[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 71 (Thursday, June 9, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


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

 
       FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION AUTHORIZATION ACT OF 1994

  The Senate continued with the consideration of the bill.
  Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. President, in the last several hours, several 
Republican Senators have come to the Senate floor to discuss the so-
called Whitewater matter. I want to take a few moments to respond to 
some of the statements which have been made.
  Before doing so, I want to note that a funny thing happened on the 
way to the Senate floor. For weeks, our Republican colleagues have been 
giving speeches and holding press conferences and issuing statements 
demanding a vote in the Senate on the Whitewater matter. The chant 
became a veritable mantra: We want a vote on the Whitewater matter.
  Well, Mr. President, here we are in the Senate, and we have debated 
the Whitewater matter for several hours. We are prepared to vote, we 
would like to vote, and now our Republican colleagues will not permit a 
vote to occur.
  After all of these weeks, and all of these statements, and all of 
these demands, and all of these ultimatums, saying they want to vote on 
Whitewater, here we are ready, willing, able, and eager to vote on 
Whitewater, and our Republican colleagues now will not permit a vote on 
it.
  In effect, they are filibustering their own issue. They have 
apparently become so addicted to the filibuster to delay matters in the 
Senate, that they are now delaying their own issue. They are preventing 
a vote from occurring on the very issue on which they have been 
demanding a vote for weeks.
  Why is that so? Why, the American people may ask, would a group of 
Senators who have been saying for weeks we want a vote, we demand a 
vote, we insist on a vote, now when they have a chance for a vote, not 
only refuse to vote but will not let anyone else vote on it?
  The answer is obvious. They are not interested in a vote on the 
Whitewater issue. They are not interested in an investigation of the 
Whitewater issue. They are interested in a political circus to attack 
President Clinton.
  Otherwise unexplainable actions, some others of which I will describe 
here in a moment, all become understandable and explainable when you 
realize the motive behind this is raw partisan politics. Any weapon 
they have to throw at President Clinton they will do so. And that is 
what this is all about.
  Nearly 70 percent of the American people in poll after poll have 
confirmed that they know--they know--that the Republican effort on 
Whitewater is purely political, that they are not really interested in 
an investigation, and everything that has occurred on the Senate floor 
today confirms that judgment. This is a political circus. It is not a 
serious inquiry. This has one motive and one motive only, and that is 
to attack President Clinton.
  A year ago we in this Senate debated the important and controversial 
issue of our Nation's economic policy, and Republican Senator after 
Republican Senator--many of the same Senators who stood here today--got 
up and said if the President's economic plan passes the deficit will go 
up, unemployment will go up, and economic growth will go down. And 
every single one of them voted against the President's economic plan.
  It passed. And what has happened since then? The opposite of what 
they said would happen. The deficit has gone way down, unemployment has 
gone way down to the lowest level in many years, and economic growth is 
way up.
  In the first year of President Clinton's administration, more jobs 
were created in America than in the previous 5 years of Republican 
administrations. And the economic growth in the country has been so 
rapid that the Federal Reserve Board has raised interest rates four 
times in the last months to try to slow down economic growth.
  Well, of course we have seen the long faces on the Republican side of 
the aisle as the good economic news has come rolling across the 
country. They do not have an economic program, they do not have a 
program to create jobs in America. I would like to ask this question: 
Everybody in America knows the Republican program on Whitewater. Is 
there a single person in America who knows the Republican program for 
economic growth and job creation? The answer is no, because there is 
not one.
  For all colleagues this Whitewater issue is like manna from heaven. 
Lacking any program of their own to deal with the serious problems of 
the country, not having anything positive to say, here comes Whitewater 
and it is great ammunition to throw sticks and stones at President 
Clinton.
  That is what it is all about. That is what it is all about. They 
figure if they throw enough at him some of it will stick.
  We have heard here on the Senate floor today some wild statements, 
reckless statements, in an attempt by innuendo to criticize President 
Clinton. Americans have heard the word ``innuendo'' a lot. If you look 
it up in the dictionary what it says is it is a veiled reference to 
criticize someone's character or reputation.
