BOND MEASURE WOULD TRIM SIZE OF CONGRESSIONAL PANEL STAFFS

Citing abuses in the way congressional committees operate, U.S. Sen. Christopher Bond, R-Mo., has introduced legislation to trim the size of committee staffs.

His legislation would cut committee staff by 25 percent over the next two years.

"The committee staffs are the areas that are way out of control," Bond said Thursday in a telephone interview with reporters from several Missouri newspapers. "Some committees have more than 100 members on staff," he pointed out.

"Congress has gotten too big and committee staffs have become so large that they are essentially an unelected government," Bond said.

"They are out there following their own agenda. They are accountable to no one."

Bond cited the controversial funding of a Brooklyn courthouse with highway funds and excessive restrictions in the Clean Air Act on use of ethanol as examples of unchecked actions by committee staff.

The House has now passed a measure eliminating funding for the Brooklyn courthouse, but Bond said that incident and others still point to the need to bring committees under control.

Frequently, he said, committee staff members insert complicated, last-minute provisions into legislation. Such staff members then retire and go out into the private sector where they can "earn a bundle of money" as consultants who explain to people what the laws mean, said Bond.

"I can cite many instances when staff think the bills they report out are their bills," said Bond. "They don't care what the elected members of Congress think."

Cutting committee staffs would improve the operation of Congress, Bond said. "It will make the process run more smoothly."

The legislation would also take away the Senate Ethics Committee's responsibility to hear charges of ethical violations by senators, replacing it with a panel of independent, retired federal judges.

The current committee's handling of cases like the Keating Five savings and loan scandal has demonstrated lawmakers' inability to police their own members, Bond said. "Right now the system doesn't work. Those who are guilty are not punished."

Under Bond's legislation, if charges were made against a senator, the independent panel would determine whether a formal investigation was warranted; appoint a special counsel to investigate, where warranted; and hold hearings and recommend sanctions, if necessary.

The independent panel would consist of a retired judge appointed by the Senate majority leader, one appointed by the minority leader and a third judge selected by the other two judges.

"The time has come to face the fact that the Senate Ethics Committee is not capable of self-policing and judging their own," Bond said in prepared remarks released prior to speaking with reporters.

"Their actions have led to a loss in public confidence and now their recommendations, both the fair and unfair, come under suspicion," said Bond. "The only solution is to wipe the slate clean and start over."

Bond has also proposed that Congress adjourn by Oct. 15 each year. If the deadline were not met, members of Congress would have their pay suspended until the legislative work was completed.

"That would help make it clear that we need to get the job done," the Republican senator said. The president, however, could call Congress back into special session, if necessary, said Bond.

The senator also favors other congressional reforms. "I have proposed a number of campaign finance reforms. Basically, I think we ought to get rid of PACs (political action committees)." He said he believes there should be full disclosure of all money spent in political campaigns.

Bond said he supports efforts for a yearlong study that would focus on long-term congressional reform.