[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 130 (Thursday, September 19, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H10607]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  ANNOUNCEMENT OF INTENTION TO OFFER RESOLUTION RAISING QUESTIONS OF 
                        PRIVILEGES OF THE HOUSE

  Mr. LINDER. Pursuant to clause 2, rule IX, I hereby give notice of my 
intention to offer a question of privileges of the House resolution.
  I will read the contents of the resolution:

       Whereas, a complaint filed against Rep. Gephardt alleges 
     House Rules have been violated by Rep. Gephardt's concealment 
     of profits gained through a complex series of real estate tax 
     exchanges and;
       Whereas, the complaint also alleges possible violations of 
     banking disclosure and campaign finance laws or regulations 
     and;
       Whereas, the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct has 
     in complex matters involving complaints hired outside counsel 
     with expertise in tax laws and regulations and;
       Whereas, the Committee on Standards of Office Conduct is 
     responsible for determining whether Rep. Gephardt's financial 
     transactions violated standards of conduct or specific rules 
     of House of Representatives and;
       Whereas, the complaint against Rep. Gephardt has been 
     languishing before the committee for more than seven months 
     and the integrity of the ethics process and the manner in 
     which Members are disciplined is called into question; now, 
     be it
       Resolved, That the Committee on Standards of Official 
     Conduct is authorized and directed to hire a special counsel 
     to assist in the investigation of this matter.
       Resolved, That all relevant materials presented to, or 
     developed by, the committee to date on the complaint be 
     submitted to a special counsel, for review and recommendation 
     to determine whether the committee should proceed to a 
     preliminary inquiry.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Inglis of South Carolina). Under rule 
IX, a resolution offered from the floor by a Member other than the 
majority leader or the minority leader as a question of the privileges 
of the House has immediate precedence only at a time or place 
designated by the Chair in the legislative schedule within 2 
legislative days. The Chair will announce that designation at a later 
time.
  A determination as to whether the resolution constitutes a question 
of privilege will be made at that later time.

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