House freshmen who defeated scandal-plagued GOP Congressmen will lead ethics debate

[DeepModem Mom]

The Hill: Dems finalize new rules
By Jonathan E. Kaplan and Jackie Kucinich

....Democrats complained vociferously about the House GOP’s tactics during the past four years, such as preventing Democrats from offering amendments on the House floor, excluding them from conference committees, and holding votes open for much longer than the traditional 15 minutes.

In response to real and perceived legislative slights, Democratic candidates campaigned against a Republican “culture of corruption” and promised to tighten ethics rules, in part to put distance between lawmakers and lobbyists. Revising ethics rules may prove central to retaining their majority in the House in 2008.

“I think the most important thing we can do to ensure their reelection is to follow through on the commitments the Democrats … made to those voters,” Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, told C-SPAN’s “Newsmakers” program last week.

Democratic leaders plan to pair three freshman members with more senior lawmakers to lead the debate on the House floor on Thursday and Friday. Rep. Zack Space (D-Ohio), who won the seat vacated by former Rep. Bob Ney (R), will lead debate over new trip and gift rules. Ney has pleaded guilty to crimes stemming from the scandal surrounding Jack Abramoff, the convicted former GOP lobbyist.

The other two freshman Democratic lawmakers who are to play leading roles in the debate have not been chosen, but Democratic leaders are considering Reps. Chris Carney (D-Pa.), Jerry McNerney (D-Calif.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), said a senior Democratic aide. They each defeated a lawmaker ensnared in ethics controversies....

http://www.thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/010307/demrules.html