[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 35 (Thursday, March 11, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H1337-H1339]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RAISING A QUESTION OF THE PRIVILEGES OF THE HOUSE
Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I send to the desk a privileged resolution
and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the resolution.
The Clerk read as follows:
H. Res. 1164
Whereas, on March 8, 2010, Representative Eric Massa
resigned from the House;
Whereas, numerous newspapers and other media organizations
reported in the days before and after Mr. Massa's resignation
that the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct was
investigating allegations that Mr. Massa sexually harassed
Members of his congressional staff;
Whereas, on March 3, 2010, Majority Leader Hoyer's office
issued a statement saying, ``The week of February 8th, a
member of Rep. Massa's staff brought to the attention of Mr.
Hoyer's staff allegations of misconduct that had been made
against Mr. Massa. Mr. Hoyer's staff immediately informed him
of what they had been told'';
Whereas, on Thursday, March 4, Roll Call newspaper
reported, ``Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she only learned
Wednesday of misconduct allegations against freshman Rep.
Eric Massa, though her staff had learned of it earlier and
decided against briefing her. `There had been a rumor, but
just that,' Pelosi told reporters at her weekly news
conference. `A one-, two-, three-person rumor that had been
reported to Mr. Hoyer's office and reported to my staff which
they did not report to me because you know what? This is
rumor city. There are rumors.' '';
Whereas, on March 11, 2010, The Washington Post reported,
``House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office was notified in October
by then-Rep. Eric Massa's top aide [Joe Racalto] of concerns
about the New York Democrat's behavior'';
Whereas, on March 11, 2010, Politico newspaper reported,
``Democratic insiders say Pelosi's office took no action
after Racalto expressed his concerns about his then-boss in
October'';
Whereas, on March 9, 2010, The Corning Leader newspaper
reported, ``Hoyer said last week he told Massa to inform the
House Ethics Committee of the charges within 48 hours. `Steny
Hoyer has never said a single word to me, never, not once,
not a word,' Massa said Sunday. `This is a lie. It is a
blatant false statement.' '';
Whereas, numerous confusing and conflicting media reports
that House Democratic leaders knew about, and may have failed
to handle appropriately, allegations that Rep. Massa was
sexually harassing his own employees have raised serious and
legitimate questions about what Speaker Pelosi as well as
other Democratic leaders and their respective staffs were
told, and what those individuals did with the information in
their possession;
Whereas, the aforementioned media accounts have held the
House up to public ridicule;
Whereas, the possibility that House Democratic leaders may
have failed to immediately confront Rep. Massa about
allegations of sexual harassment may have exposed employees
and interns of Rep. Massa to continued harassment;
Whereas, clause one of rule XXIII of the Rules of the House
of Representatives, titled ``Code of Conduct,'' states ``A
Member, Delegate, Resident Commission, officer, or employee
of the House shall conduct himself at all times in a manner
that shall reflect creditably on the House'';
Whereas, the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct is
charged under House Rules with enforcing the Code of Conduct:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved:
(1) The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct is
directed to investigate fully, pursuant to clause 3(a)(2) of
House rule XI, which House Democratic leaders and members of
their respective staffs had knowledge prior to March 3, 2010
of the aforementioned allegations concerning Mr. Massa, and
what actions each leader and staffer having any such
knowledge took after learning of the allegations;
(2) Within ten days following adoption of this resolution,
and pursuant to Committee on Standards of Official Conduct
rule 19, the committee shall establish an Investigative
Subcommittee in the aforementioned matter, or report to the
House no later than the final day of that period the reasons
for its failure to do so;
(3) All Members and staff are instructed to cooperate fully
in the committee's investigation and to preserve all records,
electronic or otherwise, that may bear on the subject of this
investigation;
(4) The Chief Administrative Officer shall immediately take
all steps necessary to secure and prevent the alteration or
deletion
[[Page H1338]]
of any e-mails, text messages, voicemails and other
electronic records resident on House equipment that have been
sent or received by the Members and staff who are the
subjects of the investigation authorized under this
resolution until advised by the Committee on Standards of
Official Conduct that it has no need of any portion of said
records; and,
(5) The Committee shall issue a final report of its
findings and recommendations in this matter no later than
June 30, 2010.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The resolution presents a question of
privilege.
Motion to Refer the Resolution
Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I move that the resolution be referred to
the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from South Carolina is
recognized on the motion.
Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, this is a matter that properly belongs
before the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.
I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question
on the motion.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on ordering the previous
question.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Recorded Vote
Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.
