April 15, 2005 - U.S. Congressman Adam Smith (D-Tacoma) made the following statement calling for the creation of a bipartisan taskforce on ethics:

"Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives had the opportunity to create a bipartisan task force with the responsibility to restore public confidence in the ethics process and to report its findings to the House,” said Smith. “I’m concerned that decisions have been made with regards to House ethics rules on a partisan basis, without proper consultation from both sides of the aisle. I’m disappointed that the majority of my Republican colleagues did not join me yesterday in taking action to ensure that the ethics process in the House is fair and that public confidence can be restored.”