[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 60 (Wednesday, May 13, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H3232-H3233]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  DEMOCRATS DENY GRANTING OF IMMUNITY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Barr) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BARR of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, before I get into my remarks, I 
would like to thank the previous speaker, the gentleman from Michigan 
(Mr. Stupak) for his remarks as we look to celebrate Law Enforcement 
Officers Day. I extend my condolences and sympathies to the people in 
his district and particularly to the family of the slain officer.
  Mr. Speaker, I think it was Winston Churchill who speculated that, 
every now and then, mankind trips over the truth; but inevitably, he 
speculated and observed, mankind picks itself up, dusts itself off, and 
keeps right on going.
  Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, by action of the Democrats unanimously 
today in the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, we were not 
even afforded the opportunity to trip over the truth. The Democrats 
have erected yet another stonewall designed to prevent us from getting 
at the truth.
  I speak, Mr. Speaker, of the unanimous vote by the Democrats on the 
Committee on Government Reform and Oversight to deny what would be an 
important tool and what always has been an important tool for either 
law enforcement or investigative work of the Congress to get at the 
truth; and that is the granting of immunity.
  Granting of immunity is a mechanism of long-standing and important 
history in our country, both here in the Congress and its investigative 
work as well, as in the work of law enforcement in which I engaged as a 
United States attorney in the Northern District of Georgia.
  Granting immunity to witnesses is frequently the only way that law 
enforcement has of uncovering evidence sufficient to successfully 
prosecute important cases or for the Congress to elicit important 
testimony and evidence from recalcitrant witnesses.
  Normally, when the Department of Justice, as it did in the case of 
the four proposed witnesses today, tells the Congress it has no 
objection to the granting of immunity for the witnesses, it is a pro 
forma, routine vote by whatever committee of the Congress it is that is 
seeking to elicit the testimony from those immunized or to-be-immunized 
witnesses to seek a grant of immunity. This is provided for in the 
United States statute, Title 18 of the U.S. Code, Section 6005(b)(2).

[[Page H3233]]

  Unfortunately, the mechanism provided in that statute has been abused 
by the Democrat minority in its absolute effort to protect this 
administration from accountability. That particular statute requires a 
two-thirds vote by the committee, whichever committee it is of the 
House seeking to immunize witnesses.
  There are only two committees in the House that have that ratio such 
as guarantees the search for the truth. Unfortunately, the Committee on 
Government Reform and Oversight is not among them.
  On two occasions now the Democrats have steadfastly denied both the 
committee and this great body, as well as the American people, the 
opportunity to search for the truth and elicit truthful testimony from 
witnesses. That was what happened today.
  I have therefore, Mr. Speaker, introduced legislation today to amend 
18 U.S.C. 6005(b)(2) to require a simple majority vote by a committee 
or subcommittee of the House in order to seek immunity for witnesses. 
This is consistent with the other provision of 18 U.S.C. 6005(b)(1) 
which provides that, for the House itself to grant immunity, it only 
requires a majority vote.
  What is appropriate and proper for the House should apply, 
particularly in light of recent events whereby the provisions of the 
Code have been abused by the Democratic minority and have prevented the 
American people from knowing the truth. I believe that it is important 
to bring these two provisions of the United States Code to be 
consistent with each other, and therefore, I have introduced this 
legislation. I commend it to this body.
  Hopefully, once it is enacted, we will once again be able to do what 
I would have hoped all of us in this body would want to do and would 
work towards achieving, and that is a search for the truth and 
accountability by our top elected leaders in this country.

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