[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 166 (Wednesday, October 25, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H10779-H10781]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    PRIVILEGES OF THE HOUSE--DIRECTING SPEAKER TO PROVIDE REMEDY IN 
      RESPONSE TO USE OF FORGED DOCUMENT AT A SUBCOMMITTEE HEARING

  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I offer a privileged resolution (H. Res. 
244) to direct the Speaker to provide an appropriate remedy in response 
to the use of a forged document at a subcommittee hearing, and ask for 
its immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 244

       Whereas, on September 28, 1995, the Subcommittee on 
     National Economic Growth, Natural Resources and Regulatory 
     Affairs of the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight 
     held a hearing on political advocacy of Federal grantees;
       Whereas, the president of the Alliance for Justice, a 
     national association of public interest and civil rights 
     organizations testified at that hearing;
       Whereas, a document was placed upon the press table for 
     distribution at the hearing which contained the letterhead, 
     including the name, address, phone number, fax number, and E-
     mail address of the Alliance for Justice, and the names of 
     certain member organizations and the dollar amounts of 
     Federal grants they received; 

[[Page H10780]]

       Whereas, in her opening statement at the hearing, the 
     president of the Alliance for Justice identified the document 
     as being forged and contained errors and requested an 
     explanation from the chairman of the subcommittee as to the 
     source of the document;
       Whereas, in response, the chairman acknowledged that the 
     document was created by the subcommittee staff;
       Whereas, House Information Resources, at the request of the 
     subcommittee staff, prepared the forged document;
       Whereas, the document was prepared using official funds;
       Whereas, the chairman of the subcommittee acknowledged in a 
     letter, dated September 28, 1995, to the president of the 
     Alliance for Justice that ``the graphics, unfortunately, 
     appeared to simulate the Alliance's letterhead'';
       Whereas, the September 29, 1995, issue of the National 
     Journal's CongressDaily reported that Representative 
     McIntosh's communications director said that ``the letterhead 
     was taken from a faxed document, scanned into their computer 
     system and altered''; and
       Whereas, questions continue to arise regarding the 
     responsibility for preparation of the forced document: the 
     chairman of the subcommittee stated during the hearing that 
     he had no prior knowledge of the document's preparation; the 
     chairman later stated that the subcommittee staff prepared 
     the document: and other published reports suggested that 
     Chairman McIntosh's personal office staff prepared the 
     document:
       Whereas, on September 27, 1995, the Speaker expressed 
     concern over the distribution of unattributed documents and 
     announced a policy requiring that materials disseminated on 
     the floor of the House must bear the name of the Member 
     authorizing their distribution;
       Whereas, Members and staff of the House have an obligation 
     to ensure the proper use of documents and other materials and 
     exhibits prepared for use at committee and subcommittee 
     hearings and which are made available to Members, the public 
     or the press, and to ensure that the source of such documents 
     or other materials is not misrepresented;
       Whereas, committees and subcommittees should not create 
     documents for use in their proceedings that may give the 
     impression that such documents were created by other persons 
     or organizations, as occurred at the September 28, 1995, 
     hearing of the Subcommittee on National Economic Growth, 
     Natural Resources and Regulatory Affairs;
       Whereas, the dissemination of a forged document distorts 
     the public record and affects the ability of the House of 
     Representatives, its committees, and Members to perform their 
     legislative functions, and constitutes a violation of the 
     integrity of committee proceedings which form a core of the 
     legislative process: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Speaker shall take such action as may be 
     necessary to provide an appropriate remedy to ensure that the 
     integrity of the legislative process is protected, and shall 
     report his actions and recommendations to the House.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Walker). The resolution constitutes a 
question of privileges of the House under rule IX.
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I am bringing to the floor of the House 
an issue of basic responsibility of the people who serve here either by 
election or appointment. This privileged resolution affirms the need 
for this House to ensure that all documents which come before us in an 
official capacity are accurate and authentic.
  We have an obligation to history, scholars, authors, and the courts 
to ensure that all who serve here are cognizant of this responsibility 
and are determined to carry it out. Senator Trent Lott, when he served 
in the House, made an eloquent statement of the importance of the 
sanctity of our records:

       For if the legislative history made by the duly elected 
     Representatives of the people is subject to malicious 
     alteration and distortion by anonymous, nonelected staffers, 
     then the credibility of this institution, the people's branch 
     is in serious jeopardy.
       All our written records become suddenly suspect in the eyes 
     of the people, the press, and the courts.
       How much weight, for instance, are the courts likely to 
     give to the legislative history we supposedly made as 
     Representatives when the actual source of that history is in 
     doubt? And yet that is the situation in which we find 
     ourselves until the guilty are found and punished and 
     adequate steps are taken to prevent the recurrence of such 
     abuse [Congressonal Record, June 30, 1983].

