[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 48 (Tuesday, March 20, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H2676]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 MORE ACCOUNTABILITY IN ADMINISTRATION

  (Mr. MURPHY Connecticut asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. Madam Speaker, last week this House, with 
strong bipartisan support, passed important bills that will demand more 
transparency and accountability here in Washington. And in the first 
few months of this Congress, the Oversight and Government Reform 
Committee, on which I have the opportunity to serve, has held several 
hearings on political influence in public policy.
  Sadly, instead of following our lead, the Bush administration is 
being anything but open about its involvement in the political purging 
of eight U.S. Attorneys.
  For weeks now, Attorney General Gonzales has asserted that the 
firings were not instigated by the White House, but e-mails between the 
White House and Gonzales's chief of staff show heavy involvement in the 
purging by political advisers.
  The President admits mistakes were made, but he has no plans to hold 
his Attorney General accountable. The implications of this scandal on 
our legal system are grave. This administration has created a climate 
in which prosecutors are looking over their shoulders trying to do 
right by the political bosses instead of through the system of justice.
  Madam Speaker, this White House should learn something from what we 
did in the House last week. It is past time that the President insist 
on more accountability in his administration.

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