Editorial: House needs to tighten its ethics rules

Friday, Feb. 6, 2004 | 8:58 a.m.

In passing its updated ethics code last month, the Clark County Commission toughened enforcement of its "cooling-off" period. This prevents former commissioners from lobbying the commission for one year after leaving office. Similar cooling-off periods are standard ethics rules in most governmental bodies, including the U.S. House of Representatives. But no matter how tough and clear, they cannot cover every contingency if someone is bent on subverting the spirit of the rules.

The latest example would be Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-La., if he takes a job as the pharmaceutical industry's top lobbyist. Nevadans remember Tauzin for his aggressive support of Yucca Mountain as the issue headed toward congressional approval in 2002. As chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Tauzin called this blight on Nevada "clearly the right choice for the American people."

The rest of the country knows Tauzin for his recent shepherding of the Medicare prescription drug bill through Congress. It will cost taxpayers more than $500 billion because it does nothing to stem rising drug prices. The bill was a godsend to the drug makers. Now they have offered Tauzin their top lobbying job, which is rumored to pay $2.5 million a year. This would strip away all the pretense of Tauzin's current position as a representative of the people and make official his role as the industry's foremost supporter. Possibly in preparation for accepting the position, Tauzin this week resigned his committee chairmanship and announced he will not run for re-election.

If Tauzin accepts the job, he can avoid technical violation of the House's cooling-off period simply by staying away from Congress during his first year. Of course, no one in Congress would fail to understand who was really behind the pharmaceutical industry's lobbying efforts. In our view, Tauzin should turn down this and any similar offer. And Congress should tighten the rules governing its own cooling-off period.