Victory for ethics

Watch out: Congress cares about ethics! Well, today at least.

A coalition of a dozen watchdog organizations, led by the Campaign Legal Center and including Issue One, rallied quickly to defend the Office of Congressional Ethics following a proposed cut to the agency’s budget.

This was the second time New Mexico Republican Representative Steve Pearce targeted the Office since it investigated one of his staffers. His amendment sought to slash $190,970 from the OCE, but it was soundly defeated today by a vote of 270-137.

In case you missed it, lawmakers approved almost as much money to study monkeys on treadmills ($1 million) and the effect of beer koozies on a hot day ($1.3 million) as they did on their own ethics watchdog.

But for now, it is a victory for ethics.