[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 33 (Tuesday, March 22, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 22, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]


                              {time}  1050
 
                               WHITEWATER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. LaROCCO). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of February 11, 1994, the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Sam Johnson, 
is recognized during morning business for 2\1/2\ minutes.
  Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, yesterday the chairman of the 
Banking Committee, and my colleague, the gentleman from Texas [Mr. 
Gonzalez] abruptly canceled Thursday's scheduled oversight hearings 
involving the Resolution Trust Corporation [RTC]. As required by law, 
should Congress not obey the law?
  Mr. Gonzalez' decision to delay this hearing comes after several 
weeks of personal efforts to deny House Republicans on the Banking 
Committee access to documents and answers to legitimate oversight 
questions involving the failure of Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan in 
Arkansas.
  In an effort to offer the carrot with the stick, Mr. Gonzalez also 
wrote a letter yesterday to Speaker Foley, requesting that special 
hearings be held on the matter of Whitewater.
  Within the past 2 weeks, Mr. Gonzalez has written to Federal 
regulators to suggest that documents related to Madison be withheld. He 
also advised those same regulators in a subsequent letter that they 
need not answer questions related to Madison when they appeared at the 
now delayed RTC hearings.
  This same delicate handling was not in evidence in the past for 
Silverado Savings & Loan. I have to wonder if there is an inconsistency 
here.
  In trying to hide issues related to Whitewater, Mr. Gonzalez has 
prevented the Banking Committee from conducting its regular oversight 
of a historically mismanaged bureaucracy--the RTC.
  Mr. Gonzalez should not allow political and partisan concerns to 
regulate the business of the House Banking Committee. In his job as 
chairman he is a conduit for the legislative process. Oversight of the 
RTC is needed and should not be sacrificed to protect those related to 
the Whitewater case--just as we have not protected others in the past.
  When I learned of the effect that Whitewater rumors were having on 
domestic and international markets last week, I wrote the Speaker 
myself. If you are interested, that letter appeared in the Dallas 
Morning News last Friday, March 18.
  I ask again for my friend from Texas to hold the oversight hearings 
which are legally within the Banking Committee's purview, and I submit 
my letter to the Speaker for the Record, as follows:


