[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 42 (Tuesday, March 10, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H3124-H3126]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           RAISING A QUESTION OF THE PRIVILEGES OF THE HOUSE

  Mr. FLAKE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to a question of the privileges of the 
House and offer the resolution previously noticed.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Ross). The Clerk will report the 
resolution.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 228

       Whereas The Hill reported on February 10, 2009, that ``a 
     top defense-lobbying firm'' that ``specializes in obtaining 
     earmarks in the defense budget for a long list of clients'' 
     was ``recently raided by the FBI.'';
       Whereas the Associated Press reported on February 25, 2009 
     that the ``FBI searched the lobbying firm. . .and the 
     residence of its founder. . .'';
       Whereas The Hill reported on March 4, 2009, that the firm 
     ``has given $3.4 million to 284 Members of Congress'';
       Whereas Politico reported on February 13, 2009, that 
     ``federal investigators are asking about thousands of dollars 
     in campaign contributions to lawmakers as part of an effort 
     to determine whether they were illegal `straw man' 
     donations.'';
       Whereas Roll Call reported on February 20, 2009, that they 
     have ``located tens of thousands of dollars worth of [the 
     raided firm]-linked donations that are improperly reported in 
     the FEC database.'';
       Whereas Roll Call also reported that ``tracking Federal 
     Election Commission records of campaign donations attributed 
     to [the firm] is a comedy of errors, misinformation and 
     mysteries, providing more questions than answers about how 
     much money the lobbying firm actually raised for 
     Congressional campaigns.'';
       Whereas CQ Today reported on February 19, 2009, that ``104 
     House members got earmarks for projects sought by [clients of 
     the firm] in the 2008 defense appropriations bills,'' and 
     that 87 percent of this bipartisan group of Members received 
     campaign contributions from the raided firm;
       Whereas The Hill reported on February 10, 2009, that in 
     2008 clients of this firm had ``received $299 million worth 
     of earmarks, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense.'';

[[Page H3125]]

       Whereas The Hill reported on February 23, 2009, that 
     ``clients of a defense lobby shop under investigation are 
     continuing to score earmarks from their patrons in Congress, 
     despite the firm being on the verge of shutting its doors 
     permanently'' and that several of the firm's clients ``are 
     slated to receive earmarks worth at least $8 million in the 
     omnibus spending bill funding the federal government through 
     the rest of fiscal 2009...'';
       Whereas the Washington Post reported on June 13, 2008, in a 
     story describing increased earmark spending in the House 
     version of the fiscal year 2009 defense authorization bill 
     that ``many of the earmarks serve as no-bid contracts for the 
     recipients.'';
       Whereas the Associated Press reported on February 25, 2009, 
     that ``the Justice Department's fraud section is overseeing 
     an investigation into whether [the firm] reimbursed some 
     employees for campaign contributions to members of Congress 
     who requested the projects.'';
       Whereas Politico reported on February 12, 2009, that 
     ``several sources said FBI agents have spent months laying 
     the groundwork for their current investigation, including 
     conducting research on earmarks and campaign 
     contributions.'';
       Whereas House Resolution 189, instructing the Committee on 
     Standards of Official Conduct to investigate the relationship 
     between earmark requests already made by Members and the 
     source and timing of past campaign contributions, was 
     considered as a privileged matter on February 25, 2009, and 
     the motion to table the measure was agreed to by recorded 
     vote of 226 to 182 with 12 Members voting present;
       Whereas House Resolution 212, instructing the Committee on 
     Standards of Official Conduct to investigate the relationship 
     between earmark requests already made by Members on behalf of 
     clients of the raided firm and the source and timing of past 
     campaign contributions, was considered as a privileged matter 
     on March 3, 2009, and the motion to table the measure was 
     agreed to by recorded vote of 222 to 181 with 14 Members 
     voting present;
       Whereas the reportedly fraudulent nature of campaign 
     contributions originating from the raided firm, as well as 
     reports of the Justice Department conducting research on 
     earmarks and campaign contributions, raise concern about the 
     integrity of congressional proceedings and the dignity of the 
     institution; and
       Whereas the fact that cases are being investigated by the 
     Justice Department does not preclude the Committee on 
     Standards of Official Conduct from taking investigative 
     steps: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That (a) the Committee on Standards of Official 
     Conduct, or an investigative subcommittee of the committee 
     established jointly by the chair and ranking minority member, 
     shall immediately begin an investigation into the 
     relationship between earmark requests for fiscal year 2009 
     already made by Members on behalf of clients of the raided 
     firm and the source and timing of past campaign contributions 
     related to such requests.
        (b) The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct shall 
     submit a report of its findings to the House of 
     Representatives within 2 months after the date of adoption of 
     this resolution.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The resolution qualifies.


