Resolution Seeking Inquiry on Massa Sent to Ethics Panel

The House on Thursday turned aside an effort by Republicans to force the ethics committee to examine the resignation of Democratic Rep. Eric Massa of New York, one day after the panel dropped its inquiry.
Minority Leader John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, offered a privileged resolution (H Res 1164) demanding the committee investigate whether Democratic leaders knew about the allegations against Massa, who stepped down March 8.
Majority Whip James E. Clyburn, D-S.C., quickly moved to refer the resolution to the ethics committee, saying the matter “properly belongs” before that panel.
The House then voted, 402-1, to send the resolution to the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, as the panel is formally known. The committee is not required to do anything under the resolution, because it was not adopted by the House.
Texas Republican K. Michael Conaway, a member of the ethics committee, said Republicans voted for the motion to send the resolution to the panel because it was better than tabling the measure, which would have effectively killed it.
The resolution would require the ethics committee to investigate whether Democratic leaders or their staff members knew of sexual harassment allegations against Massa before March 3. It cites numerous reports that Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s staff had been notified of accusations against Massa as early as October 2009.
Pelosi, D-Calif., acknowledged that her staff members had heard a “rumor” about Massa’s behavior, but she said they decided not to brief her.
It was a “one-, two-, three-person rumor that had been reported to Mr. Hoyer’s office and reported to my staff, which they did not report to me. Because you know what? This is rumor city,” she said, referencing the office of Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, D-Md.

Read more: (Meghan McCarthy, “Resolution Seeking Inquiry on Massa Sent to Ethics Panel,” CQ Today, 03/11/10)