                                     House of Representatives,

                                   Washington, DC, March 11, 1994.
     Hon. Thomas S. Foley,
     Speaker, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Speaker: The reaction of domestic and foreign 
     financial markets to unsubstantiated rumors about the death 
     of former Deputy White House Counsel Vincent W. Foster, and 
     the Whitewater affair, prove beyond question that America's 
     economic stability is being impacted by the failure to 
     resolve issues involving these matters.
       Today's Washington Post quotes a New York source as saying 
     that, ``Whitewater is rapidly becoming an `investable' 
     event''. Changes occurring in foreign markets are attributed 
     to the fact that, ``Foreigners are focusing on Whitewater for 
     the first time.''
       Markets, which are based on risk, are responding 
     accordingly. Yesterday's drop in the Dow Jones industrial 
     average of nearly 23 points, rise in the yield of 30-year 
     Treasury bonds and flow of capital to gold and other ``safe 
     havens'' all reveal a softening in the markets over 
     Whitewater concerns.
       An article in the Wall Street Journal states:
       ``Fallout from wild speculation regarding the suicide last 
     year of Deputy White House Counsel Vincent Foster as well as 
     President Clinton's past financial dealings moved from 
     Washington to Wall Street, where stock and bond markets 
     tumbled.''
       Clearly, the time is now and the responsibility is ours to 
     restore confidence in the federal government.
       Waiting on the Special Prosecutor to complete his 
     investigation of possible criminal wrongdoing before we act 
     is not an option. His activity will consume many months 
     before a resolution is at hand. The extensive course of his 
     work is not a proper excuse for our failure to fulfill our 
     responsibilities to govern.
       In 1991, in reference to allegations that Republicans had 
     sought to delay the release of hostages in Iran, you were 
     quoted as saying: ``We have no conclusive evidence of 
     wrongdoing, but the seriousness of the allegations, and the 
     weight of circumstantial information, compel an effort to 
     establish the facts.''
       While there is considerable disagreement about whether 
     criminal wrongdoing is attributable to the President, there 
     can be no doubt that the allegations are serious and the 
     weight of circumstantial evidence is overwhelming.
       For the record, the following appear to be unchallenged 
     fact:
       A member of the White House staff who was intimately 
     involved in Whitewater is dead;
       Senior staff at the White House intervened in the FBI and 
     U.S. Park Police investigation of that death and removed 
     records related to Whitewater from the deceased's office;
       Top administration officials were involved in what the 
     President has termed ``improper'' meetings with White House 
     staff about a federal criminal referral involving Madison 
     Guaranty Savings and Loan;
       The President's counsel has resigned as a result of 
     meetings regarding Madison Guaranty and Whitewater;
       Ten individuals in this administration have been subpoenaed 
     to appear before a federal grand jury regarding contacts 
     about Whitewater and/or Madison Guaranty Savings and Loan;
       The Secretary of the Treasury has initiated an independent 
     investigation by the Office of Government Ethics over 
     contacts involving Whitewater and Madison Guaranty Savings 
     and Loan.
       Evidence that officials close to the President have 
     involved themselves in matters related to Whitewater begs the 
     question about this administration's earlier actions and 
     appointments involving federal law enforcement and 
     independent regulatory organizations. Specifically:
       This administration asked for the resignations of every 
     United States Attorney shortly after taking office;
       A friend of the President was appointed the United States 
     Attorney in Little Rock;
       A former law partner of Hillary Rodham Clinton was 
     appointed to the number three position in the U.S. Justice 
     Department before the Attorney General had been appointed;
       The top positions at the Resolution Trust Corporation and 
     the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation have been filled 
     for over a year by ``temporary'' appointments with ties to 
     the President;
       The circumstantial evidence, public allegations about the 
     President, and admitted improper behavior by White House 
     staff would seem to meet your above referenced standards for 
     congressional hearings.
       Vice President Al Gore, during his tenure in Congress, gave 
     a speech on the floor of the Senate about the so-called 
     ``October Surprise''. Then-Senator Gore said:
       ``The evidence which has thus far trickled into the public 
     domain is still fragmentary. Much of it is circumstantial, 
     but it is compelling. If the allegations are not true, the 
     country needs to know they are not true.''
       Vice President Gore's concern about the public's need to 
     know the truth is even more relevant now, because financial 
     markets are reacting to unsubstantiated rumors about the 
     President's involvement in matters involving Whitewater and 
     Madison Guaranty Savings and Loan.
       Earlier this week you dismissed calls for Congressional 
     hearings on this matter because, as you firmly stated: 
     ``There is no evidence of any kind of wrongdoing in this 
     matter. None.''
       The President and his aides have made similar statements. 
     In fact, conventional wisdom, as reported by the press, is 
     that the bungling by administration and White House staff has 
     been more damaging to the President than anything he did 
     prior to taking office.
       Given your unqualified support for the President and his 
     disavowal of any wrongdoing, it seems to me that there is 
     every reason to hold Congressional hearings which would 
     ``clear the air'' on this matter.
       Despite the President's public statements and the majority 
     party's reassurances, international and domestic financial 
     markets and the American public are losing confidence in this 
     President's ability to govern. Every attempt so far to dispel 
     these concerns has been unsuccessful.
       As a member of the House Committee on Banking, Finance and 
     Urban Affairs, it is my responsibility to be aware of how 
     these matters are affecting financial markets. As members of 
     Congress, it is our responsibility to ensure the functioning 
     of the federal government. We are not fulfilling our duties 
     if we delay any longer holding formal congressional hearings 
     on the President's involvement with Madison Guaranty, his 
     dealings related to Whitewater, and issues surrounding the 
     death of Vincent Foster.
       As Speaker of the House of Representatives, the most senior 
     elected official under the Constitution not in the executive 
     branch, you must initiate congressional hearings on these 
     matters.
       I appreciate your attention to this important matter and 
     await your response.
           Sincerely,
                                                      Sam Johnson,
     Member of Congress.

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