[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 194 (Thursday, December 7, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H14179]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1130
              ETHICAL QUESTIONS REGARDING SPEAKER ARE REAL

  (Mr. WYNN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WYNN. Mr. Speaker, throughout this morning's discussion, one 
would get the impression that the ethics questions we are considering 
here today are purely a matter of partisan politics; that is, the 
Democrats versus the Republicans as usual.
  Some people want to count the number of complaints. Some people want 
to say, well, this is stump water politics. All I want to do is read 
what the bipartisan Democrat and Republican Committee on Standards of 
Official Conduct had to say, and I think the words will speak for 
themselves.
  Referring to the Speaker, they said in a letter of December 6, 1995:

       The committee strongly questions the appropriateness of 
     what some would describe as an attempt by you to capitalize 
     on your office. At a minimum, this creates the impression of 
     exploiting one's office for personal gain. Such a perception 
     is especially troubling when it pertains to the office of the 
     Speaker of the House, a constitutional office requiring the 
     highest standards of ethical behavior.

  Mr. Speaker, this is not back water, stump water politics or partisan 
politics. Both Democrats and Republicans agree there is a problem. We 
now have a special counsel. We will leave it to him to look into the 
details.

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