[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 119 (Thursday, September 10, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H7557]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 QUALIFICATIONS FOR SITTING IN JUDGMENT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Riggs) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. RIGGS. Mr. Speaker, I take the floor tonight because I think it 
is very important that a Member of this body speak out with respect to 
some of the inferences or suggestions that have been made that are in a 
way somewhat related, although I would suggest very immaterial and 
extraneous, to the allegations that have been made against the 
President.
  I do not think that any Member of Congress could possibly relish the 
tremendous responsibility of potentially sitting in judgment on the 
President of the United States, but it appears in the coming days, the 
coming weeks, the coming months that will be the case with this 
Congress and potentially the next Congress.
  As each of us struggles to uphold our constitutional responsibility 
to define what constitutes a high crime and misdemeanor and to decide 
whether or not the material, the evidence amassed in the independent 
counsel's report to the House which presumably will be made public 
tomorrow, constitutes impeachable offenses.

                              {time}  1800

  But the reason I wanted to stand up and speak tonight on this 
particular issue is because I noticed, I have noticed in recent days, 
and with increasing concern, that there are Members of this body that 
would endeavor to lower the very solemn and dignified tone that I think 
is necessary to have a debate on these momentous issues by inferring 
that ``everyone does it''.
  Everyone does not do it. I am here tonight to flatly say that most 
Members of Congress take very seriously the responsibilities of their 
office, and are honorable, decent men and women who also take very 
seriously their marital vows.
  What caught my eye was a remark made by Tim Russert, the Washington 
Bureau Chief for the NBC News Network, when he said, a lot of Congress 
people I have talked to over the last few days are talking about the 
MAD doctrine, M-A-D doctrine, mutual assured destruction, and they do 
not want any part of this.
  Now, Mr. Russert goes on to quote the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. 
John Conyers), the ranking member of the Committee on the Judiciary and 
the principal member of the minority party who will be involved in the 
deliberations at the committee level over the independent counsel's 
report. Tim Russert quotes the gentleman from Michigan as saying, in 
effect, that if every Member who has lied about his or her sex life had 
to recuse themselves from voting on the President, they would not have 
a quorum.
  Well, I think that completely misses the point. This is not just 
about sex or a sexual relationship, it is all about potential, and I 
underscore potential, perjury and obstruction of justice. It is about 7 
months of concealing the truth from prosecutors and the American 
people.
  But I take real offense at the suggestion implicit in the statement 
of the gentleman from Michigan.


                Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Gutknecht). The Chair would advise the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Riggs) that he should not allude to 
charges against the President.
  Mr. RIGGS. I will do that.
  As I was saying, though, I think someone has to challenge the 
statement of the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers). Everyone does 
not do it. And for him to suggest that, I believe, is degrading and 
insulting.
  And the point, again, that I wanted to make here on the floor tonight 
is that most of us recognize that we have to be exemplary in our 
personal lives; that our personal lives are, to a very large extent, 
simply an extension of our public lives and the public offices that we 
hold. We realize that we are in the public eye, that we are highly 
visible, and that we have to, to the extent humanly possible, by our 
every word and action, try to uphold the trust that has been placed in 
us. We realize that the office that we hold carries with it a very 
special responsibility to be a role model and to be a moral exemplar 
for the people of our country, our constituents, and especially our 
children.
  So, again, I simply wanted to take the floor tonight to encourage my 
colleagues not to make suggestions that ``everyone does it,'' and to 
remind Members, as well as our constituents, that most Members of 
Congress, again, take very seriously the responsibilities of their 
office and seek at all times to honor their marital vows as well.

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