Reply #15: yahoo link.....Democrat Says Deal Near on Ethics Panel [View All]

[maddezmom]

By LARRY MARGASAK, Associated Press Writer
Thu Jun 30,12:37 AM ET



WASHINGTON - The top Democrat on the House ethics committee said Wednesday he was close to a deal with the Republican chairman to end the committee's partisan stalemate and resume business, including a possible investigation of Majority Leader Tom DeLay.

A senior Republican official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak on the record, said no agreement has been reached between Democrat Alan Mollohan and GOP Chairman Doc Hastings.

The evenly divided committee has been unable to hire staff and conduct investigations this entire year because of partisan bickering, with the latest disagreement about the role of Hastings' chief of staff in committee business.

Mollohan, D-W.Va., said Hastings, of Washington state, agreed in a meeting Wednesday that chief of staff Ed Cassidy would be walled off from the panel's investigative staff.

more: http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050630/ap_on_go_co/house_ethics_2