  We must guarantee that we are putting together a fair and accurate 
record of our legislative history. We cannot let our standards fall.
  In the past few weeks, I have participated in a number of 
hearings regarding the McIntosh-Istook-Ehrlich proposal to limit the 
political advocacy of organizations which receive Federal grants. Now, 
regardless of your position on this legislation, what occurred during 
the September 28 hearing cannot be ignored by anyone who believes that 
Congress must obey and follow the laws of the land. It cannot go 
unchallenged by anyone who claims to honorably represent the United 
States in these hallowed Halls of Congress. It cannot be accepted by 
those of us who have vowed to uphold the laws of the United States. In 
short, the unauthorized creation and falsification of documents, to be 
distributed to the general public, must not be tolerated.

  At a hearing of the Government Reform and Oversight Subcommittee on 
Economic Growth, Natural Resources, and Regulatory Affairs on September 
28, a document was placed on the press table which appeared to be on 
the letterhead of the Alliance for Justice. It included a logo, an 
address, phone number, fax number, e-mail address, and a listing of 
member organizations, laid out in such a manner as to replicate the 
alliance's own letterhead. Incorrect information was placed on this 
document, in such a way in which any reasonable person would believe it 
came from the Alliance for Justice. Because there was no disclaimer, 
anyone could have picked up this piece of paper, left the hearing, and 
remained under the false impression that this document came from the 
Alliance for Justice.
  However, upon closer examination during the hearing, it became clear 
that this document was falsified. The logo was incorrect, the names of 
some of the member groups were inaccurate, and the amount of the grants 
were in error. The chair of the subcommittee has admitted that his 
staff created this document, and, as stated by his communications 
director, they had taken a faxed document, had House Information 
Resources scan it into their computer system, and altered it.

  And, there appeared to be no understanding by the people who created 
the document of the seriousness of their actions.
  We need to assure that this kind of deception should not, and cannot, 
happen in the House of Representatives. And, today we must affirm this 
House's belief that all documents which are produced by us are 
authentic, accurate, and dependable.
  We are here to represent the people of the United States. And, 
particularly those of us on the Government Reform and Oversight 
Committee, we are here to provide oversight--to protect the people of 
this Nation from wrongdoing by the Government--the kind of wrongdoing 
we have witnessed by this incident.
  This resolution is designed to reaffirm, to the American people, our 
commitment to honesty and to history. It is to protect the integrity of 
the legislative history. It is to safeguard our legislative proceedings 
and to guarantee that what we do is trustworthy and honorable. Again, 
we must guarantee that we put together a fair and accurate record.
  Mr. Speaker, in the name of the men and women who have served this 
Congress in the past, and in the name of those who will come after us, 
we must be unwavering in our standards. Forgery will not be tolerated.
  I urge adoption of this resolution.


     motion to lay the resolution on the table offered by mr. armey

  Mr. ARMEY. Mr. Speaker, I offer a motion.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Mr. Armey moves to lay the resolution on the table.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Texas [Mr. Armey] to lay on the table the resolution 
offered by the gentlewoman from New York [Ms. Slaughter].
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.


                             recorded vote

  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.
  A recorded vote was ordered.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 236, 
noes 189, not voting 7, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 737]

                               AYES--236

     Allard
     Archer
     Armey
     Bachus
     Baker (CA)
     Baker (LA)
     Ballenger
     Barr
     Barrett (NE)
     Bartlett
     Barton
     Bass
     Bateman
     Bereuter
     Bilbray
     Bilirakis
     Bliley
     Blute
     Boehlert
     Boehner
     Bonilla
     Bono
     Brownback
     Bryant (TN)
     Bunn
     Bunning
     Burr
     Burton
     Buyer
     Callahan
     Calvert
     Camp
     Canady
     Castle
     Chabot
     Chambliss
     Chenoweth
     Christensen
     Chrysler
     Clinger
     Coble
     Coburn
     Collins (GA)
     Combest
     Condit
     Cooley
     Cox
     Crane
     Crapo
     Cremeans
     Cubin
     Cunningham
     Davis
     Deal
     DeLay
     Diaz-Balart
     Dickey
     Doolittle
     Dornan
     Dreier
     Duncan
     Dunn
     Ehlers
     Ehrlich
     Emerson
     English
     Ensign
     Everett
     Ewing
     Fawell
     Fields (TX)
     Flanagan
     Foley
     Forbes
     Fowler
     Fox
     Franks (CT)
     Franks (NJ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Frisa
     Funderburk
     Gallegly
     Ganske
     Gekas
     Geren
     Gilchrest
     Gillmor
     Gilman
     Goodlatte
     Goss
     Graham
     Greenwood
     Gunderson
     Gutknecht
     Hall (TX)
     Hancock
     Hansen
     Hastert
     Hastings (WA)
     Hayes
     Hayworth
     Hefley
     Heineman
     Herger
     Hilleary

[[Page H10781]]

