or in violation of House rules, according to interviews with a half-dozen of them.

Some of those interviewed described the practices as routine, others as sporadic, but all said they were disturbed by the conduct. The allegations primarily concern the use of taxpayer-funded congressional staff and resources to do work they viewed as part of Mr. Murphy's political campaign.

That can be a difficult charge to prove because workers are permitted to perform campaign tasks when on voluntary personal time, and there is no clock they punch to switch time. But it's clear that multiple staff members believed that what they were instructed to do crossed an ethical line.

The PIttsburgh Post-Gazette provides specific examples of the behavior relayed by current and former staffers from Murphy's office. That's unusual for the culture of Capitol Hill.

Using tax-payer funded staff and resources for partisan political work is not permitted. Congress has strict rules governing this area. Everyone on "the Hill" knows that. It's unusual that congressional staffers would ever report that kind of activity occurring in their offices, but that's what has happened in the case of Tim Murphy (R-PA):

U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy, who is seeking his third term in Congress, has mixed campaign activities and official government work in a manner that present and former staffers consider unethical or in violation of House rules, according to interviews with a half-dozen of them.

Some of those interviewed described the practices as routine, others as sporadic, but all said they were disturbed by the conduct. The allegations primarily concern the use of taxpayer-funded congressional staff and resources to do work they viewed as part of Mr. Murphy's political campaign.

That can be a difficult charge to prove because workers are permitted to perform campaign tasks when on voluntary personal time, and there is no clock they punch to switch time. But it's clear that multiple staff members believed that what they were instructed to do crossed an ethical line.

The PIttsburgh Post-Gazette provides specific examples of the behavior relayed by current and former staffers from Murphy's office.  That's unusual for the culture of Capitol Hill.  And, it's not a common practice according to Melanie Sloan:

"You're not allowed to use taxpayer-funded machinery for campaign work, and no congressional office resources can be spent on campaign activities. ... Most members of Congress don't do this."

Most members don't do it.  But will there be repercussions for those who do?  As with everything involving elected officials and ethical problems, that's the question.