A recorded vote was ordered.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 404,
noes 2, answered ``present'' 15, not voting 9, as follows:
[Roll No. 106]
AYES--404
Ackerman
Aderholt
Adler (NJ)
Alexander
Altmire
Andrews
Arcuri
Austria
Baca
Bachmann
Bachus
Baird
Baldwin
Barrett (SC)
Barrow
Bartlett
Barton (TX)
Bean
Becerra
Berkley
Berman
Berry
Biggert
Bilbray
Bilirakis
Bishop (GA)
Bishop (NY)
Bishop (UT)
Blackburn
Blumenauer
Blunt
Boccieri
Boehner
Bono Mack
Boozman
Boren
Boswell
Boucher
Boustany
Boyd
Brady (PA)
Brady (TX)
Braley (IA)
Bright
Broun (GA)
Brown (SC)
Brown, Corrine
Brown-Waite, Ginny
Buchanan
Burgess
Burton (IN)
Calvert
Camp
Campbell
Cantor
Cao
Capito
Capps
Capuano
Cardoza
Carnahan
Carney
Carson (IN)
Carter
Cassidy
Castle
Chaffetz
Childers
Chu
Clarke
Clay
Cleaver
Clyburn
Coble
Coffman (CO)
Cohen
Cole
Connolly (VA)
Conyers
Cooper
Costa
Costello
Courtney
Crenshaw
Crowley
Cuellar
Culberson
Cummings
Dahlkemper
Davis (CA)
Davis (IL)
Davis (KY)
Davis (TN)
DeFazio
DeGette
Delahunt
DeLauro
Diaz-Balart, M.
Dicks
Dingell
Doggett
Donnelly (IN)
Doyle
Dreier
Driehaus
Duncan
Edwards (MD)
Edwards (TX)
Ehlers
Ellison
Ellsworth
Emerson
Engel
Eshoo
Etheridge
Fallin
Farr
Fattah
Filner
Flake
Fleming
Forbes
Fortenberry
Foster
Foxx
Frank (MA)
Franks (AZ)
Frelinghuysen
Fudge
Gallegly
Garamendi
Garrett (NJ)
Gerlach
Giffords
Gingrey (GA)
Gohmert
Gonzalez
Goodlatte
Gordon (TN)
Granger
Graves
Grayson
Green, Al
Green, Gene
Grijalva
Guthrie
Gutierrez
Hall (NY)
Hall (TX)
Halvorson
Hare
Harman
Hastings (FL)
Heinrich
Heller
Hensarling
Herger
Herseth Sandlin
Higgins
Hill
Himes
Hinchey
Hinojosa
Hirono
Hodes
Holden
Holt
Honda
Hoyer
Hunter
Inglis
Inslee
Israel
Issa
Jackson (IL)
Jackson Lee (TX)
Jenkins
Johnson, E. B.
Johnson, Sam
Jones
Jordan (OH)
Kagen
Kanjorski
Kaptur
Kennedy
Kildee
Kilpatrick (MI)
Kilroy
Kind
King (IA)
King (NY)
Kingston
Kirk
Kirkpatrick (AZ)
Kissell
Klein (FL)
Kline (MN)
Kosmas
Kratovil
Kucinich
Lamborn
Lance
Langevin
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Latham
LaTourette
Latta
Lee (CA)
Lee (NY)
Levin
Lewis (CA)
Lewis (GA)
Linder
Lipinski
LoBiondo
Loebsack
Lowey
Lucas
Luetkemeyer
Lujan
Lummis
Lungren, Daniel E.
Lynch
Mack
Maffei
Maloney
Manzullo
Marchant
Markey (CO)
Markey (MA)
Marshall
Matheson
Matsui
McCarthy (CA)
McCarthy (NY)
McClintock
McCollum
McCotter
McDermott
McGovern
McHenry
McIntyre
McKeon
McMahon
McMorris Rodgers
McNerney
Meek (FL)
Meeks (NY)
Melancon
Mica
Michaud
Miller (FL)
Miller (MI)
Miller (NC)
Miller, Gary
Miller, George
Minnick
Mitchell
Mollohan
Moore (KS)
Moore (WI)
Moran (KS)
Moran (VA)
Murphy (CT)
Murphy (NY)
Murphy, Patrick
Murphy, Tim
Nadler (NY)
Napolitano
Neal (MA)
Neugebauer
Nunes
Nye
Oberstar
Obey
Olson
Olver
Ortiz
Owens
Pallone
Pascrell
Pastor (AZ)
Paul
Paulsen
Payne
Pence
Perlmutter
Perriello
Peters
Peterson
Petri
Pingree (ME)
Pitts
Platts
Poe (TX)
Polis (CO)
Pomeroy
Posey
Price (GA)
Price (NC)
Putnam
Quigley
Radanovich
Rahall
Rangel
Rehberg
Reichert
Reyes
Richardson
Rodriguez
Roe (TN)
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rogers (MI)
Rooney
Ros-Lehtinen
Roskam
Ross
Rothman (NJ)
Roybal-Allard
Royce
Ruppersberger
Rush
Ryan (WI)
Salazar
Sanchez, Linda T.
