[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 194 (Thursday, December 7, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H14176-H14177]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         PUTTING CREDIBILITY BACK INTO HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

  (Mr. PETERSON of Florida asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PETERSON of Florida. Mr. Speaker, finally. Fourteen months we 
have waited patiently. We asked that we have a report. We asked the 
Committee on Ethics to do what it was supposed to do, to rule on the 
ethical conduct of its Members. That is its obligation.
  We finally have them acting, and I applaud their action. And I 
applaud today some of the Members stepping forward and saying ``Hey, 
this is a new day. Let's go forward with some bipartisanship.'' Let us 
stop the rancor on this floor. Let us put credibility back into this 
institution. But let us not forget that the Speaker is not immune to 
review from his ethical behavior. 

[[Page H 14177]]

  Three guilty verdicts, one dismissed, one to be investigated, one 
pending. We are all in here together. The Committee on Ethics is our 
committee. It is a membership committee. It is our grand jury. I regret 
we have had to bring pressure to bear for them to act, to do what they 
were asked to do in the first place. This is a time to move forward in 
a more bipartisan and a more ethical process.

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