Bipartisan duo praises Ethics Committee reversal

Reps. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and Dave Loebsack (D-Iowa) on Thursday praised the House Ethics Committee decision to reverse its rule change on members’ privately sponsored travel.

The bipartisan pair said this week that they would introduce a bill to undo the Ethics Committee change. But such a measure is no longer necessary.

{mosads}”I commend the Ethics Committee for coming to their senses and reinstated the disclosure requirement for privately funded travel. These moves only deepen the mistrust the American people have in Congress,” Loebsack said.

“In these times of heightened partisanship, it is important to recognize that Representatives from both sides of the aisle joined to express their wishes to be held to a higher standard,” Fitzpatrick added.

In a statement Thursday afternoon, the House Ethics Committee said it would reinstate the requirement that members report privately sponsored travel on their annual financial disclosure forms following public protests.

The panel had quietly changed its long-standing rule that members report the free travel on their financial disclosure forms. Instead, members would have still reported the trips within 15 days with the form posted publicly on the House clerk’s website.