[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 46 (Thursday, April 17, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H1624]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     CONGRESS SHOULD BE MOVING FORWARD TO HELP THE AMERICAN PUBLIC

  (Mr. FOLEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. FOLEY. Mr. Speaker, I am amazed at the hypocrisy of this Chamber. 
The minority leader had a similar circumstance--a similar fine levied 
against him by the Federal Election Committee. He paid out of campaign 
funds. So, while he paid his fine out of campaign funds, we hear this 
hue and cry from the other side that the gentleman from Georgia [Mr. 
Gingrich] is somehow doing wrong.
  Had he borrowed the money from the bank, there would have been 
further questions about the bank's involvement with those funds. The 
Speaker has done the honorable thing by stepping forward and paying out 
of his own proceeds.
  The gentleman from Florida [Mr. Deutsch], offers a privileged 
resolution wanting interest payments on the fine. The gentleman from 
Florida, when he ran for this job, loaned his own campaign $300,000. 
Upon his election to this Chamber, he went to the PAC community and 
solicited funds from them in order to repay the loan to himself. Does 
the American public have the opportunity to go to PAC's to repay their 
loans as he used a little special-interest venture capital to finance 
his run for office? Absolutely not. The gentleman from Florida does, 
and then he files a resolution asking for the payment of interest.
  Mr. Speaker, we are putting this behind us and we are moving forward 
to help the American people.

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