[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 133 (Tuesday, September 24, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H10775]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




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

  Mr. LINDER. Madam Speaker, pursuant to clause 2, rule IX, I hereby 
give notice of my intention to offer a question of privileges of the 
House.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman will state the form of the 
resolution.
  Mr. LINDER. Madam Speaker:

       Whereas, a complaint filed against Representative Gephardt 
     alleges House Rules have been violated by Representative 
     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 other complex matters involving complaints hired outside 
     counsel with expertise in tax laws and regulations and;
       Whereas, the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct is 
     responsible for determining whether Representative Gephardt's 
     financial transactions violated standards of conduct or 
     specific rules of the House of Representatives; and
       Whereas, the complaint against Representative Gephardt has 
     been pending 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; and
       Whereas, on Friday, September 20, 1996 the ranking Democrat 
     of the Ethics Committee, Representative James McDermott in a 
     public statement suggested that cases pending before the 
     committee in excess of 60 days be referred to an outside 
     counsel; 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 the charges filed against 
     the Democrat Leader Representative Richard Gephardt.
       Resolved that all relevant material 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. 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 privileges will be made at that later time.

                          ____________________