Inquiry Set on Bribery Claim in Medicare Vote
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG

WASHINGTON, March 17 — The House ethics committee voted on Wednesday to start a formal investigation into accusations of bribery surrounding last November's vote on the Medicare prescription drug law, signaling that an initial fact-finding inquiry might have produced evidence of wrongdoing.

The panel, formally known as the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, met behind closed doors. Afterward, it issued a statement saying it had established an investigative subcommittee to conduct "a full and complete inquiry" into the bribery claims. The accusations were made by Representative Nick Smith, Republican of Michigan.

Mr. Smith, who is retiring, voted against the Medicare bill. Immediately after the vote, he said some lawmakers and groups had tried to induce him into voting for the measure with promises of financial support for the House candidacy of his son. He said there had been no specific offer of money, but his remarks prompted the ethics panel to begin a fact-finding inquiry last month.

Mr. Smith issued a statement on Wednesday saying that he would "cooperate fully with the inquiry" and that he would make no further public comment.

The panel's decision comes amid mounting criticism from Democrats and some watchdog groups about the lack of ethics inquiries in the House. Since 1997, when the House approved a rule barring ethics investigations based solely on complaints from outsiders, House Democrats and Republicans have had what some describe as an unofficial truce on ethics inquiries.

But Mr. Smith's accusation provoked an outcry from Democrats, including Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, the Democratic whip. In January, Mr. Hoyer sent a letter to Speaker J. Dennis Hastert of Illinois, urging him to seek an inquiry. At the time, Mr. Hoyer said that if Mr. Hastert did not ask for an investigation, a Democrat would initiate one.

Representative Tom DeLay of Texas, the majority leader, accused the Democrats of promoting an ethics investigation for political reasons.

"I think what they are doing is very, very dangerous," Mr. DeLay said then.