  Ladies and gentlemen of America, we have seen innuendo in action here 
in the Senate all day today. Statements like this: millions of dollars 
through accounts; four verified attempts on a person's life; money 
laundering, none of which has anything to do with President Clinton, 
but all of which were stated by Republican Senators in an effort to 
suggest by innuendo that President Clinton has something to do with 
these matters.
  Mr. President and Members of the Senate, we are seeing raw partisan 
politics. The American people know what is going on here, and 
everything that has occurred here this afternoon has confirmed their 
judgment.
  Let me respond to some of the comments that were made here today 
before making a few concluding remarks.
  First, how many times have we heard speeches by Republican colleagues 
criticizing investigations that are open ended with no time limit, no 
spending limit, that go on too long and cost too much? Dozens, hundreds 
of times. Yet, here come our Republican colleagues with a resolution to 
have an investigation with no time limit, no money limit, and virtually 
no limit on the scope, completely open ended; the opposite of their 
statements on the subject.
  With respect to the length of time, we were told today that for just 
this preliminary phase of the investigation, going to the end of this 
year is not long enough, half a year is not long enough to have an 
investigation on these limited subjects. And yet, when we had the Iran-
Contra matter before us, the Republican position was that the entire 
investigation should be completed in 2 weeks. That was the position 
advanced by Republican Senators in Iran-Contra, that the entire 
investigation should be completed in 2 weeks. And the same Republican 
Senators now come and say that the rest of this year is not long enough 
to investigate the limited subjects before us.
  It was argued here today by our colleagues that the resolution 
approved by the Senate by a vote of 98 to 0 on March 17 of this year 
offered support for their contention that the scope of our resolution 
is too narrow. And in support of that they quoted from section (B) of 
that resolution which provided for appropriate congressional oversight, 
including hearings on all matters related to Madison Guaranty Savings & 
Loan Association, Whitewater Development Corp., and Capital Management 
Services, Inc.
  What they did not quote was paragraph (D) of the same resolution 
which provides the hearings should be structured and sequenced--and 
sequenced--in such a manner that in the judgment of the leaders they 
would not interfere with the ongoing investigation of special counsel 
Robert B. Fiske, Jr.
  That is precisely what the resolution we have offered proposes to do, 
structure the hearings in a sequence that does not interfere with the 
special counsel's investigation. So that this phase of the Senate 
hearings would be limited to those phases of the special counsel's 
investigation that are completed, and remaining hearings would occur 
when the remaining phases of his investigation are completed.
  The resolution we have offered is precisely consistent with, and 
directly implements, the resolution passed by the Senate by a vote of 
98 to 0 and supported by every Republican Senator who voted on it. By 
contrast the resolution offered by our Republican colleagues would 
directly contradict the resolution of March 17 and directly interfere 
with and undermine the special counsel's investigation.
  Furthermore, the resolution offered by our Republican colleagues 
creates a new and unprecedented power that in the time we have had to 
research it has never been granted in the Senate.
  And when I asked the author of the resolution if there was any 
authority or precedent for this power, he said he knew of none. That is 
the power in their resolution that would give the ranking Republican 
member on the committee independent authority to issue subpoenas. We 
can find no record of that having occurred in the Senate before.
  And yet, this brand new, sweeping, unprecedented power is requested 
in their resolution. Why? For obvious reasons. They know that 
legitimate subpoenas will be authorized in accordance with the Senate's 
rules and established procedures and Senate precedents. They want the 
right to go on completely independent fishing expeditions. That is what 
this is, a fishing expedition-- ``Let's see if we can find something 
else to throw at President Clinton. Maybe somewhere there is something 
that somebody can use to attack the President's character or 
reputation.''
  That is what this is all about, and Americans know it.
