WASHINGTON (AP) – Leaders of the House ethics committee broke through a monthslong stalemate over staffing Thursday, making it possible to investigate Majority Leader Tom DeLay and conduct other business.

The evenly divided committee, which investigates member misconduct, has been shut down all year by partisan bickering. The logjam was broken by Chairman Doc Hastings, R-Wash., and senior Democrat Alan Mollohan of West Virginia.

With the deal, the committee can now take advantage of extra funds it was allotted this year to hire additional investigative staff, including a chief counsel who also would serve as staff director.

DeLay has asked the committee to review his travel expenses that were paid for by private organizations. He is seeking to clear his name against allegations that a lobbyist or the lobbyist’s clients paid for some of his travel expenses.

News organizations have uncovered documents showing payments connected to Jack Abramoff, a lobbyist who is under federal investigation for possibly bilking his Indian tribe clients.

DeLay, R-Texas, has said he believed the private organizations sponsoring his trips paid the bills, not the lobbyist. House rules bar lobbyists from paying for members’ travel.

The committee, if it grants DeLay’s request for a review, could conduct a preliminary inquiry into his travel. After the review, the committee would have to decide whether to name an investigative subcommittee to conduct a full-scale investigation.

While Democratic leaders have called for an investigation of DeLay, the GOP leader has accused Democrats of trying to stall ethics committee operations to ensure an investigation lasts into 2006 – an election year.

DeLay was admonished on three separate issues last year by the committee, formally called the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.

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On the Net:

House ethics committee: http://www.house.gov/ethics

AP-ES-06-30-05 2254EDT

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