As Congress waits for negotiators to resolve the budget standoff, there is other worthy business that could be accomplished, particularly in political ethics.
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The four-year-old Office of Congressional Ethics — the quasi-independent watchdog and preliminary investigator of House members' misbehavior — is one of the rare success stories on Capitol Hill. It needs reauthorization and four new appointees by the end of the month if it is to continue into the next Congress and keep the public better informed. Legislators, of course, loathe being investigated by the office. But it has a solid record of fairness in doing its job, which involves discreetly screening complaints for the House Ethics Committee.
Any attempt to block renewal of this vital agency will not pass taxpayers' muster. Speaker John Boehner, a Republican, should make clear his intention to join with Democrats who support the office. Two years ago, as members from both parties pressed to eliminate the office, Mr. Boehner admirably agreed with the House Democratic leader, Nancy Pelosi, in reauthorizing it.
Meanwhile, the Federal Election Commission, with a reputation as one of Washington's most glaring failures, is also in need of attention — it needs fresh appointees. The commission is charged with being the enforcer of federal campaign spending rules, but it is more an enabler of laissez-faire machine politics. It has been withering as its three Republican members force 3-to-3 standoff votes against the Democrats that have effectively rendered the commission utterly toothless while candidates exploit loopholes favoring runaway "super PACs" and contrived "social welfare" campaign operations.
Four years ago, Barack Obama vowed to reform the commission. The president has done nothing in his first term, but he now has the opportunity to propose truly independent replacements for five of the six sitting commissioners. He owes it to voters to do so, despite predictable obstruction from Senate Republicans. With $6 billion having been spent on campaigns for federal races (much of it from secret donors), the risks of quid pro quo politics are growing. Yet the F.E.C. sits as a study in irresponsibility.
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