Sanchez, Loretta
Sarbanes
Scalise
Schakowsky
Schauer
Schiff
Schmidt
Schock
Schrader
Schwartz
Scott (GA)
Scott (VA)
Sensenbrenner
Serrano
Sessions
Sestak
Shadegg
Shea-Porter
Sherman
Shimkus
Shuler
Shuster
Sires
Skelton
Slaughter
Smith (NE)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Smith (WA)
Snyder
Souder
Space
Speier
Spratt
Stark
Stearns
Stupak
Sullivan
Sutton
Tanner
Taylor
Teague
Terry
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Thompson (PA)
Thornberry
Tiahrt
Tiberi
Tierney
Titus
Tonko
Towns
Tsongas
Turner
Upton
Van Hollen
Velazquez
Visclosky
Walz
Wamp
Wasserman Schultz
Waters
Watson
Watt
Waxman
Weiner
Westmoreland
Whitfield
Wilson (OH)
Wilson (SC)
Wittman
Wolf
Woolsey
Wu
Yarmuth
Young (AK)
NOES--2
Johnson (IL)
Rohrabacher
ANSWERED ``PRESENT''--15
Bonner
Butterfield
Castor (FL)
Chandler
Conaway
Dent
Harper
Hastings (WA)
Johnson (GA)
Lofgren, Zoe
McCaul
Myrick
Simpson
Walden
Welch
NOT VOTING--9
Akin
Buyer
Davis (AL)
Deal (GA)
Diaz-Balart, L.
Griffith
Hoekstra
Ryan (OH)
Young (FL)
Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore
The SPEAKER pro tempore (during the vote). Two minutes remain in this
vote.
{time} 1314
Mr. KING of Iowa changed his vote from ``no'' to ``aye.''
Mr. McCAUL changed his vote from ``aye'' to ``present.''
So the previous question was ordered.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to refer.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Recorded Vote
Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.
A recorded vote was ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, this 15-
minute vote on the motion to refer the resolution will be followed by a
5-minute vote on suspending the rules and agreeing to House Resolution
1107.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 402,
noes 1, answered ``present'' 15, not voting 12, as follows:
[Roll No. 107]
AYES--402
Ackerman
Aderholt
Adler (NJ)
Akin
Alexander
Altmire
Andrews
Arcuri
Austria
Baca
Bachmann
Bachus
Baird
Baldwin
Barrett (SC)
Barrow
Bartlett
Barton (TX)
Bean
Becerra
Berkley
Berman
Biggert
Bilbray
Bilirakis
Bishop (GA)
Bishop (NY)
Bishop (UT)
Blackburn
Blumenauer
Blunt
Boccieri
Boehner
Bono Mack
Boozman
Boren
Boswell
Boucher
Boustany
Boyd
Brady (PA)
Brady (TX)
Braley (IA)
Bright
Broun (GA)
Brown (SC)
Brown, Corrine
Brown-Waite, Ginny
Buchanan
Burgess
Burton (IN)
Calvert
Camp
Campbell
Cantor
Cao
Capito
Capps
Capuano
Cardoza
Carnahan
Carney
Carson (IN)
Carter
Cassidy
Castle
Chaffetz
Childers
Chu
Clarke
Clay
Cleaver
Clyburn
Coble
Coffman (CO)
Cohen
Cole
Connolly (VA)
Conyers
Cooper
Costa
Costello
Courtney
Crenshaw
Crowley
Cuellar
Culberson
Cummings
Dahlkemper
Davis (CA)
Davis (IL)
Davis (KY)
Davis (TN)
DeFazio
DeGette
Delahunt
DeLauro
Diaz-Balart, M.
