[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 7 (Wednesday, February 2, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 2, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]


                              {time}  1900
 
                      ACCOUNTABILITY FOR CONGRESS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore [Mr. Strickland]. Under a previous order of 
the House, the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Camp] is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, in the aftermath of the House Bank and Post 
Office scandals in 1992, the House and our colleagues in the other body 
established a Joint Committee on the Organization of Congress.
  Last year, this bipartisan reform panel met for many weeks listening 
to the testimony of Members and former Members of Congress and many 
other people testified, including Mr. Perot of Texas.
  There were over 100 hours of hearings in which many questions were 
asked and answers were given about how Congress works and how it can 
and should be changed.
  The joint committee's final report was finished just before the end 
of the year. And, in the coming weeks we will all have the opportunity 
to further consider and vote on the joint committee's recommendations.
  My distinguished colleague, David Dreier of California, who served as 
a vice chairman of the committee, and many other Members on both sides 
of the aisle, put a lot of time and work into these efforts for which 
they are to be commended.
  Establishing a two year budget cycle; authorizing use of non-Members 
of Congress in ethics investigations and limiting the number of 
committees and subcommittees are steps in the right direction. I know 
our side of the aisle, led by Mr. Dreier, is working to make this 
package stronger as it moves through the Rules process and makes its 
way to the floor.
  By changing the way business is done here in Congress, we make 
Congress more accountable. In the view of the American people, Congress 
ranks right up there with Chevy Chase on late night TV. And without 
action to make the needed reforms, we may find Congress soon to be 
canceled.
  Unfortunately, there was irony in the way the joint committee 
finished its business that shows Congress is not accountable. On 
December 31, 1993, the committee closed their doors with a $300,000 
surplus.
  Yes; that is $300,000 that was not spent.
  But those unspent funds will not be returned to the Treasury, and 
they will not be dedicated to deficit reduction.
  They are or have already been given back to the House and Senate to 
be reassigned for other uses. These are public funds and Congress needs 
to build public trust.
  Mr. Speaker, where will this $300,000 go? Who is responsible for it? 
And, what are these other uses for which it will be spent?
  The irony is the other body included a provision in their reform 
package that says unspent funds from individual Member offices and 
committees should be returned to the Treasury for deficit reduction at 
the end of each year.
  The House chose not to include such a provision.
  And, we can see from the diversion of $300,000 from the joint 
committee to so-called other uses that these funds will as well not be 
returned to the Treasury.
  And one of the reasons why the American people's trust in Congress is 
so low.
  Let us say for example I wanted to build a house. A contractor tells 
me he would build the house for $100,000. But the contractor, a 
reputable fellow, eventually builds the house for a price of $70,000 
and I have $30,000 to put back in the bank or not borrow in the first 
place. But if that contractor were to do business the same way Congress 
does, he would have kept $30,000.
  During the 102d and 103d Congress, I have introduced legislation that 
would give individual Members the ability to return unspent official 
expenses and clerk hire funds to the Treasury for deficit reduction.
  Let's give Congress more credibility. Let's give Congress more 
respect. Let's help life the cloud which descended on the House of 
Representatives following the House Bank and Post Office Scandals.
  Most importantly, let us rebuild the American people's trust in 
Congress.
  Let us make designating unspent funds from this House to deficit 
reduction a part of the House reform package. I am going to continue 
this effort, and I ask every Member to join me. It is one way Congress, 
by starting with itself, can show the American people it is serious 
about reducing the deficit. No, it is not the cure to solving the 
deficit, but it may show Congress can stop the symptoms of deficit 
spending in a responsible manner.

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