Members of the House would have to undergo mandated annual ethics training under a new bill offered by Reps. David Cicilline, D-R.I., and Dave Trott, R-Mich.

The two lawmakers said senators are already taking "ongoing" ethics classes, and House staffers are required to undergo training each year. But House lawmakers themselves are exempt.

"Elected officials should always be held to the highest standards of conduct," Cicilline said Thursday. "That's why it's absurd that members of the U.S. House do not have to complete annual ethics training. We need to close this loophole now."

Trott said his constituents believe lawmakers are above the law, and said his bill would help address that complaint.

"No one is above the law, and members of Congress must live by the laws they create," he said.

Under the bill, lawmakers would have to complete an ethics training session within 60 days of being sworn in, and would have to be trained in each new session of Congress.