Dicks
Dingell
Doggett
Donnelly (IN)
Doyle
Dreier
Driehaus
Duncan
Edwards (MD)
Edwards (TX)
Ehlers
Ellison
Ellsworth
Emerson
Engel
Etheridge
Fallin
Farr
[[Page H1339]]
Filner
Flake
Fleming
Forbes
Fortenberry
Foster
Foxx
Frank (MA)
Franks (AZ)
Frelinghuysen
Fudge
Gallegly
Garamendi
Garrett (NJ)
Gerlach
Giffords
Gingrey (GA)
Gohmert
Gonzalez
Goodlatte
Gordon (TN)
Granger
Graves
Grayson
Green, Al
Green, Gene
Grijalva
Guthrie
Gutierrez
Hall (NY)
Hall (TX)
Halvorson
Hare
Harman
Hastings (FL)
Heinrich
Heller
Hensarling
Herger
Herseth Sandlin
Higgins
Hill
Himes
Hinchey
Hinojosa
Hirono
Hodes
Holden
Holt
Honda
Hoyer
Hunter
Inglis
Inslee
Israel
Issa
Jackson (IL)
Jackson Lee (TX)
Jenkins
Johnson (IL)
Johnson, E. B.
Johnson, Sam
Jones
Jordan (OH)
Kagen
Kanjorski
Kaptur
Kennedy
Kildee
Kilpatrick (MI)
Kilroy
Kind
King (IA)
King (NY)
Kingston
Kirk
Kirkpatrick (AZ)
Kissell
Klein (FL)
Kline (MN)
Kosmas
Kratovil
Kucinich
Lamborn
Lance
Langevin
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Latham
LaTourette
Latta
Lee (CA)
Lee (NY)
Levin
Lewis (CA)
Lewis (GA)
Linder
Lipinski
LoBiondo
Loebsack
Lowey
Lucas
Luetkemeyer
Lujan
Lummis
Lungren, Daniel E.
Lynch
Mack
Maffei
Maloney
Manzullo
Marchant
Markey (CO)
Markey (MA)
Marshall
Matheson
Matsui
McCarthy (CA)
McCarthy (NY)
McClintock
McCollum
McCotter
McDermott
McGovern
McHenry
McIntyre
McKeon
McMahon
McMorris Rodgers
McNerney
Meek (FL)
Meeks (NY)
Melancon
Mica
Michaud
Miller (FL)
Miller (MI)
Miller (NC)
Miller, Gary
Miller, George
Minnick
Mollohan
Moore (KS)
Moore (WI)
Moran (KS)
Moran (VA)
Murphy (CT)
Murphy (NY)
Murphy, Patrick
Murphy, Tim
Nadler (NY)
Napolitano
Neal (MA)
Neugebauer
Nunes
Nye
Oberstar
Obey
Olson
Olver
Ortiz
Owens
Pallone
Pascrell
Pastor (AZ)
Paul
Paulsen
Payne
Pence
Perlmutter
Perriello
Peters
Peterson
Petri
Pingree (ME)
Pitts
Platts
Poe (TX)
Polis (CO)
Pomeroy
Posey
Price (GA)
Price (NC)
Putnam
Quigley
Radanovich
Rahall
Rangel
Rehberg
Reichert
Reyes
Richardson
Rodriguez
Roe (TN)
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rogers (MI)
Rohrabacher
Rooney
Ros-Lehtinen
Roskam
Ross
Rothman (NJ)
Roybal-Allard
Royce
Ruppersberger
Rush
Ryan (OH)
Ryan (WI)
Salazar
Sanchez, Linda T.
Sanchez, Loretta
Sarbanes
Scalise
Schakowsky
Schauer
Schiff
Schmidt
Schock
Schrader
Schwartz
Scott (GA)
Scott (VA)
Sensenbrenner
Serrano
Sessions
Sestak
Shadegg
Shea-Porter
Sherman
Shimkus
Shuler
Shuster
Sires
Skelton
Slaughter
Smith (NE)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Smith (WA)
Snyder
Souder
Space
Spratt
Stark
Stearns
Stupak
Sullivan
Sutton
Tanner
Taylor
Teague
Terry
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Thompson (PA)
Thornberry
Tiahrt
Tiberi
Tierney
Titus
Tonko
Towns
Tsongas
Turner
Upton
Van Hollen
Velazquez
Visclosky
Walz
Wamp
Wasserman Schultz
Waters
Watson
Watt
Waxman
Weiner
Westmoreland
Whitfield
Wilson (OH)
Wilson (SC)
Wittman
Wolf
Woolsey
Wu
Yarmuth
NOES--1
Fattah
ANSWERED ``PRESENT''--15
Bonner
Butterfield
Castor (FL)
Chandler
Conaway
Dent
Harper
Hastings (WA)
Johnson (GA)
Lofgren, Zoe
McCaul
Myrick
Simpson
Walden
Welch
NOT VOTING--12
Berry
Buyer
Davis (AL)
Deal (GA)
Diaz-Balart, L.
Eshoo
Griffith
Hoekstra
Mitchell
Speier
Young (AK)
Young (FL)
Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore
The SPEAKER pro tempore (during the vote). Two minutes remain in this
vote.
{time} 1331
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.
____________________