[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 76 (Wednesday, May 21, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H4373]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            AUSTIN COVER-UP

  (Mr. RODRIGUEZ asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. RODRIGUEZ. Mr. Speaker, all is not well in the Republic.
  Yesterday the Department of Homeland Security raised the terrorist 
alert level to orange. The threat of another terrorist attack on the 
United States has grown. That is why so many of us are wondering why 
the Department of Homeland Security took a time-out from the war on 
terror to help the Texas Department of Public Safety track down the 
private plane of State Representative Pete Laney.
  Today we discover the shocking news that the Texas Department of 
Public Safety has destroyed all the documents, all records, all photos 
relating to the hot pursuit of Texas Democrats.
  Mr. Speaker, we need answers to the basic questions. Who ordered the 
use of Federal law enforcement resources to hunt down the lawmakers in 
Texas? Was it politically motivated? Have we returned to the Nixon area 
of Federal executive power for political ends?
  And now we must know why the Department of Public Safety destroyed 
all records. It might help in answering a lot of these questions.
  Today I rise to ask the district attorney of Austin to look and 
investigate why the Department of Public Safety decided to move and 
destroy these records. It is criminal, and we need to investigate.

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