Housecleaning

Reprimands asked for two

The House Ethics Committee declared seven months ago that, although it was continuing to investigate, it had been unable to document accusations, made by two Capitol Hill pages, of sexual liaisons between Congressmen and their teen-age gofers during 1981 and 1982. Washington greeted the finding with understandable relief--prematurely. Last week the Ethics Committee recommended that the full House "reprimand" two Representatives, Democrat Gerry Studds of Massachusetts and Republican Daniel Crane of Illinois, for having had sex with pages in 1973 and 1980, respectively.

A reprimand--an official statement of disapproval--is the House's mildest form of punishment for serious misconduct by members. The committee found that in both cases the sex had not been coerced. Still, it made the obvious point that "any sexual relationship between a member of the House of Representatives and a congressional page, or any sexual advance by a member to a page, represents a serious breach of duty." Given the "special responsibility" of Congress toward the young, vulnerable pages, said Joseph Califano Jr., special counsel to the committee, which is also probing drug use on the Hill, "only one standard of conduct can be appropriate."

Both Congressmen admitted their misconduct. Studds' dalliance occurred a decade ago with a 17-year-old boy, just after the Congressman's election to the House. Last week, in an extraordinary speech on the House floor, he confirmed unapologetically what had long been rumored--that he was a homosexual--and granted that he had made "a very serious error in judgment" in sleeping with the page.

Studds, who is unmarried, said only that he was wrong to have had sex with a congressional subordinate, no matter what the page's age or sex. "It is not a simple task for any of us to meet adequately the obligations of either public or private life," Studds told his rapt colleagues. "But these challenges are made substantially more complex when one is, as am I, both an elected public official and gay."

According to the special counsel's report, Studds first invited the page to his Georgetown apartment, and then later that summer took the boy on a two-week trip to Portugal. The ex-page testified that he bore no ill will toward Studds.

Congressman Daniel Crane, 47, in a brief written apology, said, "I'm sorry that I made a mistake. I'm human, and in no way did I violate my oath of office. I only hope my wife and children will forgive me." Crane, a dentist from Danville, came to Capitol Hill in 1979. A year later, he and a female House page, then 17, had sex four or five times at his suburban apartment. The page, testifying that she "found the Congressman as an older man very attractive," admitted that she was "perhaps more responsible for the sexual relationship than he was."

The probe found that James Howarth, who had supervised the House pages until last December, when he was given other duties, had had sex in 1980 with one of his 17-year-old female wards. The report also accused Howarth of buying cocaine in the House's Democratic cloakroom, possibly from another House staffer. Howarth contests the charges. The probe into drug use is continuing.

Studds, regarded by many House colleagues as a most effective member of the Massachusetts congressional delegation, says he will "of course" serve out his term. In fact, many of his constituents seemed surprisingly supportive last week. Said Boston Political Consultant Michael Goldman: "Now that he is out of the closet, he could become even more effective." The prospects are less clear for Crane, the brother of Illinois Representative Philip Crane, who sought the 1980 G.O.P. presidential nomination. "This does not fit the image Dan Crane has tried to portray," says Danville Lawyer Tom Lindley. "This makes it less likely he'll run for re-election." On Saturday, Crane said he would not resign. His press secretary, William Mencarow, suggested the entire matter was no big deal. "If we required the resignation of all Congressmen who slept with young ladies," he said, "we wouldn't have a Congress." He later apologized for the observation. This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.