[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 51 (Thursday, April 30, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H2693-H2694]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       RESPONSE TO ATTACK BY MINORITY LEADER ON SPEAKER GINGRICH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to respond to a partisan attack 
launched by the minority leader on the Speaker of the House this 
morning. Once again, instead of focusing on the issues at hand, the 
minority leader has sought to change the subject.
  The Speaker has made two very important points regarding the White 
House and its continued ethics problems. First, the Speaker has 
stressed that no man is above the law. Second, he has pointed out that 
the American people deserve to know the truth about the activities in 
the White House.
  The minority leader has decided to divert attention from those very 
basic points. It is the hope of the White House and of the minority 
that this diversion will keep attention away from the very real ethical 
problems of this administration. I tell you, Mr. Speaker, the truth 
will come out. It may be sooner, and it may be later, but, someday, the 
truth will come out.
  I urge the President to preserve the dignity of the office that he 
holds by coming forward about the facts. The longer that these 
allegations fester, the more damage is done to the presidency.
  Unfortunately, the White House has rejected that advice. Rather than 
being candid with the American people, the White House hides behind 
executive privilege. In fact, the Clinton/Gore administration has 
invoked executive privilege 12 times. They have used executive 
privilege almost as often as they have used the veto pen.
  Throughout their administration, they have vetoed only 20 bills. They 
have employed executive privilege for campaign scandals, for travel 
office scandals, for memos regarding drug policy, for Filegate, and for 
other scandals.
  That is a very troubling precedent, a precedent that should trouble 
the Democrat Party. But an eerie silence has emanated from the Democrat 
minority.
  When it comes to the President's use of executive privilege, the 
Democrats hear no evil, see no evil, and speak no evil. I have yet to 
hear one member of the minority leadership admit that they are troubled 
by the White House scandals. Where is the outrage from the Democrats 
about these allegations?

[[Page H2694]]

  The one time that the minority leader has spoken out on this issue 
has been to condemn the Speaker of the House, the one time. The Nation 
has been preoccupied by White House scandals all year, and the minority 
leader's only response has been to blame the Speaker. That fits in very 
nicely with the White House strategy of spin, the whole spin, and 
nothing but the spin.
  Clearly, they are testing the proposition that you cannot fool all 
the people all the time. Mr. Speaker, you cannot fool all the people 
all the time. And the American people have grown very weary of this 
White House's efforts to distract them from the truth.
  We are all damaged by the White House efforts to delay this 
investigation, to destroy the investigator, and to deny everything to 
the media.
  The minority leader said in his speech today, and I quote, ``Ideally, 
we are able to put aside our partisan interests and consider `the 
people's business,' if not with a blank slate, at least with an open 
mind.''
  Can the leader really believe that he has approached these issues 
with an open mind when the only person he blames in the very White 
House scandals is the Speaker of the House?
  I urge the minority leader to join us in finding out the truth. He 
should be calling for the truth. Let us put this partisanship aside and 
look soberly at the very serious allegations that have beset this White 
House. No man is above the law, and the American people deserve to know 
the truth.

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