[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 25 (Wednesday, March 9, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 9, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
             POST OFFICE INVESTIGATION SWEPT UNDER THE RUG

                                 ______


                            HON. ROB PORTMAN

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 9, 1994

  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, if the House of Representatives is to 
continue to be trusted to police itself, allegations of wrongdoing--
especially those as serious as those raised in connection with the 
House post office--must be pursued with vigor and speed. This 
institution, if it is to maintain its ability to govern, must first 
show it can govern itself. The House must not be party to a coverup. 
The post office scandal has now festered in the House for more than 2 
years, and still, there are some Members who would prolong a full 
investigation despite the American public's deafening cries for 
accountability in Congress.
  Last week, the House voted to reject a privileged resolution by my 
colleague, Mr. Istook, to instruct the Ethics Committee to begin an 
immediate investigation of the House post office. The proposal was not 
that this investigation hinder the Justice Department probe; in face, 
it would be done in coordination with the U.S. attorney's ongoing 
investigation into the possibility of criminal behavior. The House 
ethics investigation would have simply determined whether House rules 
were broken or public funds were embezzled by Members of Congress who 
used the House post office. Such an investigation should have taken 
place early on--not having happened, it should now be undertaken as 
soon as possible.
  But instead of voting to get to the bottom of this insidious matter 
that hangs over the House, 238 Members voted to do nothing.
  Only last July, former House Postmaster Robert Rota pleaded guilty to 
embezzlement and conspiring with Members of Congress to exchange 
postage stamps for cash. Rota detailed an elaborate scheme in which he 
allegedly gave several Representatives cash from post office funds, 
while making it appear they were buying stamps for official use. He 
revealed that this arrangement had been going on since 1979.

  Since 1979. And yet, some Members of the House think it's better to 
hold off on an internal ethics investigation.
  The House is back to business as usual politics. If this were a 
private business, you can bet a criminal investigation would not stand 
in the way of an internal review. How can Congress, which has given 
itself the authority to police itself, adhere to anything but the 
highest ethical standards? Why does this body even have an ethics 
committee if a majority of Members are bent on stonewalling its 
investigations?
  While the Justice Department looks into the possibility of criminal 
behavior at the House post office, it is the unique responsibility of 
Congress to investigate the possibility of unethical behavior on the 
part of its Members. There is ample precedent showing that such an 
internal probe, properly carried out, need not interfere with any 
Federal prosecution.
  There is simply no legitimate reason to hold up this investigation. 
To do so, only gives it the appearance of a coverup. Members of 
Congress must prove that they are capable of cleaning their own house, 
not sweeping important issues under the rug. Only by adhering to the 
very highest ethical standards can Congress salvage what's left of the 
public trust.

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