[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 95 (Tuesday, June 25, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H6846-H6847]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO BILL EMERSON

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of May 
12, 1995, the gentleman from Arizona [Mr. Hayworth] is recognized until 
midnight as the designee of the majority leader.
  Mr. HAYWORTH. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Speaker pro tempore, the 
gentleman from Florida, Mr. Mica, for his recognition this evening, and 
I would thank my colleague from Pennsylvania for his word of 
remembrance of our departed colleague, Bill Emerson of Missouri, and I 
would second the notion that Bill Emerson was a great teacher in this 
House, and he taught all of us who were newcomers by example.
  I daresay that the example of his courage in the wake of fighting his 
final battle with illness can only be described as exemplary, and 
indeed that word falls short for the courage displayed by Bill Emerson, 
and his dedication to duty will rank as perhaps the greatest lesson he 
has provided to us.
  Our sympathies go to his family and the people of his congressional 
district in Missouri, and whomever is honored with selection by those 
constituents to serve in this House will indeed have big shoes to fill.
  Mr. Speaker, as evidenced by the debate tonight, the preceding 
debate, there are many important jobs and many important roles which we 
must fulfill here in the House of Representatives. We spoke earlier 
tonight of empowering first-time homeowners. We spoke of a variety of 
issues dealing with concerns on housing and the appropriation process 
that is so vital to conclude. Yet, Mr. Speaker, before this legislative 
day ends we would be remiss if we failed to mention other concerns that 
dominate the headlines of this evening and indeed will reach into 
tomorrow and in the days to come.
  We mourn the deaths and injuries of American servicemen abroad as we 
hear of a terrorist attack in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, overnight, and we 
will watch with interest and indeed work with the administration to 
determine exactly what happened, what type of preventive measures need 
to be taken by Americans abroad and how this tragedy could come to 
pass.
  But again for now our concerns and our prayers are with the families 
of those who have perished and, of course, with those who have been 
wounded in this attack, and indeed, Mr. Speaker, while we are mindful 
that this issue is something that will warrant our concern and 
vigilance in the days to come, there are other developments in other 
stories and in other concerns that we must address.
  My colleague, Mr. Fox, who preceded me, it should be noted, has 
resigned from the Government Oversight Committee to take another 
appointment, and yet that committee tomorrow, led by the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania, Bill Clinger, will be asking some very serious questions 
of administration officials. Let me begin with what I believe is truly 
a positive and constructive note in this regard.
  Mr. Speaker, as you are no doubt aware, a contempt of Congress 
citation was being prepared, indeed a vote would have occurred in this 
Chamber later this week, concerning the apparent lack of cooperation 
that the administration had shown in surrendering some 2,000 pages of 
documents needed to continue the investigation of what has become known 
as Filegate, possession of FBI files of prominent members of my party 
by the Clinton administration, and one official in particular, an 
Anthony Marceca, for examination over a long period of time.

                              {time}  2345

  As I noted, Mr. Speaker, this House, and indeed the Committee on 
Government Reform and Oversight, asked for some 2,000 pages in 
documents, and it appeared that the White House was reluctant to turn 
over those documents. I understand now some agreement has been reached. 
The White House, as I understand it, will cease to offer its claim of 
executive privilege to these documents, and there has been some measure 
of accommodation so these documents may be examined by officals on the 
committee.
  Even as we welcome this important action, I remember the observation 
of that great author and humorist, Mark Twain. From time to time I have 
recalled it here in the well of this House. It was Twain who observed, 
``History doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes.'' And I believe that 
tonight again we see that strange similarity of actions that have gone 
on before, actions that, in all candor, caused great concern, 
precipitated a great crisis, and led, of course, to a change in the 
executive branch almost a quarter century ago.

[[Page H6847]]

  It is very important, I think, to recall the lessions of history. 
Again, I offer the observation that I offered as this House began 
business earlier today, that ofttimes, while the dynamics of this 
institution often rely on partisanship as one of the mechanisms 
utilized to get business done during the course of the day, that even 
as we recognize we may have partisan labels, it is important to 
remember that at moments of great import, people of different parties 
have offered valuable advice.
  I remember well a quarter century ago when the gentleman from 
Minnesota, the former Vice President and one-time Democratic 
presidential nominee, Hubert H. Humphrey, advised, in a public way, 
President Nixon to come clean, to offer a full explanation and 
accounting of the events that history now recalls as Watergate, to the 
best of President Nixon's ability for, as Senator Humphrey maintained, 
that action in itself would go a long way toward allowing the American 
people to address the problems, allowing the Congress of the United 
States to address the problems, and then to move forward.
  Indeed, Mr. Humphrey was of the opinion that if President Nixon would 
take this action, the American people would be forgiving of the 
problems and President Nixon could move on in his second term.
  Mr. Speaker, again, not to score partisan points tonight, and again, 
devoid of the one-upsmanship that so often characterizes political 
debate, honestly, and sincerely, I would call on this administration 
and this President, Mr. Speaker, to step forward with all the 
information at hand. For indeed if this administration will be 
forthcoming with the information and allow the American people to 
decide, while I cannot guarantee that the outcome would be similar to 
what Hubert Humphrey envisioned for Richard Nixon, I can say that the 
American people deserve no less than a full accounting because of the 
concerns we have in so many different areas, but because the questions 
raised by the possession of these FBI files have implications that 
strike at the very fiber of our Republic, for they deal with issues of 
vital import to every American and every American's individual rights 
as provided in this document, the Constitution of the United States.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I would suggest that the President and members of 
his administration have a duty to step forward with the whole story. 
The American people deserve no less than a full accounting of some of 
the questionable actions that have occurred with reference to FBI 
files, now with a suspicion, and indeed, the implication that more FBI 
files, that indeed, IRS records may be involved, to a certain degree; 
and that by taking that step, the President will show true leadership, 
allow us to deal with this most fundamental of questions, and then move 
forward to address the other vital issues of the day.
  I would suggest this Congress will continue to do its work, as 
witnessed with the various appropriations bills. This Congress will 
continue to do its work with reference to our concerns about a tax on 
Americans abroad. This Congress will continue to do its work, yes, with 
reference to legislative oversight of the executive branch, should the 
President's decision and that of his legal counsel turn out to be only 
a halfway or halfhearted approach in any circumstance.
  But it is vital that this administration address these troubling 
questions for the American people and for the process of government 
provided for in our Constitution, and indeed, for the very fabric of 
our constitutional Republic.
  Again, Mr. Speaker, I make this call not in the interests of partisan 
one-upsmanship or gamesmanship, for this is not a game. Indeed, Mr. 
Speaker, what this entire process should typify in its best sense is 
a competition, a discussion, a difference of ideas, a difference of 
opinions, a difference of philosophies and vision as to how best serve 
the American people.

  As we approach the new century, do we take money, power, and 
influence out of the hands of Washington bureaucrats and, indeed, turn 
that influence, power, and money over to governments closer to home, 
and, indeed, ultimately by allowing the American people to hang onto 
more of their hard-earned money, allow the American people to make 
those decisions at home that directly influence their lives?
  But in this context, Mr. Speaker, it is vital that this 
administration move forward tomorrow in a spirit of candor, in front of 
the committee of the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Clinger], to lay 
out the entire story for the American people, and quite frankly, to 
change a pattern of denial, evasion, and a new formulation of answers 
that seems to have typified the conduct of this administration with 
reference to these FBI files and with reference to so many other 
questionable endeavors.
  Again, it is my hope that every Member of this House and that every 
American citizen would watch closely what will transpire in committee 
tomorrow, even as we work in this full House to deal with other vital 
issues of the day.

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