[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 146 (Tuesday, September 19, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H9144]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       FOLLOW THE SAME RULES MR. GINGRICH ASKED FOR BACK IN 1988

  (Mr. BONIOR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, today's New York Times reports that the 
Committee on Standards of Official Conduct has finally decided to 
appoint an outside counsel to investigate Speaker Gingrich. In 1988, 
Mr. Gingrich himself offered some advice on how much authority outside 
counsel should have.


                             point of order

  Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I have a point of order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman will state his point of order.
  Mr. EHLERS. My point of order is that the Member is proceeding to 
discuss a matter pending before the Committee on Standards of Official 
Conduct and that is out of order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members shall refrain from discussing issues 
pending before the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.
  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I wish to be heard on a point of order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from Connecticut [Ms. 
DeLauro] will state her point of order.
  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, on March 8, 1995, Speaker Gingrich 
announced a new policy concerning speech on the House floor. Let me 
quote directly from his announcement:

       The fact is, Members of the House are allowed to say 
     virtually anything on the House floor . . . It is protected 
     and has been for 200 years . . . It is written into the 
     Constitution.

  My point of order is: Does this new policy apply in this case?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair informs the gentlewoman from 
Connecticut that the Chair has properly related the rules of the House 
as interpreted from the Chair.
  Ms. DeLAURO. So that the rules of the House have changed since 1988 
when the Speaker at that time was able to make his comments?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The rules of the House have not changed. The 
rules of the House are being enforced.
  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, the rules of the House in 1988 allowed the 
then Mr. Gingrich to make his comment about an investigation before the 
Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. Have the rules of the House 
now changed?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair is not aware of any point of order 
at that time. The rule is currently being enforced in response to a 
point of order.
  The gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Bonior] may proceed in order.
  Mr. BONIOR. Let me then, Mr. Speaker, refer, if I might, to the 
history going back to 1988 and the then-Member from the State of 
Georgia, Mr. Gingrich, offering advice on how much authority an outside 
counsel should have.
  He wrote,

       The outside counsel should have full authority to 
     investigate and present evidence and arguments before the 
     ethics committee concerning the question arising out of the 
     activities of (at that time) Speaker Wright. It should have 
     full authority to organize and hire staff. It should have 
     full authority to review all documentary evidence available 
     from any source and have full cooperation from the committee. 
     The committee shall give the outside counsel full cooperation 
     in the issuance of subpoenas.

  Mr. Speaker, I call upon my colleagues and this Committee on 
Standards of Official Conduct to follow the same rules that the 
gentleman from Georgia [Mr. Gingrich] has asked back in 1988.

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