[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 79 (Friday, May 12, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H4902]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            CALLING FOR THE NAMING OF AN INDEPENDENT COUNSEL

  (Mr. VOLKMER asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. VOLKMER. Mr. Speaker, today marks the 113th day since the 
formation of the House Ethics Committee, and no substantial action has 
yet been taken with regard to our imperial Speaker's serious ethics 
problems. Four very serious complaints have been filed and have been 
pending before the Ethics Committee now for months, yet no action. It 
is obvious that an independent counsel is needed. I advise the Ethics 
Committee to follow the advice that Congressman Gingrich gave on July 
28, 1988, when he said,

       The rules normally applied by the Ethics Committee to an 
     investigation of a typical Member are insufficient in an 
     investigation of the Speaker of the House . . . clearly this 
     investigation has to meet a higher standard of public 
     accountability.

  I call on Chairperson Johnson and members of the Ethics Committee to 
quit dragging their feet and name an independent counsel. Inactivity by 
the Ethics Committee and press releases from the Gingrich legal team 
will not clear up this most serious situation. An independent counsel 
will.


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