                            Motion to Table

  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I move to lay the resolution on the table.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. FLAKE. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a 
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not 
present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Evidently a quorum is not present.
  The Sergeant at Arms will notify absent Members.
  Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, this 15-minute vote on tabling the 
resolution will be followed by 5-minute votes on suspending the rules 
with regard to:
  H.R. 813, by the yeas and nays, and
  H.R. 842, by the yeas and nays.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 228, 
nays 184, answered ``present'' 14, not voting 5, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 113]

                               YEAS--228

     Ackerman
     Adler (NJ)
     Altmire
     Andrews
     Arcuri
     Baca
     Baird
     Baldwin
     Barrow
     Becerra
     Berkley
     Berman
     Berry
     Bishop (GA)
     Bishop (NY)
     Blumenauer
     Boren
     Boswell
     Boucher
     Boyd
     Brady (PA)
     Braley (IA)
     Brown, Corrine
     Capps
     Capuano
     Cardoza
     Carnahan
     Carney
     Carson (IN)
     Childers
     Clarke
     Clay
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Cohen
     Connolly (VA)
     Conyers
     Costa
     Costello
     Courtney
     Crowley
     Cuellar
     Cummings
     Dahlkemper
     Davis (AL)
     Davis (CA)
     Davis (IL)
     Davis (TN)
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     Delahunt
     DeLauro
     Dicks
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Doyle
     Driehaus
     Edwards (MD)
     Edwards (TX)
     Ellison
     Engel
     Eshoo
     Etheridge
     Farr
     Fattah
     Filner
     Frank (MA)
     Fudge
     Gonzalez
     Gordon (TN)
     Grayson
     Green, Al
     Green, Gene
     Griffith
     Grijalva
     Gutierrez
     Hall (NY)
     Hare
     Harman
     Hastings (FL)
     Heinrich
     Herseth Sandlin
     Higgins
     Hill
     Hinchey
     Hinojosa
     Hirono
     Holden
     Holt
     Honda
     Hoyer
     Inslee
     Israel
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson-Lee (TX)
     Johnson (GA)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Jones
     Kagen
     Kanjorski
     Kaptur
     Kennedy
     Kildee
     Kilpatrick (MI)
     Kilroy
     Klein (FL)
     Kratovil
     Kucinich
     Langevin
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lee (CA)
     Levin
     Lewis (GA)
     Lipinski
     Lowey
     Lujan
     Lynch
     Maffei
     Maloney
     Markey (CO)
     Markey (MA)
     Marshall
     Massa
     Matheson
     Matsui
     McCarthy (NY)
     McCollum
     McDermott
     McGovern
     McIntyre
     McMahon
     Meek (FL)
     Meeks (NY)
     Melancon
     Michaud
     Miller (NC)
     Miller, George
     Mollohan
     Moore (KS)
     Moore (WI)
     Moran (VA)
     Murphy (CT)
     Murphy, Patrick
     Murphy, Tim
     Murtha
     Nadler (NY)
     Napolitano
     Neal (MA)
     Nye
     Oberstar
     Obey
     Olver
     Ortiz
     Pallone
     Pascrell
     Pastor (AZ)
     Payne
     Perlmutter
     Peters
     Peterson
     Pingree (ME)
     Polis (CO)
     Pomeroy
     Price (NC)
     Rahall
     Rangel
     Reyes
     Richardson
     Rodriguez
     Rohrabacher
     Ross
     Rothman (NJ)
     Roybal-Allard
     Ruppersberger
     Rush
     Ryan (OH)
     Salazar
     Sanchez, Linda T.
     Sanchez, Loretta
     Sarbanes
     Schakowsky
     Schauer
     Schiff
     Schrader
     Schwartz
     Scott (GA)
     Scott (VA)
     Serrano
     Sestak
     Shea-Porter
     Sherman
     Shuler
     Sires
     Skelton
     Slaughter
     Smith (WA)
     Snyder
     Space
     Speier
     Spratt
     Stark
     Stupak
     Sutton
     Tanner
     Tauscher
     Taylor
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Tierney
     Titus
     Tonko
     Towns
     Tsongas
     Van Hollen
     Velazquez
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters
     Watson
     Watt
     Waxman
     Weiner
     Wexler
     Wilson (OH)
     Woolsey
     Wu
     Yarmuth
     Young (AK)

