[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 19 (Wednesday, February 3, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E128-E129]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            REINTRODUCTION OF SLUSH FUND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. STENY H. HOYER

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 3, 1999

  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, in the 105th Congress the Republican majority 
changed House rules to allow the creation of a nearly $8 million 
``reserve fund'' for unanticipated committee expenses.
  With the advent of biennial committee funding, setting aside 
resources for unforeseeable contingencies makes sense.
  No one can know with certainty 2 years in advance what demands House 
committees may face. If contingencies do not arise, and the funds are 
not needed, they can be used to reduce the public debt.
  But somewhere a good idea went awry. Republican leaders used the 
reserve not as a rainy-day fund for unforeseen contingencies, but as a 
slush fund for their partisan projects.
  Most of the nearly $8 million was eventually disbursed, not for 
committee expenses a reasonable person would consider unforeseeable, 
but instead for political investigations of the administration and the 
working men and women of organized labor.
  And under procedures established by the Republican leadership, these 
millions were disbursed without any vote of the House. Committees 
devised their plans for partisan investigations, often without even 
informing the minority. If Speaker Gingrich approved of a plan, the 
majority of the House Oversight Committee rubber stamped it in a 
``ministerial'' act, and the money flowed.
  There was no floor debate, vote, or accountability to the American 
people for how millions of dollars were to be spent.
  To improve accountability and bring the process into the open, last 
March I introduced House Resolution 387, to require a House vote before 
any disbursements could be made from the reserve fund.
  Unfortunately, the Rules Committee did not approve this reform. 
Today, I reintroduce it with the cosponsorship of the ranking Democrat 
on every legislative committee of this House.
  I had hoped that with a new Speaker who spoke so eloquently on 
opening day about bipartisanship and meeting the Democratic minority 
half way, reintroducing this resolution might be unnecessary.
  But the rules adopted by the majority that same day again permit 
creation of a slush fund, from which disbursements may be made without 
a floor vote, thereby signaling the majority's intention to proceed as 
before.
  Until it is clear that the reserve fund will be used solely as a 
hedge against unforeseen contingencies, rather than as petty cash for 
political sideshows, then the House should debate and vote on how those 
funds will be used.
  When Democrats controlled this House, the only way committees could 
get more funds for unanticipated needs was through debate and approval 
of a supplemental expense resolution on this floor. That is the time-
honored, open process that lets the public see what's going on and know 
whom to hold accountable.
  By contrast, under Republican control, committees can get more money 
through a process essentially hidden from public view and for which 
most Members are not accountable.

[[Page E129]]

  The lack of openness and scrutiny creates an opportunity for partisan 
mischief, and the majority yielded to temptation in the last Congress.
  In this new Congress, let's not repeat our mistake. Let's following 
through on the Speaker's promise of bipartisanship and cooperation.

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