House Speaker Says 'the Buck Stops Here'

The House of Representatives Ethics Committee opened an expansive investigation into the unfolding page sex scandal Thursday, approving nearly four dozen subpoenas for witnesses and documents as the Republican leader of the House held his ground against pressure to resign.

"I'm deeply sorry this has happened and the bottom line is we're taking responsibility," House Speaker Dennis Hastert told at a news conference.

"Ultimately, the buck stops here," the speaker said of the controversy enveloping the House, former Republican Rep. Mark Foley and the page program, a venerable institution almost as old as the Congress itself.

Hastert was abruptly changing the tactics he has followed since the scandal broke last week in the wake of the disclosures and Foley's resignation. Foley since has entered an alcohol rehabilitation facility in Florida. As recently as Wednesday, Hastert had blamed Democrats for the scandal and insisted he had done nothing wrong.