[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 53 (Monday, March 30, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H4100-H4101]
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. The Clerk will report the resolution.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 295

       Whereas, The Hill reported that a prominent lobbying firm 
     specializing in obtaining defense earmarks for its clients, 
     the subject of a ``federal investigation into potentially 
     corrupt political contributions,'' has given $3.4 million in 
     political donations to no less than 284 members of Congress.
       Whereas, multiple press reports have noted questions 
     related to campaign contributions made by or on behalf of the 
     firm; including questions related to ``straw man'' 
     contributions, the reimbursement of employees for political 
     giving, pressure on clients to give, a suspicious pattern of 
     giving, and the timing of donations relative to legislative 
     activity.
       Whereas, Roll Call has taken note of the timing of 
     contributions from employees the firm and its clients when it 
     reported that they ``have provided thousands of dollars worth 
     of campaign contributions to key Members in close proximity 
     to legislative activity, such as the deadline for earmark 
     request letters or passage of a spending bill.''
       Whereas, CQ Today specifically noted a Member getting 
     ``$25,000 in campaign contribution money from [the founder of 
     the firm] and his relatives right after his subcommittee 
     approved its spending bill in 2005.''
       Whereas, the Associated Press noted that Members received 
     campaign contributions from employees of the firm ``around 
     the time they requested'' earmarks for companies represented 
     by the firm.
       Whereas, the Associated Press highlighted the ``huge 
     amounts of political donations'' from the firm and its 
     clients to select members and noted that ``those political 
     donations have followed a distinct pattern: The giving is 
     especially heavy in March, which is prime time for submitting 
     written earmark requests.''
       Whereas, clients of the firm received at least three 
     hundred million dollars worth of earmarks in fiscal year 2009 
     appropriations legislation, including several that were 
     approved even after news of the FBI raid of the firm's 
     offices and Justice Department investigation into the firm 
     was well known.
       Whereas, the Associated Press reported that ``the FBI says 
     the investigation is continuing, highlighting the close ties 
     between special-interest spending provisions known as 
     earmarks and the raising of campaign cash.''
       Whereas, the persistent media attention focused on 
     questions about the nature and timing of campaign 
     contributions related to the 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.
       Now, therefore, be it: Resolved, that (a) the Committee on 
     Standards of Official Conduct, or a subcommittee of the 
     committee designated by the committee and its members 
     appointed by the chairman and ranking member, shall 
     immediately begin an investigation into the relationship 
     between the source and timing of past campaign contributions 
     to Members of the House related to the raided firm and 
     earmark requests made by Members of the House on behalf of 
     clients of the raided firm.
       (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 
     the resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The resolution qualifies.


                            Motion to Table

  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I move to lay the 
resolution on the table.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to table.
  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 laying House 
Resolution 295 on the table will be followed by 5-minute votes on 
suspending the rules and passing H.R. 20 and H.R. 479.
  Remaining postponed votes will be taken later in the week.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 210, 
nays 173, answered ``present'' 13, not voting 35, as follows:

[[Page H4101]]

                             [Roll No. 163]

