[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 34 (Thursday, March 23, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H1402-H1403]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   CLINTON-GORE FAILED ENERGY CRISIS

  (Mr. STEARNS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting 
Companies, or OPEC, in its capacity as an oil cartel or monopoly, has 
been a

[[Page H1403]]

critical factor in driving prices of oil from approximately $11 a 
barrel in 1998 to a high of $30 a barrel last month. These are levels 
that we have not seen since the Persian Gulf War.
  Foreign countries that export oil to the United States have been 
engaged in a price-fixing scheme which has driven the average price at 
the pump to almost $2 in some parts of this country. Yet, the Clinton-
Gore administration has done nothing to stop this, even with the OPEC 
strategy of price control. Even Energy Secretary Bill Richardson admits 
his administration, his department, was ``caught napping.''
  Once again, the leadership in the White House has been lax, and 
foreign nations have taken advantage of our apparent weakness.
  We passed a plan yesterday with Republican leadership. So I urge the 
administration to adopt our plan and fight this oil cartel.


                          la bella memorandum

  Mr. Speaker, last week, someone at the Justice Department leaked the 
La Bella memo to the press. The La Bella memo is a 94-page document 
calling on the Attorney General to appoint an Independent Counsel to 
investigate the White House. The memo also spells out all of the ways 
that Janet Reno and her political advisors avoided any thorough 
investigation of the 1996 campaign fundraising scandal. A year after he 
was brought in to head the campaign fundraising investigation, La Bella 
concluded that Janet Reno and her political advisors had used 
``gamesmanship'' and ``legal contortions'' to avoid a thorough 
investigation. He also concluded that the result was a double standard 
for the President, the Vice President, the First Lady and Harold Ickes, 
protecting them from any real investigation.
  There is something seriously wrong at the Justice Department when 
career prosecutors are not allowed to follow the facts wherever they 
lead. The result is an investigation that has no credibility. There are 
numerous examples of the failed investigation:
  The President and Vice President were never thoroughly questioned. 
Can you imagine--the Justice Department failed to ask the President a 
single question about James Riady and foreign money. They didn't ask 
the Vice President any questions about the Buddhist Temple fundraiser. 
Unbelievable!
  The Justice Department has apparently never asked the White House to 
turn over hundreds of thousands of e-mails that have never been 
reviewed.
  Central figures in the scandal, like John Huang and Charlie Trie, 
have received light sentences without giving up useful information to 
the Justice Department.
  Mr. Speaker, we have a right to know whether the Justice Department 
has done a thorough and credible job investigating the 1996 campaign 
fundraising scandal. The Justice Department has already leaked the La 
Bella memo to the press. They should now turn it over to congress, so 
that we can see if Janet Reno has allowed her career prosecutors to do 
their job.

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