[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 56 (Thursday, May 7, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H2936]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        CHAIRMAN BURTON'S OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE HAS NO CREDIBILITY

  (Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, this morning we learned that 
the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton) apologized to the Republicans 
yesterday for his behavior on the committee. We also saw in this 
morning's paper where Speaker Gingrich criticized the gentleman from 
Indiana and his staff for embarrassing Republicans, and that he 
apologized to Republicans on the gentleman's behalf.
  Mr. Speaker, this misses the entire point. It is not the Republicans 
that deserve an apology, it is the American people; because the 
American people are the ones that have paid the million-dollar bill for 
this circus.
  The American people want one thing from this committee: They want 
fairness. And time and time again, the chairman of the Committee on 
Government Reform and Oversight and his staff have shown that the last 
thing they are interested in in this committee is fairness.
  The apology was given to the Republicans because it has messed up the 
entire attack plan. How can they attack the President if they have no 
credibility? But the fact of the matter is, Mr. Speaker, this committee 
has no credibility, because from day one there has never been an 
attempt to find the truth; it has been nothing more than an attempt to 
smear the President.

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