Ethics in Congress

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Overview

In this lesson students will learn about Members of Congress who have engaged in misconduct and discuss how Members of Congress can be disciplined.

Grade Levels

9 - 12

Objectives

Students will:

• explain how at least two past members of Congress have been disciplined; and
• explain what the Constitution says about ethics in Congress.

Estimated Time

2 class periods

Materials Needed

• E-Learning Module: Notable Members of Congress
• Internet connection with Macromedia FLASH ® enabled
• Projection device
• One copy of the U.S. Constitution per student

Procedure

Day 1

1. Distribute copies of the U.S. Constitution to students, and ask them to read section 5, clause 2. Have students summarize this section. Make sure that students understand that this section of the Constitution assigns Congress the responsibility to discipline its Members.
2. Use a projection device to show students the “Troubled Terms” section of the Notable Members E-Learning Module. Discuss how Congress has disciplined some of its Members in the past.
3. Explain to students that tomorrow they will discuss the following question: “Should it be the responsibility of the Congress itself to ‘police’ the behavior of its Members, or should it be the responsibility of the voters in that district or state who elected him/her?” You may want to have students read Highlights of Ethics Rules at the House Ethics Committee Web site or An Overview of the Senate Code of Conduct and Related Laws at the Senate Ethics Committee Web site.

Day 2

1. Conduct a whole-class discussion about who should have the responsibility to “police” the behavior of Members of Congress. Ask the following questions:
   • Does the Constitution have anything to say about ethics in Congress?
   • Do voters have any obligation to think about the character of the person they vote into office?
   • Should they pay attention to past scandals if any are associated with the candidate?
   • Are some misbehaviors of Members of Congress worse than others?
   • In any group of 535 people, what percentage do you think might misbehave? What percentage of Members of Congress have misbehaved?
   • Is it more serious when a Member of Congress misbehaves than someone not elected to hold public office?

Extension Activities

Ask students to conduct research to find out when and why the U.S. House of Representatives

Committee on Standards of Official Conduct ( http://www.house.gov/ethics/welcome.htm ) and the

U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics ( http://ethics.senate.gov/ ) were created. Have students write a paper that explains why the committees were created and describes how Members of Congress were disciplined before the Senate Ethics Manual

( http://ethics.senate.gov/downloads/pdffiles/manual.pdf ) and the Ethics Manual for Members, Officers, and Employees of the U.S. House of Representatives

( http://www.house.gov/ethics/Ethicforward.html ) were created.

Assessment

Basic Concepts and Processes

Ask students to respond to the following requests for information and assess their knowledge of key concepts taught in this lesson.

1. Explain how at least two past Members of Congress have been disciplined.
2. Explain what the Constitution says about ethics in Congress.

Lesson Plan Feedback

If you have suggestions for improving this lesson plan, or if you have ideas for others using the module, please let us know. We value your input. Thank you!

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