Rep. Tom Loertscher, R-Iona, chairman of the House Ethics Committee, said, "I did send a letter to Rep. Hart asking for his response. ... we want to make sure that we do this correctly and that we give everybody a fair opportunity to respond." Hart was invited in the letter to respond in writing to the ethics complaint against him. "We would expect a response back from him no later than July 14 so that we could proceed," Loertscher said.