[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 96 (Tuesday, June 13, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H5777]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         INDEPENDENT COUNSEL NEEDED TO INVESTIGATE THE SPEAKER

  (Mr. VOLKMER asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. VOLKMER. Mr. Speaker, the winter snows have come and gone, the 
cherry blossoms have blown away, and a tulip cannot be found around the 
Capitol. Yet stonewalling by the Ethics Committee has failed to bring 
an independent counsel to investigate the Speaker. I would like to tell 
my colleagues that there is one issue that I agree on 100 percent with 
the Speaker. I believe that we should give him just what he asked for 
when he raised questions concerning then-Speaker Wright. A 1988 press 
release stated ``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 * * *''.
  Mr. Speaker, it is time that we removed these sinister dark clouds 
that hang over these Chambers: We need an independent counsel. I can 
not say it better than you did in 1988, ``It is vital that the Ethics 
Committee hire outside counsel and pursue these questions thoroughly. 
The trust of the public and the integrity of the House will accept no 
lower standard.''

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