[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 87 (Wednesday, May 24, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H5487]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


   A 1988 QUOTATION BY THE CUR- RENT SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE

  (Mr. GUTIERREZ asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, I would like to explain why the Speaker's 
alleged ethics violations require a full and thorough investigation.
  But, I do not think I can say anything original.
  Someone already said it best 7 years ago here on the House floor.
  Let me first read the quote from 1988, and then you guess who said 
it.
  I quote:

       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 * * * the second-
     most powerful elected position in America. Clearly this 
     investigation has to meet a higher standard of public 
     accountability  * * * the integrity of the House is at stake.

  OK--who said it? Sound familiar?
  Well, here is a hint--he is from Georgia.
  And, he has got a big office.
  Yes, the speaker of that quote is the current Speaker of the House: 
Congressman Newt Gingrich.
  Well, here is a chance for the Speaker to put his money where his 
mouth is--or, at least, where it was.
  Simply ask your hand-picked Ethics Committee to select an outside 
counsel with broad powers, just as you wanted in 1988.
  The moral is this: You have to live by the words you speak, even when 
you are the Speaker.


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