The Independent Counsel Act is set to expire in June, and the House Judiciary Committee and the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee held hearings last week to discuss the possible renewal of the statute.

However, there is little support to renew it from either congressional party or the Clinton administration, according to a CNN article.

“We’ve see the practices of the independent counsel through [Kenneth] Starr and others. I feel it should expire or be dramatically changed,” said Alex Galyon, an attorney with Galyon Law Office, 416 Douglas Ave.

The purpose of the act is to ensure the integrity of public officials, without regard to the party in control of Congress or the executive branch. The act is to guarantee no one is above the law.

“The independent counsel is the only way corrections or political misdoings can be guarded in Washington, D.C.,” said John Martens, an attorney with Terrill and Martens Law Office, 511 Duff Ave.

The Independent Counsel Act originated in 1978 as part of the Ethics in Government Act, which was passed in response to the Watergate scandal. The Act was renewed in 1978, 1983 and 1988. It expired in 1992 but was reinstated in 1994 after encouragement from President Clinton.

Martens said the act “should definitely be renewed,” but there “needs to be a clearer focus” of the counsel’s mission.

A possible solution is to pass the Independent Counsel Act with critical changes in its laws. Some proposed changes include broadening the attorney general’s discretion in appointing independent counsels and limiting the funding and amount of time spent on an investigation.

“The amount of money spent on the Clinton investigation was horrendous,” Galyon said.