                               YEAS--210

     Abercrombie
     Ackerman
     Adler (NJ)
     Altmire
     Andrews
     Arcuri
     Baca
     Baird
     Baldwin
     Barrow
     Becerra
     Berman
     Berry
     Bishop (GA)
     Bishop (NY)
     Blumenauer
     Boren
     Boswell
     Boucher
     Boyd
     Brady (PA)
     Braley (IA)
     Capps
     Capuano
     Cardoza
     Carnahan
     Carney
     Carson (IN)
     Childers
     Clarke
     Clay
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Cohen
     Connolly (VA)
     Conyers
     Cooper
     Costa
     Costello
     Courtney
     Crowley
     Cuellar
     Cummings
     Dahlkemper
     Davis (AL)
     Davis (CA)
     Davis (IL)
     Davis (TN)
     DeFazio
     Delahunt
     DeLauro
     Dicks
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Doyle
     Driehaus
     Edwards (MD)
     Edwards (TX)
     Ellison
     Engel
     Eshoo
     Etheridge
     Farr
     Fattah
     Filner
     Fudge
     Gonzalez
     Gordon (TN)
     Green, Al
     Green, Gene
     Griffith
     Grijalva
     Gutierrez
     Hall (NY)
     Hare
     Harman
     Hastings (FL)
     Heinrich
     Higgins
     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
     Kissell
     Klein (FL)
     Kratovil
     Kucinich
     Langevin
     Larson (CT)
     Lee (CA)
     Levin
     Lewis (GA)
     Lipinski
     Lowey
     Lujan
     Lynch
     Maffei
     Markey (CO)
     Markey (MA)
     Marshall
     Massa
     Matheson
     Matsui
     McCarthy (NY)
     McDermott
     McGovern
     McMahon
     Meek (FL)
     Meeks (NY)
     Michaud
     Miller (NC)
     Miller, George
     Mollohan
     Moore (KS)
     Moore (WI)
     Murphy (CT)
     Murphy, Patrick
     Murphy, Tim
     Murtha
     Nadler (NY)
     Napolitano
     Nye
     Oberstar
     Obey
     Olver
     Ortiz
     Pallone
     Pastor (AZ)
     Payne
     Perlmutter
     Peters
     Peterson
     Pingree (ME)
     Polis (CO)
     Price (NC)
     Rahall
     Rangel
     Richardson
     Rodriguez
     Rohrabacher
     Ross
     Rothman (NJ)
     Roybal-Allard
     Ruppersberger
     Rush
     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
     Snyder
     Space
     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--173

     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
     Cantor
     Cao
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Castle
     Chaffetz
     Coble
     Coffman (CO)
     Cole
     Crenshaw
     Culberson
     Davis (KY)
     Deal (GA)
     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)
     Goodlatte
     Granger
     Graves
     Guthrie
     Hall (TX)
     Halvorson
     Harper
     Herger
     Herseth Sandlin
     Hill
     Himes
     Hodes
     Hunter
     Inglis
     Issa
     Jenkins
     Johnson, Sam
     Jordan (OH)
     Kind
     King (IA)
     King (NY)
     Kirk
     Kirkpatrick (AZ)
     Kosmas
     Lamborn
     Lance
     LaTourette
     Latta
     Lee (NY)
     Lewis (CA)
     LoBiondo
     Loebsack
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     Lummis
     Lungren, Daniel E.
     Mack
     Manzullo
     McCarthy (CA)
     McCaul
     McClintock
     McCotter
     McHenry
     McHugh
     McIntyre
     McKeon
     McMorris Rodgers
     McNerney
     Mica
     Miller (FL)
     Miller (MI)
     Minnick
     Mitchell
     Neugebauer
     Nunes
     Olson
     Paul
     Paulsen
     Pence
     Perriello
     Petri
     Pitts
     Platts
     Posey
     Price (GA)
     Putnam
     Radanovich
     Rehberg
     Reichert
     Roe (TN)
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rogers (MI)
     Rooney
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Roskam
     Royce
     Ryan (WI)
     Scalise
     Schmidt
     Schock
     Sensenbrenner
     Shadegg
     Shimkus
     Shuster
     Simpson
     Smith (NE)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Smith (WA)
     Souder
     Stearns
     Sullivan
     Teague
     Terry
     Thompson (PA)
     Thornberry
     Tiahrt
     Tiberi
     Turner
     Upton
     Visclosky
     Walz
     Wamp
     Whitfield
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Wolf
     Young (FL)

                        ANSWERED ``PRESENT''--13

     Bonner
     Castor (FL)
     Chandler
     Conaway
     Dent
     Diaz-Balart, L.
     Kline (MN)
     Latham
     Lofgren, Zoe
     Myrick
     Poe (TX)
     Walden
     Welch

                             NOT VOTING--35

     Barrett (SC)
     Berkley
     Blunt
     Brown, Corrine
     Butterfield
     Campbell
     Carter
     DeGette
     Frank (MA)
     Gohmert
     Grayson
     Hastings (WA)
     Heller
     Hensarling
     Hinchey
     Hoekstra
     Johnson (IL)
     Kingston
     Larsen (WA)
     Linder
     Maloney
     Marchant
     McCollum
     Melancon
     Miller, Gary
     Moran (KS)
     Moran (VA)
     Neal (MA)
     Pascrell
     Pomeroy
     Reyes
     Ryan (OH)
     Sessions
     Speier
     Westmoreland

                              {time}  1911

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

                          ____________________