WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawai'i, said today he was not afraid to fight against the House's creation of a new outside ethics panel to review ethics complaints against the chamber's members, a measure popular with public interest groups.

"I have never supported a bill because I was afraid not to," he said. "I'm not starting now."

Abercrombie was one of 23 Democrats and 159 Republicans to oppose the measure, which the House passed 229-182 late Tuesday.

Arguing against the measure on the House floor, Abercrombie said the chamber's members should decide if a member failed to meet standards, not an outside independent panel.

"If our current ethics system doesn't work, it needs serious structural changes, not just another layer of process," Abercrombie said. "An independent commission won't fix it any more than installing a new air filter will fix a broken-down car."

U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawai'i, saw the issue differently and voted for the measure.

"We've worked very hard to reach common ground in a bipartisan effort supported by groups like Common Cause, U.S. PIRG and Democracy 21," she said. "For the first time, this bipartisan effort establishes timelines for consideration of ethics complaints by outside groups."

The new ethics panel with six members appointed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and House Minority Leader John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, could start initial reviews of ethics complaints, do the investigations and refer their findings to the House ethics committee.

The panel, to be known as the Office of Congressional Ethics, also could issue public reports.

Abercrombie called the panel "a new grand jury" during floor arguments and any referral would be seen as "tantamount to a guilty verdict."

"Any other conclusion by the House ethics committee will be seen as a cover-up," he said.

Abercrombie is co-sponsor of a different bill to establish an independent House ethics commission of 12 former House members appointed by Democratic and Republican leaders.

"I'll be proud to support ethics legislation that is real and workable and helps restore the public's trust in Congress," he said.

Reach Dennis Camire at dcamire@gns.gannett.com.