Congressional Record, Volume 144 Issue 128 (Wednesday, September 23, 1998)

[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 128 (Wednesday, September 23, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H8504-H8505]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

{time} 1730
PRIVILEGES OF THE HOUSE--ORDERING IMMEDIATE PRINTING OF ENTIRE
COMMUNICATION RECEIVED ON SEPTEMBER 9, 1998, FROM AN INDEPENDENT
COUNSEL

Mr. CONDIT. Mr. Speaker, I offer a resolution (H. Res. 546) and ask
for its immediate consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hansen). The Clerk will report the
resolution.
The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

H. Res. 546

Whereas the entire communication of the Office of the
Independent Counsel received by the House of Representatives
on September 9, 1998, includes information of fundamental
constitutional importance;
Whereas the American people have a right to receive and
review this communication in its entirety;
Whereas the House Committee on the Judiciary has failed to
make the entire communication available to the American
people; and
Whereas failure to make the entire communication available
to the American people raises a question of privilege
affecting the dignity and integrity of the proceedings of the
House under rule IX of the Rules of the House of
Representatives: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the entire communication received, including
all appendices and related materials, on September 9, 1998,
from an independent counsel, pursuant to section 595(c) of
title 28, United States Code, shall be printed immediately as
a document of the House of Representatives.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Does any Member wish to be heard on the
question of whether the resolution constitutes a question of privilege?
Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, I wish to be heard on the question of
whether the resolution offered by the gentleman from California
constitutes a question of privilege.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from New York (Mr. Solomon) is
recognized.
Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, questions of privilege under rule IX are
those affecting the rights of the House collectively, its safety, its
dignity, and the integrity of its proceedings, and the rights,
reputation, and the conduct of Members. A question of privilege, Mr.
Speaker, may not be raised to effect a change in House rules.
Mr. Speaker, House Rule 525, which was adopted by the House on
September 11 by a vote of 363 to 63, delegated the authority to review
and release Independent Counsel Starr's report from the House to the
Committee on the Judiciary.
The House delegated this authority to the Committee on the Judiciary
as an exercise in its rule-making power. Mr. Speaker, the resolution
offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Condit) seeks to change
the rule of the House as established in House Resolution 525.
Therefore, Mr. Speaker, the gentleman's resolution does not constitute
a legitimate question of privilege.
Mr. Speaker, let me just cite line 15 of the resolution that passed
the House. It says, ``The balance of such material shall be deemed to
have been received in executive session, but shall be released from the
status on September 28, 1998, except as otherwise determined by the
committee.''
That is the rule of the House. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, the
gentleman's resolution does not constitute a legitimate question of
privilege in that change of House rule, and a privilege clearly is not
in order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Are there other Members who want to be heard
on this question?
Mr. DEUTSCH. Mr. Speaker, I wish to be heard.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Deutsch).
Mr. DEUTSCH. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments of the
distinguished chairman of the Committee on Rules regarding the standard
of what privilege is. I would agree with him completely, that is the
standard of what privilege is.
I would also say, though, that I believe this resolution clearly
meets that standard, because what is going on right now in the
Committee on the Judiciary with the selective release of information is
clearly a disservice on this House, and is clearly putting this House
in disrepute, which is exactly what the rules of the House in terms of
our privileged resolution are set up to deal with.
I would say to the gentleman and to the Speaker that this resolution
is clearly exactly why we have privileged resolutions in the House.
What is happening right now in terms of the procedures of the Committee
on the Judiciary, in terms of what has happened with the release of
information, in the partisanship that has occurred within that
committee, is absolutely putting this House into the type of situation,
the type of disrespect that privileged resolutions are exactly in
purpose for using.
I would urge the Speaker to rule this in order, and I urge its
adoption.
Mr. CONDIT. Mr. Speaker, I want to speak to the resolution.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from California (Mr. Condit)
is recognized.
Mr. CONDIT. Mr. Speaker, I understand the point of the chairman of
the Committee on Rules. This is an attempt to allow all the Members of
this House to have access to the information. It is an attempt to speed
the process along so we can bring it to closure. The American people
want us to bring this issue to closure.
There is no reason why every Member of this House cannot have that
information. We are not grade school kids. We understand it, and we
know ultimately we need to make a decision. So my intent, Mr. Speaker,
is simply

[[Page H8505]]

to speed this process along so that we can make a decision and get back
to the business of living our lives and running this country.
Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, I ask for a ruling.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair is prepared to rule.
The gentleman from California (Mr. Condit) offers House Resolution
546 as a question of the privileges of the House under rule IX. The
resolution would direct the Committee on the Judiciary to release all
executive session material referred to the committee by the House
pursuant to House Resolution 525.
That resolution was reported to the House by the Committee on Rules
as a privileged rule, and its adoption governs subsequent review and
release of that executive session material referred to the Committee on
the Judiciary.
A resolution may not be offered under the guise of a question of the
privileges of the House if it effects a change in the rules or standing
orders of the House or their interpretation. This principle is
annotated in section 662f of the House Rules and Manual. The House has
delegated to the Committee on the Judiciary the final decision-making
authority on the extent of release from executive session of materials
contained in the Independent Counsel's report. Indeed, section 2 of
House Resolution 525 establishes a release date for all materials
contained in that report, except as otherwise determined by the
Committee on the Judiciary.
In an illustrative case under the precedents, even an alleged refusal
by the committee to make certain staff memos available to the public,
and refusal to permit committee Members to take photostatic copies of
committee files, have been held not to constitute questions of
privilege. This principle is annotated in section 662d of the manual.
To rule otherwise would suggest that valid committee determinations
as to the executive session nature of committee files could be
collaterally challenged under the guise of questions of privileges.
In the opinion of the Chair, the resolution does not constitute a
question of the privileges of the House within the meaning of rule IX,
and may not be considered at this time.
Mr. CONDIT. I thank the Speaker.

____________________