Swamp Level Recedes...Slightly

Well, it looks like Nancy Pelosi finally made a correct decision as the presumed next Speaker of the House without being backed into a corner first.

Scandal-plagued Jefferson Kept Off Ways And Means

House Democrats, insistent that they will hold lawmakers to higher standards, decided Tuesday that Rep. William Jefferson will not return to an influential committee until a federal corruption investigation involving him is completed.

Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi said the Democratic Steering Committee had resolved that Jefferson, who last Saturday won a runoff election in his New Orleans district, will not be given back his spot on the Ways and Means Committee, the panel that determines tax and trade policies.

Of course the Congressional Black Caucus is screaming mad about this, and "has questioned the idea of punishing him before his legal case has been settled."

Jefferson isn't the only member of the House that Nancy has to decide what to do about. The list of ethically challenged Democrats includes:

Rep. James McDermott, who on Monday was admonished by the House ethics committee for violating ethics standards by giving reporters access to an illegally taped telephone call involving Republican leaders a decade ago.

Rep. Alan Mollohan of West Virginia, who is in line to become chairman of an Appropriations subcommittee that oversees the FBI. Mollohan faces questions about personal business deals.

Not to mention the questionable history of John Murtha and Alcee Hastings that kept both men from high level positions in the new Congress. The swamp level may have dropped a centimeter or two, but it's still deep enough to drown in.