[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 133 (Tuesday, September 24, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H10773]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        CALLING FOR REPORT ON SPEAKER GINGRICH TO BE MADE PUBLIC

  (Mr. VOLKMER asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. VOLKMER. Madam Speaker, here we continue on; it has been over a 
month. Mr. Cole has filed his report with the Committee on Standards of 
Official Conduct on Speaker Gingrich. This is a huge dark cloud that 
hangs over the House.


                             point of order

  Mr. LINDER. Madam Speaker, I have a point of order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Georgia will state his 
point of order.
  Mr. LINDER. The gentleman in the well is referring to matters before 
the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, which is explicitly 
against the rules of the House.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair sustains the point of order and 
directs the gentleman from Missouri [Mr. Volkmer] to proceed in order.
  Mr. VOLKMER. The public media has now taken up the call, along with 
myself and other Members of this House who are asking that that report 
be made public. It cost the taxpayers----


                             point of order

  Mr. LINDER. Point of order, Madam Speaker.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman will state his point of order.
  Mr. LINDER. Madam Speaker, it may be that the gentleman does not 
understand the English language, but I thought the Chair just sustained 
a point of order and instructed him not to refer to matters before the 
Committee on Standards of Official Conduct but to continue in order, 
and for him to continue referring to these matters is out of order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair once again sustains the point of 
order of the gentleman from Georgia [Mr. Linder]. The gentleman from 
Missouri [Mr. Volkmer] is not speaking in order, and the Chair again 
directs the gentleman from Missouri to proceed in order in accordance 
with the rules of the House.
  Mr. VOLKMER. Madam Speaker, it is time and the time is now that the 
chairperson of the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, Nancy 
``Stonewall'' Johnson, release that report on Speaker Gingrich so that 
we can all know what is in it. I do not know what is in it, whether it 
is good or bad, but we are entitled to know. Every Member of this 
House, the public, the press is entitled to know what is in that 
report.


                             point of order

  Mr. LINDER. Point of order, Madam Speaker.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman will state his point of order.
  Mr. LINDER. Madam Speaker, it does not seem like anyone should have 
to remind someone three times in a 1-minute speech that he is abusing 
the rules of the House, but that is the point I am raising.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair will inform the gentleman from 
Missouri [Mr. Volkmer] that the Chair sustains the point of order of 
the gentleman from Georgia. The gentleman from Missouri is not, under 
the rules of the House, to make references to matters currently under 
review before the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct or to 
members of that committee, as the gentleman from Missouri well knows.
  The gentleman from Missouri [Mr. Volkmer] has 20 seconds remaining.
  Mr. VOLKMER. Madam Speaker, it is very apparent, I think, to 
everybody out there that is seeing what is happening here, that Members 
of the House who are calling for this report to be made public are 
attempted to be gagged.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman from Missouri has 
expired.

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