                               NAYS--184

     Aderholt
     Akin
     Alexander
     Austria
     Bachmann
     Bachus
     Bartlett
     Barton (TX)
     Bean
     Biggert
     Bilbray
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (UT)
     Blackburn
     Boccieri
     Boehner
     Bono Mack
     Boozman
     Boustany
     Brady (TX)
     Bright
     Broun (GA)
     Brown (SC)
     Brown-Waite, Ginny
     Buchanan
     Burgess
     Burton (IN)
     Buyer
     Calvert
     Camp
     Campbell
     Cantor
     Cao
     Capito
     Carter
     Cassidy
     Castle
     Chaffetz
     Coble
     Coffman (CO)
     Cole
     Crenshaw
     Culberson
     Davis (KY)
     Deal (GA)
     Diaz-Balart, L.
     Diaz-Balart, M.
     Donnelly (IN)
     Dreier
     Duncan
     Ehlers
     Ellsworth
     Emerson
     Fallin
     Flake
     Fleming
     Forbes
     Fortenberry
     Foster
     Foxx
     Franks (AZ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Gallegly
     Garrett (NJ)
     Gerlach
     Giffords
     Gingrey (GA)
     Gohmert
     Goodlatte
     Granger
     Graves
     Guthrie
     Hall (TX)
     Halvorson
     Harper
     Heller
     Hensarling
     Herger
     Himes
     Hodes
     Hoekstra
     Hunter
     Inglis
     Issa
     Jenkins
     Johnson (IL)
     Johnson, Sam
     Jordan (OH)
     Kind
     King (IA)
     King (NY)
     Kingston
     Kirk
     Kirkpatrick (AZ)
     Kissell
     Kosmas
     Lamborn
     Lance
     LaTourette
     Latta
     Lee (NY)
     Lewis (CA)
     Linder
     LoBiondo
     Loebsack
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     Lummis
     Lungren, Daniel E.
     Mack
     Manzullo
     Marchant
     McCarthy (CA)
     McCaul
     McClintock
     McCotter
     McHenry
     McHugh
     McKeon
     McMorris Rodgers
     McNerney
     Mica
     Miller (FL)
     Miller (MI)
     Minnick
     Mitchell
     Moran (KS)
     Myrick
     Neugebauer
     Nunes
     Olson
     Paul
     Paulsen
     Pence
     Perriello
     Petri
     Pitts
     Platts
     Posey
     Price (GA)
     Radanovich
     Rehberg
     Reichert
     Roe (TN)
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rogers (MI)
     Rooney
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Roskam
     Royce
     Ryan (WI)
     Scalise
     Schmidt
     Schock
     Sensenbrenner
     Sessions
     Shadegg
     Shimkus
     Shuster
     Simpson
     Smith (NE)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Souder
     Stearns
     Sullivan
     Teague
     Terry
     Thompson (PA)
     Thornberry
     Tiahrt
     Tiberi
     Turner
     Upton
     Visclosky
     Walz
     Wamp
     Westmoreland
     Whitfield
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Wolf
     Young (FL)

                        ANSWERED ``PRESENT''--14

     Barrett (SC)
     Bonner
     Butterfield
     Castor (FL)
     Chandler
     Conaway
     Dent
     Hastings (WA)
     Kline (MN)
     Latham
     Lofgren, Zoe
     Poe (TX)
     Walden
     Welch

                             NOT VOTING--5

     Abercrombie
     Blunt
     Cooper
     Miller, Gary
     Putnam

                              {time}  1410

  Messrs. SMITH of Texas and TEAGUE and Ms. JENKINS and Mrs. MYRICK 
changed their vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
  Messrs. BERMAN and McMAHON and Mrs. McCARTHY of New York changed 
their vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
  Mr. BUTTERFIELD changed his vote from ``yea'' to ``present.''

[[Page H3126]]

  Mr. WALDEN changed his vote from ``nay'' to ``present.''
  So the motion was agreed to.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________