The States" Ethics Record - NYTimes.com Re "The States Get a Poor Report Card" (editorial, March 20): In the tradition of our founding fathers, most state lawmakers are citizen-legislators. You cite a study that graded states poorly on ethics issues, yet you did not acknowledge that the overwhelming majority of the 7,382 state legislators are honorable public servants. Forty-one states have ethics commissions, a trend that began in the 1970s. Congress, on the other hand, didn't create its own ethics commission until 2008, and unlike many states, failed to give it subpoena power. Congress has had a rash of ethical issues, and is facing one right now over members" insider trading. To say Congress should hold on to the most "important programs" because states can't be "trusted" is absurd. Many of these programs were actually started by the states. Americans have little confidence that Congress, with an approval rating of 12 percent, can solve the country's problems. They are far more certain that the states can. WILLIAM T. POUND Executive Director, National Conference of State Legislatures Denver, March 26, 2012