[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 119 (Thursday, September 10, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H7581-H7582]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 FACTS AND PROCEDURES CONCERNING REPORT TO HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF 
                     INDEPENDENT COUNSEL KEN STARR

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Weldon of Florida). Under a previous 
order of the House, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Solomon) is 
recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, in a few minutes I will file a report with 
the House of Representatives dealing with information that was 
delivered to us by the independent counsel, Judge Starr, earlier.
  The resolution before us tomorrow will enable the House, through the 
deliberations of the Committee on the Judiciary, to responsibly review 
the important materials and to discharge its duty, particularly with 
respect to the availability of the contents of this communication to 
Members of Congress, to the public, and to the media.
  It is important that the American people learn the facts regarding 
this matter. As directed by the Speaker, no one, no Member or 
congressional staff, has seen the communications transmitted yesterday, 
and they will not until successfully passing this resolution tomorrow.
  However, it is the understanding of the Committee on Rules, as 
outlined in the letter of transmittal from Judge Starr, that the 
communication contains the following: 445 pages of communications, 
which is divided into an introduction section, a narrative section, and 
a so-called ``grounds'' section; another 2,000 pages of supporting 
material is contained in the appendices, which may contain grand jury 
testimony, telephone records, videotaped testimony, and other sensitive 
material; and 17 other boxes of supporting material.
  The method of dissemination and potential restrictions on access to 
this information is outlined in the resolution that will be before the 
House tomorrow.
  The resolution provides the Committee on the Judiciary with the 
ability to review the communication to determine whether sufficient 
grounds exist to recommend to the House that an impeachment inquiry be 
commenced.
  The resolution provides for an immediate release of the approximate 
445 pages comprising the information I just mentioned before. This will 
be printed as a House document the minute that this resolution passes 
the House tomorrow, and will be available to the Members of Congress, 
the media, and to the public.
  As to the receipt of the transcripts and other records protected by 
the rules of grand jury secrecy, committees of the House have received 
such information on at least five other occasions, all in the context 
of impeachment actions. This precedent dates all the way back to 1811, 
and as recently as the impeachment of two Federal judges in the late 
1980s.
  The resolution further provides that additional material compiled in 
the Committee on the Judiciary during the review will be deemed to have 
been received in executive session, unless it is received in an open 
session of the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Also, access to that executive session material would be restricted 
to members of the Committee on the Judiciary and such employees of the 
committee as may be designated by the chairman, after consultation with 
the ranking minority member.
  Finally, the resolution provides that each meeting, each hearing, or 
disposition of the Committee on the Judiciary will be in executive 
session unless otherwise determined by the committee. The executive 
sessions may be attended only by Committee on the Judiciary members and 
employees of the committee designated by the chairman, again after 
consultation with the ranking minority member.
  The resolution before us tomorrow attempts to strike an appropriate 
balance between House Members' and the public's interest in reviewing 
this material, and the need to protect innocent persons.
  I might add, Mr. Speaker, that to show how times are changing, at the 
beginning of our hearing at 5 o'clock we posted this resolution and my 
opening statements on the website of the Committee on Rules. As of 
about half hour ago, there had been over 20,000 access requests to that 
website. That is amazing, and it shows how communications are changing 
throughout this country.
  It is anticipated that the Committee on the Judiciary may require 
additional procedures or investigative authority to adequately review 
the communications in the future. It is anticipated that those 
authorities will be the subject of another resolution coming out of my 
Committee on Rules next week, midweek, and brought to the floor later 
on in the week.
  It is very important to note that this resolution does not authorize 
or it does not direct an impeachment inquiry. It is not the beginning 
of an impeachment process in the House of Representatives. It merely 
provides the appropriate parameters for the Committee on the Judiciary, 
the historically proper place to examine these matters, to review this 
communication and to make a recommendation to the House as to whether 
to commence an impeachment ``inquiry.''
  If this communication from the Independent Counsel should form the 
basis for future proceedings, it is important for this Committee on 
Rules to be mindful that Members may need to cast public, recorded, and 
extremely profound votes in the coming weeks or months. It is our 
responsibility to ensure that Members have enough information about the 
contents of the communication to cast informed votes and explain their 
decision based on their conscience to their constituents.
  In summation, let me just say that Democrats and Republicans disagree 
about many things in this institution, and that is probably the way it 
should be, but no one disagrees about the honor and the integrity of 
our friend, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Henry Hyde). He is one of 
the most judicious members in this body in his role as the chairman of 
the Committee on the Judiciary, and I have said on many occasions that 
he would make an excellent Supreme Court Justice. As a matter of fact, 
I recommended that to former President Ronald Reagan and former 
President George Bush on a number of occasions.
  We are fortunate, however, that he has not been elevated to that 
position as yet, as he is very much needed at this trying time for the 
House and for our country.
  Likewise, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers) has many years of 
experience in the Committee on the Judiciary, including service there 
in the 1974. He is extremely knowledgeable and tenacious, and we look 
forward to his service and his leadership in this very important 
matter.
  This is a very grave day for the House of Representatives. Indeed, it 
is a solemn time, I think, for our Nation.

                              {time}  2130

  Today we will do what we are compelled to do under the Constitution, 
not because we desire it but because it is our duty as Members of 
Congress.
  In order to most judiciously fulfill these constitutional duties, I 
would urge all Members to approach this sensitive matter with the 
dignity and decorum which befits the most deliberative body in the 
entire world.
  Mr. Speaker, I wanted to bring this to the attention of this body and 
to the American people. Hopefully, around 10:30 tomorrow morning this 
resolution will be on the floor. Once it passes, it then will be made 
available to Members and to the public and to the media as soon as 
technologically possible.
  The chairman and the minority leader today wrote a letter to the 
independent counsel asking them to make available the computerization 
of the material which will allow us to immediately, upon passage of 
this resolution, to then be able to reproduce in both hard copies and 
over the Web sites the actual resolution that will be passed.
  Mr. Speaker, I just might again point out that we have done 
everything in our power to make sure that this is a bipartisan 
resolution that is agreed to by an overwhelming number of the Members 
of this House. I think that it will be tomorrow, and we look forward to 
having this debate.

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