[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 65 (Friday, May 10, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H4885-H4886]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California [Mr. Riggs] is recognized for 5 minutes.

  [Mr. RIGGS addressed the House. His remarks will appear hereafter in 
the Extensions of Remarks.]

[[Page H4886]]



                           BUSINESS AS USUAL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas [Mr. Bentsen] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BENTSEN. Mr. Speaker, I took this time today in part as a point 
of personal privilege. Earlier today, while I was with some students 
from Crafton Academy, which is in my district in Houston, having taken 
them to the Senate Chamber and then to the House Chamber and then to 
Statutary Hall and walking out, our colleague, the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania [Mr. Walker], felt the need to take the floor and seek to 
smear the reputation of eight of the other Members of this body, myself 
included.
  Mr. Speaker, I assume Mr. Walker was attempting to infer that somehow 
Democratic freshmen sought to hide links to organized crime and 
organized labor because of contributions we may have received from 
members of labor unions or, worse, to try and tie the members 
themselves to organized crime.
  Of course, both are incorrect. But a more troubling problem exists.
  This all started last week when the eight Democratic freshmen brought 
to light a memorandum dated April 23 from Mr. Walker and the gentleman 
from Iowa, Mr. Nussle, who is part of the Republican leadership, asking 
committees to use official time to root out information on the Clinton 
administration on labor union bosses and corruption in order to expose 
anecdotes that amplify these areas so that these could be used for 
political purposes.
  First, the memo which Mr. Walker authored, along with Mr. Nussle, 
would appear to constitute a violation of House rules prohibiting the 
use of taxpayer resources for political purposes. Let me quote from the 
House ethics manual, which says, under campaign activity by House 
employees, chapter 5, page 201, ``no campaign activities should be 
performed in a manner that utilizes any official resources.''
  Of course, all of us agree that our committees should be looking for 
fraud, waste, and abuse. They should not have to be told to do that. 
That is a charge of the committees. But it appears that the Republican 
leadership now wants to use them for political purposes.
  I suppose that we can investigate Mr. Walker's contributions over his 
long tenure in the House and fabricate all sorts of false accusations 
and inferences if we wished to do that.
  Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, we see a continuing pattern on the part 
of the Republican majority, the Republican leadership who so fervently 
disavowed the business as usual practices of the past 40 years with 
their so-called Contract With America. Now they seem intent upon 
engaging in such behavior. Mr. Walker seeks to evade his potential 
infraction by engaging in a smear of his detractors.
  Our majority leader, the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Armey], told the 
Houston Chronicle that the freshman Democrats who called this behavior 
into question overreached and simply do not understand how things work 
up here. Today we read that the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Boehner], 
chairman of the House Republican Conference, was handing out checks 
from tobacco PAC's. I do not care what kind of PAC's they are, whether 
they are tobacco PAC's or labor PAC's, but was handing out checks from 
tobacco PAC's to Republican Members on the floor of this the people's 
House. It was reported that one Republican member stated that, ``If it 
is not illegal, it should be.'' And it should.
  Mr. Speaker, The Houston Chronicle summed up this problem correctly 
in an editorial this week entitled ``Politics as Usual'' where it 
stated, ``the voters did not hand control of the Congress to the 
Republicans so they could engage in the sins of their predecessors.''
  I believe they are right on mark with that.
  Mr. Speaker, the other problem that exists today and is underscored 
by Mr. Walker's actions is the increasing lack of comity and decorum 
among Members of the House. History tells us that at one time it was 
the greatest dishonor to insult another Member on the floor of the 
House. But today it has become all too commonplace.
  Mr. Speaker, I find it hard to believe that Mr. Walker believes in a 
society where one is judged not by their ability to work together and 
get along but, rather, to attack and tear down and smear your rivals 
where any means justifies the ends.
  I came from business, from the private sector, unlike many of my 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle. I relish competition and a good 
fight, but I respect my competitors. I am not so sure that this House 
wants to follow such practices anymore.
  Mr. Walker should review again our letter and the comments that we 
made to the press. We did not ask for an investigation. We just said, 
stop it. Apologize. Pay back the taxpayers if you used any of their 
money. But most of all, follow the rules.
  We teach our children, do unto others as you would do unto them. That 
is how I raised my children. That is how I was raised. Perhaps that is 
how this House ought to operate so we can get back some decorum and 
comity and get away from the slash and burn politics which is 
destroying it.

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