The Senate Ethics Committee introduced a bill last week that would require members of Congress to disclose their personal mortgage information to the public. According to Ethics Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-California), the transparency ensured by such disclosure requirements is the key to accountability in government. “We must continually revisit ethics in government, and strengthening our disclosure rules takes an important step forward,” Boxer said. Specifically, the new bill would require members of congress to make a “full and complete” disclosure of residential mortgages, which would include the date that the mortgage was entered, the range of the amount, the interest rate, the term, and the name and address of the creditor.

The new legislation is the committee’s immediate retort to the Countrywide VIP scandal, involving Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Connecticut) and Sen. Kent Conrad (D-North Dakota). The Ethics Committee dismissed complaints filed against the two lawmakers last week, which alleged they accepted “gifts” from the subprime mortgage lender in the form of preferential mortgage terms. The committee’s ruling concluded a year-long investigation into Dodd and Conrad’s dealings with Countrywide and their participation in the lender’s “Friends of Angelo” special mortgage program. In clearing Dodd and Conrad of any wrongdoing surrounding the four Countrywide loans between them, the ethics panel faulted itself for not providing “more guidance to the Senate community about issues surrounding mortgage negotiations.” Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA), vice chairman of the Ethics Committee and co-sponsor of the new mortgage disclosure bill, commented, “Since my first year in Congress, I have always disclosed my homeownership and the mortgages against my home. It’s the right thing to do and I believe it should be required of all members of Congress.”