[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 35 (Wednesday, March 25, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H1452]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page H1452]]
                          EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE

  (Mr. DeLAY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, according to press reports, the President has 
invoked executive privilege to avoid explaining some of his actions in 
the White House. And for the record, neither George Bush nor Ronald 
Reagan ever invoked executive privilege during their tenure in the 
White House.
  If the President is allowed to use executive privilege regarding 
current events, I can only wonder what other ways would he use 
executive privilege. Would he cite executive privilege to avoid 
explaining his plans to spend the surplus? When people ask him his real 
thoughts about cutting taxes, will he simply say executive privilege? 
And when it comes to his opposition to education savings accounts, the 
President could cite executive privilege. It is better than admitting 
he is a pawn of the teachers' unions.
  Mr. Speaker I urge the President to rethink his use of executive 
privilege. It sets a terrible precedent.

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