[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 205 (Wednesday, December 20, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H15211]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      GET RID OF SECRETARY O'LEARY

  (Mr. CHABOT asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, as we continue to try to achieve a balanced 
budget, I think we ought to keep in mind the one Cabinet Secretary who 
has been singled out by Vice President Gore for doing, and I quote the 
Vice President, ``a fabulous job on eliminating unnecessary spending.'' 
Yes, I am talking about the administration's poster child for 
government frugality, Hazel O'Leary.
  How can we be so callous, so downright mean-spirited, Mr. Speaker, as 
to work for a balanced budget at a time when the Secretary of Energy 
already may be going a whole night or two without staying in a 5-star 
European hotel at taxpayer expense?
  The Vice President insists that she is doing, in his words, a 
fabulous job. But here is a question: The law clearly states in title 
5, section 3107, that a Cabinet Secretary may not use appropriated 
funds to pay a publicity expert unless the money has been appropriated 
specifically for that purpose. Was that law violated by Mrs. O'Leary 
when she used taxpayer dollars to hire a private PR firm?
  Let us look into that. Let us balance the budget. Let us get rid of 
Secretary O'Leary.

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