  Mr. President, of all of the statements that were made today by our 
Republican colleagues, perhaps the one that is the most incredible and 
most difficult to accept was the statement made by our colleagues that 
they are really doing this to help President Clinton.
  Now, we have all heard some tall tales told in the U.S. Senate. But I 
ask, is there a Member of the Senate who believes that the Republican 
Senators are demanding this Whitewater investigation because they 
really want to help President Clinton? Is there a person listening to 
this debate who believes that? Is there a person in America who 
believes that? I do not think there is a single American who believes 
the statement made today by our Republican colleagues that they are 
pushing this Whitewater investigation because they really want to help 
President Clinton.
  I can only say this to President Clinton: With friends like these, 
you do not need any enemies.
  Mr. President, that is so obviously incorrect, so transparent, I am 
surprised people can stand up and say it with a straight face. But I 
suppose, having said all of the other things that they have said, it 
should not be surprising.
  Let me repeat now what I have said over and over again privately and 
publicly. The Senate has a serious constitutional and legal 
responsibility to meet in this matter. It will do so. It will do so at 
a time and in a structure and under a circumstance which does not 
interfere with or undermine the special counsel's investigation. We 
will not be a party to a political circus, no matter how hard our 
colleagues try to make it one.
  Our Republican colleagues asked for the appointment of a special 
counsel. A special counsel was appointed. He is a Republican, a 
lifelong Republican, an experienced prosecutor, whose appointment was 
praised by our Republican colleagues. They heaped lavish praise on his 
integrity.
  But no sooner had he assumed the position when they reversed 
themselves and began to ask for immediate congressional hearings, even 
though that special counsel, in public and private statements and in 
writing, asked that there not be a congressional investigation that 
interferes with his ongoing investigation.
  Having got what they wanted in the special counsel, having praised 
the special counsel, they then shifted gears to demand immediate 
congressional hearings.
  And this zigging and zagging, flipping and flopping, shifting back 
and forth is all understandable if you understand that they are not 
serious about an investigation.
  What they really want to do is to use it as a weapon to attack 
President Clinton. That became clear on the issue of immunity.
  Mr. President, nothing said here today exposes more clearly the 
motive involved on the other side. In the resolution approved by the 
Senate in March by a vote of 98 to zero, it is stated, ``No witness 
called to testify at these hearings shall be granted immunity''--no 
witness shall be granted immunity. And that was put in at the request 
of our Republican colleagues.
  Now, today, the author of the Republican amendment spends a great 
deal of time arguing why the committee should have the authority to 
grant immunity. After they requested that there be no immunity, after 
they all voted for a resolution which says explicitly, as clearly and 
plainly as the English language can be used, ``No witness called to 
testify at these hearings shall be granted immunity,'' now, today, they 
tell us, ``Oh, well, there really ought to be the power to grant 
immunity.'' It is a complete flip-flop. It is a complete zig-zag. It is 
a complete reversal.
  It is understandable only if you understand the motive of what is 
going on here. The motive is not a serious investigation. The motive is 
to attack President Clinton any way they can.
  Mr. President, I regret that we cannot vote on this matter tonight. I 
am disappointed that, after weeks and weeks of our colleagues demanding 
a vote on the matter, that, when we say, ``OK, let's us vote,'' they 
say, ``No, no, no; we can't vote.''
  They are actively preventing a vote from occurring on the very issue 
which they themselves have been publicly demanding a vote for several 
weeks. As I said, that is explainable only if you understand that they 
are not serious about a vote, not serious about an investigation but 
want only to keep the issue alive as a way of criticizing President 
Clinton.
  Well, he is going to get past this and we are going to get past this. 
And at some point they will have to vote on their own issue or simply 
withdraw it. But I think their action in that regard makes clear the 
motive and the purpose here.
  I hope my colleagues will decisively reject their alternative and 
will approve the resolution we have submitted to do the responsible, 
reasonable, appropriate thing, consistent with the Senate's legal 
obligation, consistent with the vote in the Senate of March, and 
consistent with and not undermining the special counsel's 
investigation.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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