[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 18 (Monday, January 30, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H843-H844]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     APPOINTMENT OF OUTSIDE COUNSEL TO INVESTIGATE SPEAKER GINGRICH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 4, 1995, the gentlewoman from Connecticut [Ms. DeLauro] is 
recognized during morning business for 5 minutes.
  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, the need for an outside counsel to 
investigate Speaker Gingrich's financial empire grows stronger with 
each passing day.
  Today there is an article in the Los Angeles Times which raises new 
questions about the Speaker's political fund raising organization, an 
organization known as GOPAC.
  Earlier this month there were details of a secret meeting between the 
Speaker and Rupert Murdoch and that was leaked to the press. The 
meeting raised some questions because Mr. Murdoch has billions of 
dollars of business before the Congress, and at that same time there 
was a $4.5 million book deal that was on the table.
  The Speaker dismissed this meeting and its content or its import by 
saying that, ``I never get involved in cases like this,'' but history 
in fact tells us otherwise. The Speaker has interceded on behalf of 
companies in the past, including writing a letter to Chief of Staff 
Leon Panetta asking the FDA to speed 
[[Page H844]] up the approval process of one of his pharmaceutical 
company's products. Lo and behold, the pharmaceutical company devoted 
$30,000 or an amount thereabouts to the Progress in Freedom 
Foundation's conservative think tank organization that does in fact 
have ties to the Speaker.
  Today's Los Angeles Times has an expose on GOPAC. It provides us with 
some really rather startling information. GOPAC, again a Republican 
fund-raising machine, has raised millions of dollars without telling us 
who the donors are. The amount raised, according to the Los Angeles 
Times, is much higher than that which is allowed by laws governing 
campaign fund-raising. One couple, it is reported, have given about 
$715,000 over 8 years, and this was a quote from the L.A. Times, 
``nearly twice what they could have donated directly to all Federal 
candidates.''
  Despite claims to the contrary, GOPAC appears to be very involved in 
getting Republican candidates elected to the Congress. Again, according 
to the Los Angeles Times and I quote, ``GOPAC boasts that half of the 
136 elected Republicans since 1990 actively used the group's training 
materials and followed its advice on how to attack Democrats.''
  Quoting the former GOPAC chairman, and I quote, ``Of course we 
couldn't have captured the House without GOPAC.'' How can this be? We 
have been told, the American people have been told that GOPAC's 
multimillion dollar organization did not involve itself in more than 10 
percent of the time in Federal election issues.
  And the American people need to understand this: We have sent this 
complex issue to be investigated by the House Ethics Committee, where 
many of the Members could be recipients of help from the very group 
that they are in fact going to investigate.
  Really never has there been a clearer case for investigation by a 
nonpartisan, nonpartisan outside counsel. GOPAC has been too secretive 
with its finances. People need to know why. Why are the names of the 
contributors secret? Is it, as was suggested in the Los Angeles Times 
by the former GOPAC chair, because their donors say, and again I quote, 
``what if GOPAC did something wrong and I was associated with it?''
  Let us open the books. Let us have an open and fair and honest 
review. Let us make the American public understand who are the 
contributors to GOPAC, what are their relationships with the U.S. 
Congress.
  We need to have an outside counsel look at this. That is simple, very 
clear and open, and without any aforementioned judgment, but let us 
have a look at what this is all about.


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