In their first act of 2017, Congressional Republicans secretly voted to gut the Office of Congressional Ethics, the independent watchdog organization that oversees the behavior and actions of and investigates criminal conduct by members of congress. This office is the entity that ensures accountability and transparency in the U.S. Congress, and without it, members of congress lack proper oversight.
“Did any of Pennsylvania’s 13 Republican representatives vote to gut this independent watchdog agency?” asked Marcel L. Groen, Chairman of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party. “Pennsylvanians need to know if their representatives voted to make it easier to act unethically in Washington. If any of Pennsylvania’s Republican representatives voted to betray the public trust and remove this important oversight, they must explain why they feel they should not be accountable to their constituents.”