[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 199 (Thursday, December 14, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H14877]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           ETHICS COMMITTEE NAILS DOWN BOOK ADVANCE LOOPHOLE

  (Mr. POMEROY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. POMEROY. Mr. Speaker, I think every Member of this body 1 years 
ago felt embarrassment when we learned that the incoming Speaker, Newt 
Gingrich, was about to pocket $4.5 million under an extraordinarily 
book deal that would have richly benefited him and the individual 
seeking to pay him, an individual with substantial stake in the 
legislation to come before this Congress.
  The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, in a bipartisan, 
unanimous vote, has voted to make certain that never again will we have 
a Speaker, Newt Gingrich, or a Republican or a Democrat ever again try 
and cash in in this fashion by nailing down the book advance loophole.
  I was shocked to learn in this morning's papers, Speaker Gingrich is 
trying to delay indefinitely this measure from coming up for a vote in 
the House, and other Members of the Republican leadership are on board 
in trying to delay us or stop us from having a vote on this good 
Government reform.
  Think again, Mr. Speaker. Think again, Republican leaders. The 
Committee on Standards of Official Conduct has spoken and we will have 
a vote, either under your auspices or under a discharge petition.

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