[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 206 (Thursday, December 21, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H15490-H15491]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                UPHOLD ETHICS COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS

  (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, these are difficult days for the House of 
Representatives. Portions of the Federal Government are shut down 
because the appropriations required have not even been enacted. Budget 
talks that could bring us to a balanced budget plan have not even 
really meaningfully begun; the parties are trapped in a meaningless 
standoff.
  But something is afoot that is more serious, even more serious to 
this institution than either of these unfortunate developments. The 
House Committee on Ethics, in a unanimous bipartisan vote has 
recommended closing a loophole that allows Members of this institution 
to cash in through lucrative book deals. Efforts are now underway to 
prevent the Committee on Ethics recommendation from coming to the floor 
of this House for a vote. These efforts, apparently done with the 
blessing of the Speaker himself, pose a very serious threat to this 
Committee on Ethics.
  If the committee on Ethics, operating in a bipartisan fashion, can no 


[[Page H15491]]
longer speak and govern on issues relating to the integrity of this 
House, we will have forever damaged this institution.
  I urge members to uphold the Committee on Ethics recommendation.

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