Sign-In
Cart
Ethics in Congress: From Individual to Institutional Corruption
Paperback
General Political ScienceUnited States Politics
ISBN13: 9780815784234
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
Published: Jul 1 1995
Pages: 264
Weight: 0.77
Height: 0.75 Width: 5.93 Depth: 8.96
Language: English
More members of Congress have been investigated and sanctioned for ethical misconduct in the past decade and a half than in the entire previous history of the institution. But individual members are probably less corrupt than they once were. Stricter ethics codes and closer scrutiny by the press and public have imposed standards no previous representatives have had to face. Dennis Thompson shows how the institution itself is posing new ethical challenges, how the complexity of the environment in which members work creates new occasions for corruption and invites more calls for accountability.
Thompson examines many major ethics cases of recent years. Among them: the case of David Durenberger, accused of supplementing his income through book promotions; the case of the Keating Five, accused of using undue influence with the Federal Home Loan Bank Board on behalf of Lincoln Savings and Loan owner Charles Keating; and the case of House Speaker James Wright, accused of several offenses.
Thompson shows why neither the electoral process nor the judicial process is sufficient and argues for stronger ethics committees and the creation of a new quasi-independent body to take over some of the enforcement process. He offers more than a dozen recommendations for changes in the procedures and practices of ethics in Congress.
The book features a listing of ethics charges, classified by type of corruption, considered by Congress from 1789 to 1992.
Selected by Choice as an Outstanding Book of 1995
Also from
Thompson, Dennis F.
The Spirit of Compromise: Why Governing Demands It and Campaigning Undermines It - Updated Edition
Thompson, Dennis F.
Gutmann, Amy
Paperback
Also in
United States Politics
Democracy Incorporated: Managed Democracy and the Specter of Inverted Totalitarianism
Wolin, Sheldon S.
Paperback
Building Communities from the Inside Out: A Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing a Community's Assets
Kretzmann, John P.
Paperback
Scandinavians in the State House: How Nordic Immigrants Shaped Minnesota Politics
Bergman, Klas
Paperback
Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump
Swan, Jonathan
Haberman, Maggie
Hardcover
The U.S. Constitution: A Comprehensive and Annotated Guide for the Modern Reader
Murray, Melissa
Hardcover
Ordinary People, Extraordinary Times: How to Reclaim Your Power, Fight for Freedom, and Reimagine Democracy
Perryman, Skye
Paperback
Crisis of the Common Good: The Fight for Meaning and Connection in a Broken America
Murphy, Chris
Hardcover
Into the Wood Chipper: A Whistleblower's Account of How the Trump Administration Shredded Usaid
Enrich, Nicholas
Hardcover
The Counterrevolution: The Fall and Rise of Donald Trump and the Maga Movement
Hanson, Victor Davis
Hardcover
Obstinate Daughters: The Rebels, Writers, and Renegade Women Who Ignited the American Revolution
Kiernan, Denise
Hardcover
The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America
Rothstein, Richard
Paperback
Department of Fate: The Promise, the Power, and the Collapse of America's Most Consequential Institution
Maddow, Rachel
Hardcover
The Invisible Coup: How American Elites and Foreign Powers Use Immigration as a Weapon
Schweizer, Peter
Hardcover
Last Branch Standing: A Potentially Surprising, Occasionally Witty Journey Inside Today's Supreme Court
Isgur, Sarah
Hardcover
The Steal: Four Right-Wing Hard-Liners, One Republican Presidency, and the Raid on America's Courts
Wagner, Alex
Hardcover
The First Eight: A Personal History of the Pioneering Black Congressmen Who Shaped a Nation
Clyburn, Jim
Hardcover
So Ordered: An Originalist's View of the Constitution, the Court, and Our Country
Alito, Samuel A., Jr.
Hardcover
All the Wrong Moves: How Three Catastrophic Decisions Led to the Rise of Trump
Scaramucci, Anthony
Hardcover
Alito: The Justice Who Reshaped the Supreme Court and Restored the Constitution
Hemingway, Mollie
Hardcover
The Promise of a Nation: Commemorating 250 Years of Patriotism, Resilience, and Aspirations from the National Collection
Smithsonian Institution
Hardcover
American Caesar: How Theocrats and Tech Lords Are Turning America Into a Monarchy
Onishi, Bradley B.
Hardcover
Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves from the Tyranny of the Automobile
Gordon, Doug
Naparstek, Aaron
Goodyear, Sarah
Hardcover
Supremacy: How Rule by the Court Replaced Government by the People
Renan, Daphna
Bowie, Nikolas
Hardcover
Injustice: How Politics and Fear Vanquished America's Justice Department
Leonnig, Carol
Davis, Aaron C.
Hardcover
The Power of Crisis: How Three Threats - And Our Response - Will Change the World
Bremmer, Ian
Paperback
Liar's Kingdom: How to Stop Trump's Deceit and Save America (Large Print Edition)
Weissmann, Andrew
Paperback
Tripwires: 15 Twenty-First-Century Events That Undermined American Democracy--And How to Reclaim It
Patterson, Richard North
Hardcover
Revenge for the Sixties: Sam Alito and the Triumph of the Conservative Legal Movement
Canellos, Peter S.
