[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 19 (Tuesday, January 31, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H897-H898]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


           THE PUNISHMENT IS NOT COMMENSURATE WITH THE CRIME

  (Mr. JOHNSTON of Florida asked and was given permission to address 
the 
[[Page H898]] House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. JOHNSTON of Florida. Mr. Speaker, in the Rubaiyat of Omar 
Khayyam, by Edward FitzGerald, he wrote:

     The moving finger writes; and having writ,
     Moves on: Nor all your piety nor wit
     Shall lure it back to cancel half a line,
     Nor all your tears wash out a word of it.

  Mr. Speaker, on this floor, the spoken word is just as indelible as 
the written word.
  A Member may defame anyone he chooses--the President of the United 
States, the Speaker of the House, the minorty leader--with total 
impunity. The offending party may have his words stricken and be 
prohibited from speaking for 24 hours. But the punishment is not 
commensurate with the crime, particularly when the words are 
perpetuated on C-Span and the nightly three major networks.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly recommend the majority party seriously 
consider amending its rules to have a more severe expedited penalty for 
the sake of civility and also for the sake of this body, particularly 
when abusive language can be repeated in lieu of an apology.

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