Folks I have hit the mother load. The article I was going to write took a 180 degree turn. I found a site Govtrack.us that could give you all the information you would need help keep our Congressmen and Women accountable.
There is the House Committee on Ethics that deals with any impropriety that a member of Congress may have encountered. Sexual harassment, illegal campaign contributions, illegal use of House funds, and excess funds to name a few.
We will start with the definition of reproval. Your reproval of your dog for chewing your new shoes could take the form of an angry expression on your face, and a stern, “No!” So if Congress finds you guilty of something and give you a reproval, you get a letter stating what you did was wrong and you should not do it again. WHAT! These are elected officials that are in that position to represent us, the people!! Let’s not forget that when they are done “serving” their country they get at least $174,000 a year for life.
In some cases a Representative did receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign funds and funneled those to his own personal use. If you resign your post right before the Congress year ends, the case is dropped because they don’t have jurisdiction anymore. The said felon walks with all of the money that was not theirs to have in the first place. They still also get $174,000 a year for life!!
Let’s tackle sexual harassment. If you get charged and go to court there is the Office of Compliance Account which would pay off your accusers and make it go away. “We wanted to save the taxpayers money.” Said Congress Person would walk away, no harm, no foul and $174,000 a year.
Accountability folks, there is none for Congress. They play by their own rules, the rules that apply to us do not apply to them. They talk a good game every two years or four years when they need us. Written by someone paid to write speeches. They protect their own, it is an adult frat house with all of the same trappings of college sports.