Hardcover
The Pursuit of Liberty: How Hamilton vs. Jefferson Ignited the Lasting Battle Over Power in America
Rosen, Jeffrey
Hardcover
A Revolution of Common Sense: How Donald Trump Stormed Washington and Fought for Western Civilization
Jennings, Scott
Hardcover
The Making and Breaking of the American Constitution: A Thousand-Year History
Peterson, Mark
Hardcover
Trump's Ten Commandments: Strategic Lessons from the Trump Leadership Toolbox
Sonnenfeld, Jeffrey
Hardcover
Don't Tell the President: The Best, Worst, and Mostly Untold Stories from Presidential Advance
Becker, Jean
Collamore, Tom
Hardcover
When Companies Run the Courts: How Forced Arbitration Became America's Secret Justice System
Ballou, Brendan
Hardcover
Born in Flames: The Business of Arson and the Remaking of the American City
Ansfield, Bench
Hardcover
The Democracy We Must Keep: Seven Founders, Nine Documents, and the Ideas That Shaped America
Stewart, David O.
Paperback
How to Test Negative for Stupid: And Why Washington Never Will (Large Print) (Large Print Edition)
Kennedy, John
Paperback
Common Sense in the Age of Trump: A Guide to Keeping Our Republic
Sparrow, Paul M.
Collins, Ronald K. L.
Huxtable, Russell W.
Paperback
Princeton Review AP U.S. Government & Politics Premium Prep, 25th Edition: 6 Practice Tests + Digital Practice Online + Content Review
The Princeton Review
Paperback
Obstinate Daughters: The Rebels, Writers, and Renegade Women Who Ignited the American Revolution (Large Print Edition)
Kiernan, Denise
Hardcover
Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time (Tenth Anniversary Edition)
Speck, Jeff
Paperback
Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media
Chomsky, Noam
Herman, Edward S.
Paperback
AP U.S. Government and Politics Premium, 2027: Prep Book with 6 Practice Tests + Comprehensive Review + Online Practice (Barron's AP Prep)
Lader, Curt, M. S. Ed
Paperback
Secret Empires: How the American Political Class Hides Corruption and Enriches Family and Friends
Schweizer, Peter
Paperback
The Invisible Coup: How American Elites and Foreign Powers Use Immigration as a Weapon (Large Print) (Large Print Edition)
Schweizer, Peter
Paperback
This Land Is Your Land: A Road Trip Through U. S. History (Large Print Edition)
Gage, Beverly
Hardcover
The Game Changer: How Harry Reid Remade the Rules and Showed Democrats How to Fight
Ralston, Jon
Hardcover
How to Kill a City: Gentrification, Inequality, and the Fight for the Neighborhood
Moskowitz, Pe
Paperback
The Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why It Matters
Nichols, Tom
Paperback
The Presidential Pardon: The Short Clause with a Long, Troubled History
Prakash, Saikrishna Bangalore
Hardcover
We Are The Bad Guys: How The U.S. Wages War, Controls Economies, and Calls It Freedom
Lester, Michael
Paperback
The Church Committee Report: Revelations from the Bombshell 1970s Investigation Into the National Security State
Guariglia, Matthew
Hochman, Brian
Paperback
Reclaiming Your Community: You Don't Have to Move Out of Your Neighborhood to Live in a Better One
Carter, Majora
Paperback
How Big Things Get Done: The Surprising Factors That Determine the Fate of Every Project, from Home Renovations to Space Exploration and Everything in
Flyvbjerg, Bent
Gardner, Dan
Hardcover
Whiplash: From the Battle for Obamacare to the War on Science
Blumenthal, David
Morone, James a.
Hardcover
Under the Perfect Sun: The San Diego Tourists Never See
Davis, Mike
Mayhew, Kelly
Miller, Jim
Paperback
What Does the Constitution Actually Say?: A Non-Boring Guide to How Our Democracy Is Supposed to Work
Sheehan, Ben
Paperback
The Declaration Of Independence, United States Constitution, Bill Of Rights & Amendments
Fathers, Founding
Paperback
Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life
Klinenberg, Eric
Paperback
Confronting the Presidents: No Spin Assessments from Washington to Biden
O'Reilly, Bill
Dugard, Martin
Hardcover
When You Come at the King: Inside Doj's Pursuit of the President, from Nixon to Trump
Honig, Elie
Hardcover
Tyranny of the Minority: Why American Democracy Reached the Breaking Point
Ziblatt, Daniel
Levitsky, Steven
Paperback
When the Clock Broke: Con Men, Conspiracists, and How America Cracked Up in the Early 1990s
Ganz, John
Paperback
Glory, Grief, and the Gavel: An Inside Guide to Running for Speaker of the House
Leganski, John
Hardcover
The Pacific Circuit: A Globalized Account of the Battle for the Soul of an American City
Madrigal, Alexis
Paperback
The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America
Rothstein, Richard
Hardcover
How the Democrats Lost America: Making Sense of the 2024 Election and the Future of American Politics
Ferson, Scott
Hardcover
The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President
Lee, Bandy X.
Paperback