Three of Colorado's four Republican congressmen say they voted against a plan to limit the powers of the Office of Congressional Ethics. Rep. Scott Tipton, however, has not answered the question.
On Monday, Republicans decided in a closed-door meeting that they wanted to effectively reduce the independence of the nonpartisan office that reviews allegations of misconduct in the House of Representatives.
The plan met immediate public outrage (and some criticism from President-elect Donald Trump), and it was cancelled before a public vote could happen -- so, there's effectively no public record of who supported the initial proposal.
The offices of representatives Ken Buck, Doug Lamborn and Mike Coffman all claimed they had opposed the proposed change.
A spokeswoman for Tipton, Liz Payne, did not reply to Denverite's emailed request for comment. The (Grand Junction) Daily Sentinel, however, reports that it got her on the record.
The newspaper reports that Payne wrote an email saying that revealing votes and discussions from "internal member meetings" goes against the congressman's "philosophy."
"After being pressed, however, she said the congressman supports 'an independent, bipartisan system of oversight that preserves the due process rights of all members of Congress should they be accused of an ethical violation,'" according to the Sentinel.
Tipton just started his fourth term representing the 3rd Congressional District, which covers much of Colorado's Western Slope. His goals this session include "reducing duplicative and overly burdensome regulations, increasing responsible energy production, and protecting private property rights," according to his website.
