House Committee on Ethics: Motivating Factors for Members of Congress examines the internal and external motivating factors behind the actions of the House Committee on Ethics members. By looking at the procedural efficiency of the Committee on Ethics (or lack thereof), as a natural consequence of the committee members' implicit public policy actions, the authors find that junior members do not receive elite committee assignments and do not want to stand in judgment of senior party leaders. As a natural consequence, this leads to questions about the effectiveness of an organization that is in charge of investigating itself - driven by the actions of the committee members' personal and legislative goals.

Michael J. Gordon is visiting assistant professor of the School of Public Policy and Leadership at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.