     Hobson
     Hoekstra
     Hoke
     Hostettler
     Houghton
     Hunter
     Hutchinson
     Hyde
     Inglis
     Istook
     Jacobs
     Johnson (CT)
     Johnson, Sam
     Jones
     Kasich
     Kelly
     Kim
     King
     Kingston
     Klug
     Knollenberg
     Kolbe
     LaHood
     Largent
     Latham
     LaTourette
     Laughlin
     Lazio
     Leach
     Lewis (CA)
     Lewis (KY)
     Lightfoot
     Linder
     Livingston
     LoBiondo
     Longley
     Lucas
     Manzullo
     Martini
     McCollum
     McCrery
     McDade
     McHugh
     McInnis
     McIntosh
     McKeon
     Metcalf
     Meyers
     Mica
     Miller (FL)
     Molinari
     Moorhead
     Morella
     Myers
     Myrick
     Nethercutt
     Neumann
     Ney
     Norwood
     Nussle
     Oxley
     Packard
     Parker
     Paxon
     Peterson (MN)
     Petri
     Pombo
     Porter
     Portman
     Pryce
     Quillen
     Quinn
     Radanovich
     Ramstad
     Regula
     Riggs
     Roberts
     Rogers
     Rohrabacher
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Roth
     Roukema
     Royce
     Salmon
     Sanford
     Saxton
     Scarborough
     Schaefer
     Schiff
     Seastrand
     Sensenbrenner
     Shadegg
     Shaw
     Shays
     Shuster
     Skeen
     Smith (MI)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Smith (WA)
     Solomon
     Souder
     Spence
     Stearns
     Stockman
     Stump
     Talent
     Tate
     Tauzin
     Taylor (NC)
     Thomas
     Thornberry
     Tiahrt
     Torkildsen
     Upton
     Vucanovich
     Waldholtz
     Walker
     Walsh
     Wamp
     Watts (OK)
     Weldon (FL)
     Weller
     White
     Whitfield
     Wicker
     Wolf
     Young (AK)
     Young (FL)
     Zeliff
     Zimmer

                               NOES--189

     Abercrombie
     Ackerman
     Andrews
     Baesler
     Baldacci
     Barcia
     Barrett (WI)
     Becerra
     Beilenson
     Bentsen
     Berman
     Bevill
     Bishop
     Bonior
     Borski
     Boucher
     Brewster
     Browder
     Brown (CA)
     Brown (FL)
     Brown (OH)
     Bryant (TX)
     Cardin
     Clay
     Clayton
     Clement
     Clyburn
     Coleman
     Collins (IL)
     Collins (MI)
     Conyers
     Costello
     Coyne
     Cramer
     Danner
     de la Garza
     DeFazio
     DeLauro
     Dellums
     Deutsch
     Dicks
     Dingell
     Dixon
     Doggett
     Dooley
     Doyle
     Durbin
     Edwards
     Engel
     Eshoo
     Evans
     Farr
     Fattah
     Fazio
     Filner
     Flake
     Foglietta
     Ford
     Frank (MA)
     Frost
     Furse
     Gejdenson
     Gephardt
     Gibbons
     Gonzalez
     Gordon
     Green
     Gutierrez
     Hall (OH)
     Hamilton
     Harman
     Hastings (FL)
     Hefner
     Hilliard
     Hinchey
     Holden
     Horn
     Hoyer
     Jackson-Lee
     Jefferson
     Johnson (SD)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Johnston
     Kanjorski
     Kaptur
     Kennedy (MA)
     Kennedy (RI)
     Kennelly
     Kildee
     Kleczka
     Klink
     LaFalce
     Lantos
     Levin
     Lewis (GA)
     Lincoln
     Lipinski
     Lofgren
     Lowey
     Luther
     Maloney
     Manton
     Markey
     Martinez
     Mascara
     Matsui
     McCarthy
     McDermott
     McHale
     McKinney
     McNulty
     Meehan
     Meek
     Menendez
     Mfume
     Miller (CA)
     Minge
     Mink
     Moakley
     Mollohan
     Montgomery
     Moran
     Murtha
     Nadler
     Neal
     Oberstar
     Obey
     Olver
     Ortiz
     Orton
     Owens
     Pallone
     Pastor
     Payne (NJ)
     Payne (VA)
     Pelosi
     Peterson (FL)
     Pickett
     Pomeroy
     Poshard
     Rahall
     Rangel
     Reed
     Richardson
     Rivers
     Roemer
     Rose
     Roybal-Allard
     Rush
     Sabo
     Sanders
     Sawyer
     Schroeder
     Schumer
     Scott
     Serrano
     Skaggs
     Skelton
     Slaughter
     Spratt
     Stark
     Stenholm
     Stokes
     Studds
     Stupak
     Tanner
     Taylor (MS)
     Tejeda
     Thompson
     Thornton
     Thurman
     Torres
     Torricelli
     Towns
     Traficant
     Velazquez
     Vento
     Visclosky
     Ward
     Waters
     Watt (NC)
     Waxman
     Williams
     Wilson
     Wise
     Woolsey
     Wyden
     Wynn
     Yates

                             NOT VOTING--7

     Chapman
     Fields (LA)
     Goodling
     Sisisky
     Tucker
     Volkmer
     Weldon (PA)

                              {time}  1530

  So the motion to table was agreed to.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________