[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 92 (Thursday, June 20, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H6634]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
THE NEED FOR ETHICS AND HONESTY IN GOVERNMENT
(Mr. COX of California asked and was given permission to address the
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. COX of California. Mr. Speaker, as Republicans and Democrats in
this House we disagree about many things, but we should not disagree
for a moment on the need for ethics and honesty in Government.
During the administration of Ronald Reagan I worked in the White
House, in the counsel's office, as a senior associate counsel to the
President. I was proud of the reputation that that independent office
in the White House maintained as a post-Watergate creation to make sure
that after Richard Nixon and the Watergate offenses, never again was a
President in a position of lacking the kind of independent honest
advice that was necessary to make sure that there would not be
lawbreaking within the White House itself. That office has maintained
its reputation in a dignified way through Presidents Ford, Carter,
Reagan, and Bush.
Sadly, in this administration the opposite has been true. Most
recently the deputy counsel to the President has been named in a
criminal indictment as an unindicted co-conspirator. This is not a hard
question. Bruce Lindsey must resign. If he refuses to do so, the
President himself must demand it. We as Members of Congress interested
in honesty and ethics in Government must demand it.
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