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




              PARTIES BECOME LIGHTNING ROD OF PARTISANSHIP

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Stupak) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for letting me proceed 
at this time, because I did want to address what the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. DeLay) was speaking of, because, earlier today, I came down 
to the House floor and I spoke of the Speaker, the gentleman from 
Georgia (Mr. Gingrich), and his remarks before GOPAC, and I hope to do 
it in a way that does not bring any disservice to the House or any 
personal malice toward anyone.
  Look at what is going on here because of comments on both sides. We 
have all become a lightning rod of partisanship around here. It seems 
to me, about a week ago, it was the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. 
Gingrich) who began the personal attacks on the President. While I am a 
Democrat, a member of on the minority party, I think every member of 
this country should be outraged. You have an ongoing investigation. So 
let us let the investigation proceed.
  It seems to me the Speaker some time ago said we should all hold our 
breath and step backward and let this thing play out. But when we got 
before a GOPAC dinner, the cash cow of the Republican Party, we just 
could not seem to leave it go. The claim was that the President is 
obstructing justice.
  We can get up here all night and say all kinds of things about the 
President and this administration, but let us put forth the evidence; 
and, by evidence, I mean credible evidence.
  By stating or by starting attacks on the President in a partisan 
manner before a partisan group like GOPAC, I am afraid the Speaker has 
shown that he cannot lead the House in a fair and impartial review of 
any inquiry that may take place.
  I do not know what the President's guilt or innocence is or whatever 
it may be in this matter, but what I do know is that, if we stick to 
the facts and let it properly proceed, and if we rely on, as our 
constitutional oath requires us to do, credible evidence, credibly 
submitted to a trier of fact, then maybe we can get to the bottom of 
this.
  Unfortunately, it appears that the Speaker has already reviewed the 
alleged facts. If he has reviewed the alleged facts, he obviously has 
made a prejudgment, and he has made himself a judge and jury.
  So then I must ask, where is this evidence? Where are these alleged 
facts? Bring them forth. If he has a report, if the report has been 
filed with the Speaker's office, bring them forth so all of us in the 
House have an opportunity to see it. Make it available to at least the 
Committee on the Judiciary who, by law, has a right to review any 
inquiry.
  Mr. Speaker, I wish we would just stick to the facts of the case and 
not what GOPAC wants to hear but to the facts of the case. But, 
instead, the Speaker and, as even Roll Call, I mean it is supposed to 
be a nonpartisan paper, even Roll Call says, ``Shame in the Making.''
  That is exactly what we have when we have investigations and Members 
coming up here and, if I can use the majority leader's words, put spin 
on what is going on. Let us not bring shame to the House, but let us 
have the responsibility to lead and not mislead the House or this 
country.
  The Speaker of the House should be a statesman without prejudging any 
type of inquiry which may or may not even occur. Instead, I am afraid 
we have become a lightning rod.
  I hate to remind the House, but just over a year ago we had to 
reprimand the Speaker and fine him approximately $300,000 for bringing 
shame and disrespect to this House. Five out of eight ethics charges he 
was found responsible for by our own Committee on Ethics. Do we really 
want to go down this shameful road once again?
  I ask that we not bring shame and disrespect to the House by personal 
attacks. I would hope the Speaker would recuse himself from any 
participation in any House inquiry.
  I have been there. I have done investigation of political people. But 
you have to do it in an objective manner and not necessarily before the 
press. You can, and we should, do an investigation, and let the 
investigation proceed.
  But, I mean, even, where have we gone with this whole thing? Even the 
Committee on Government Reform and Oversight underneath the leadership 
of the majority party, we have a Privacy Act in this country that the 
Members of Congress are exempt from. Yet, when given tapes of a 
personal conversation of a witness who refused to appear, the Privacy 
Act suddenly did not apply, and the tapes were leaked to the news 
media, and the personal conversations of this individual were released 
to the news media.
  Is that not abuse of office? Have we not used that office, at least 
that chairman did, to release tapes of private conversations? Maybe not 
in violation of the Privacy Act because he was a Member of Congress, 
but certainly in violation of the spirit and intent of the law. That is 
what we are doing here with these investigations certainly.
  Then when the tapes were given to the oversight committee, they were 
warned in a letter not to release the tapes. There was sensitive 
private information. Yet, we still do that, and we hide behind the 
office of which we hold, a great honor given to us by the American 
people but, yet, we use it for our benefit.
  I would hope that any investigations proceed in a professional manner 
and stick to the facts.

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