[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 199 (Thursday, December 14, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H14905]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




THE HURRY-UP-AND-WAIT SCHEDULE OF CONGRESS, AND THE HANDLING OF ETHICS 
                            COMMITTEE ISSUES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas [Mr. Doggett] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, those who saw the scheduling colloquy a few 
minutes ago absorbed another very peculiar development here in the 
House. You see, at 2 in the afternoon, at 3 o'clock perhaps, a little 
bit in the middle of the workday for most American families, the House 
quit for the day. We are now at a point in our debate where we can 
debate some of the issues, but the official proceedings, here in the 
middle of the workday the House concluded its proceedings.
  This is at a time when we near a Government shutdown, two of the 
conference reports on appropriations bills have not even been presented 
to this House, and according to the scheduling colloquy, it appears 
that one of them, one of the two, is a possibility for tomorrow, on the 
shutdown day, and the other one we got no indication of whatsoever.
  The even more peculiar thing about this hurry-up-and-wait schedule 
that exists here in the Congress was the portion of the scheduling 
colloquy that related to the subject of ethics. It was only about a 
week ago that not just any bill but a measure concerning a rule on book 
royalties was referred not by just a Democrat, or not just by a 
Republican, but by the unanimous vote of an equally divided committee, 
half Republicans and half Democrats, the House Ethics Committee asked 
for a unanimous rule, or asked for a rule unanimously, I might say, to 
be in effect by the end of this year concerning book royalties. It was 
sent over to the Committee on Rules.

  Members will recall that they took this action in a letter dated 
December 6, upbraiding and reprimanding the Speaker, the gentleman from 
Georgia [Mr. Gingrich] in regard to books and in regard to repeated 
ethical violations here in the House. After finding three clear 
violations of the rules of conduct of the House, they said in addition, 
with regard to the book ``To Renew America,'' the one published through 
Mr. Murdoch's company, they said that

       Concerning the publication of your book ``To Renew 
     America,'' while the amount involved greatly exceeds the 
     financial bounds of any book contract contemplated at the 
     time the current rules were drafted, the committee strongly 
     questions the appropriateness of what could be described as 
     an attempt by you to capitalize on your office with reference 
     to this book.

  They go on to say that, at a minimum, what the Speaker has done 
creates the impression, and this is their words, this bipartisan 
committee, ``* * * of exploiting one's office for personal gain.'' They 
say the conduct was basically at such a level that to be sure no other 
Member of this House ever does this again, we need a rule on the books, 
the same kind of rule that would have been on the books had there been 
any real commitment to true ethical reform in this House on the first 
day back on January 4, 1995, because that is when it could have been 
adopted and when it should have been adopted.
  But even after waiting almost a year, they say unanimously on a 
bipartisan basis, ``Such a perception'' regarding this book, and again 
I quote them, ``is especially troubling when it pertains to the office 
of the Speaker of the House, a constitutional office regarding the 
highest standards of ethical conduct, and so the committee has drafted 
an amendment to the House rules to treat income from book royalties as 
part of outside earned income subject to the annual limit of House rule 
47. The committee will propose this resolution to take effect January 
1, 1996.''
  Mr. Speaker, when asked about that today, the majority leader said, 
``I will not prejudge the committee process. Anybody can go file a 
bill. Maybe the Committee on Rules will get to it and maybe it will 
not.'' He knows full well from reading the morning papers that the 
chairman of the Committee on Rules has said, and I quote, that he is 
``unalterably opposed to even the concept that you would want to limit 
book royalties''; that is to say, unalterably opposed to doing what a 
unanimous Ethics Committee recommended because of the scandal 
associated with the Speaker's book contract with Rupert Murdoch. So 
apparently we are going to approach this week, we are going to approach 
next week, we are going to approach the end of 1995, and have no real 
ethics reform.
  Let me make it clear, Mr. Speaker, this is not the result of the 
action of one chair of one committee. The Speaker could bring this rule 
change to the floor right now. It need not wait until the sun sets, if 
it ever does here in Washington today. No, indeed. We could be moving 
forward on the issue of ethics, but in this House, whether it is lobby 
reform or gift ban or campaign finance reform, the slogan seems to be 
``Just say no or just say Newt.'' They seem to mean the same thing.

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