[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 120 (Thursday, September 5, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H10092]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        ETHICS COMMITTEE REPORT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Cooley). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Missouri [Mr. Volkmer] is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. VOLKMER. Mr. Speaker, these words were spoken by a Member of this 
House several years ago: The 435 Members of the House should look at 
all the facts, should have available to them all the reports and all 
the background documents, and the American people should have the same.
  Who was the Member of this body who spoke those remarks back in March 
of 1989? None other than the Speaker, the present Speaker of the House, 
Newt Gingrich. What was he talking about at that time? Well, our 
illustrious, imperial Speaker was talking about a report that had been 
filed by the special counsel, Richard Phalen, in the investigation by 
the Ethics Committee of the charges that Gingrich had brought against 
then Speaker Jim Wright.
  Let us bring it down to today. Where are we today? Well, we have a 
special counsel for the Ethics Committee. The special counsel has been 
looking into the question of whether or not the nonprofit foundations, 
2 of which are in Georgia, were improperly using their funds for 
political purposes or purposes other than not-for-profit purposes. Who 
was the person in charge of these foundation funds? None other than our 
Speaker.
  Well, the report has been filed, was filed almost a month ago with 
the Ethics Committee. But it has disappeared. You do not hear anything 
about it. I say to my Speaker today, I will repeat the same words that 
he spoke back in March of 1989. I will repeat it again: The 435 Members 
of the House should look at all the facts, should have available to 
them all the reports.
  Where is the report, Mr. Speaker? Why can other Members of this House 
not see the report that has been filed by special counsel?
  We are no different than you were in 1989. We are entitled to that 
report. Yet he and his cohorts keep it submerged. Why? Well, I would 
guess that maybe why is that it is not such a favorable report to the 
Speaker. Because if it was favorable, guess what, folks? We would have 
seen it. The whole public, everybody would have seen it by now, media, 
everybody, big press conference, but we are not seeing that. So my 
guess is that it is maybe not real bad but it is bad enough that they 
want to submerge it.
  They want to get out of here by the 27th of September. We are not 
going to be very many days before that happens. And then it all 
disappears. Nobody will see hide nor hair of that report probably until 
after the election, if you see it then.
  Folks, I believe, as the Speaker said back in March of 1989, that 
every Member of this body is entitled, and all the taxpayers--by the 
way, the taxpayers paid for this, one-half million bucks, that is 
special counsel has done in investigating this by the Ethics Committee, 
authorized by the Ethics Committee, one-half million dollars of 
taxpayer money. Now you cannot even find out what was in the report.
  I say it is time that this House insisted on seeing a copy of the 
report. The media should have a copy of it. Anybody in the general 
public should have a copy of it. Why not? Why not? Because it is come 
election time and I do not think the Speaker wants anybody to know what 
was in that report because of the impact it would have on the election 
process.
  Well, if there is something wrong in that report and if something was 
done by the Speaker or the foundations which he controlled, his people 
controlled, was done wrong, it should all come out. The Speaker should 
be not above the general public. I nor anybody else in this House 
should put ourselves above the law, but that is what I read into this.

  Mrs. SCHROEDER. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. VOLKMER. I yield to the gentlewoman from Colorado.
  Mrs. SCHROEDER. Mr. Speaker, is the gentleman saying the gentleman 
has been unable to get this report? Is that what you are saying?
  Mr. VOLKMER. I have not asked for it but I know that it has not been 
made public. I am now publicly asking for a copy of the report. Yes, I 
have asked for it.
  Mrs. SCHROEDER. You are now asking for that report.
  Mr. VOLKMER. I am demanding it. I think I will demand it not just for 
myself but for all 435 Members of this House.
  Mrs. SCHROEDER. I thank the gentleman.

                          ____________________