[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 40 (Thursday, March 18, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H1622-H1623]
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. 1193
Whereas, the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct
initiated an investigation into allegations related to
earmarks and campaign contributions in the Spring of 2009.
Whereas, on December 2, 2009, reports and findings in seven
separate matters involving the alleged connection between
earmarks and campaign contributions were forwarded by the
Office of Congressional Ethics to the Standards Committee.
Whereas, on February 26, 2010, the Standards Committee made
public its report on the matter wherein the Committee found,
though a widespread perception exists among corporations and
lobbyists that campaign contributions provide a greater
chance of obtaining earmarks, there was no evidence that
Members or their staff considered contributions when
requesting earmarks.
Whereas, the Committee indicated that, with respect to the
matters forwarded by the Office of Congressional Ethics,
neither the evidence cited in the OCE's findings nor the
evidence in the record before the Standards Committee
provided a substantial reason to believe that violations of
applicable standards of conduct occurred.
Whereas, the Office of Congressional Ethics is prohibited
from reviewing activities taking place prior to March of 2008
and lacks the authority to subpoena witnesses and documents.
Whereas, for example, the Office of Congressional Ethics
noted that in some instances documents were redacted or
specific information was not provided and that, in at least
one instance, they had reason to believe a witness withheld
information requested and did not identify what was being
withheld.
Whereas, the Office of Congressional Ethics also noted that
they were able to interview only six former employees of the
PMA Group, with many former employees refusing to consent to
interviews and the OCE unable to obtain evidence within PMA's
possession.
Whereas, Roll Call noted that ``the committee report was
five pages long and included no documentation of any evidence
collected or any interviews conducted by the committee,
beyond a statement that the investigation `included extensive
document reviews and interviews with numerous witnesses.' ''
(Roll Call, March 8, 2010)
Whereas, it is unclear whether the Standards Committee
included in their investigation any activities that occurred
prior to 2008.
Whereas, it is unclear whether the Standards Committee
interviewed any Members in the course of their investigation.
Whereas, it is unclear whether the Standards Committee, in
the course of their investigation, initiated their own
subpoenas or
[[Page H1623]]
followed the Office of Congressional Ethics recommendations
to issue subpoenas. Therefore, be it
Resolved, That not later than seven days after the adoption
of this resolution, the Committee on Standards of Official
Conduct shall report to the House of Representatives, with
respect to the activities addressed in its report of February
26, 2010, (1) how many witnesses were interviewed, (2) how
many, if any, subpoenas were issued in the course of their
investigation, and (3) what documents were reviewed and their
availability for public review.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The resolution qualifies.
Motion to Refer the Resolution
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I move that the resolution be referred to
the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Massachusetts is
recognized for 1 hour.
Mr. McGOVERN. 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 move the previous question.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the previous question is
ordered on the motion.
There was no objection.
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.
Mr. FLAKE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, this 15-
minute vote on the motion to refer will be followed by 5-minute votes
on motions to suspend the rules with regard to H.R. 3542, H.R. 3509,
and House Resolution 1173.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 397,
nays 0, answered ``present'' 12, not voting 21, as follows:
[Roll No. 131]
YEAS--397
Aderholt
Adler (NJ)
Akin
Alexander
Altmire
Andrews
Arcuri
Austria
Baca
Bachmann
Bachus
Baird
Baldwin
Barrow
Bartlett
Barton (TX)
Bean
Becerra
Berkley
Berman
Berry
Biggert
Bilbray
Bilirakis
Bishop (GA)
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
Burton (IN)
Buyer
Calvert
Camp
Campbell
Cantor
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
Dahlkemper
Davis (AL)
Davis (CA)
Davis (IL)
Davis (KY)
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
Griffith
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 (GA)
Johnson (IL)
Johnson, E. B.
Johnson, Sam
Jones
Jordan (OH)
Kagen
Kanjorski
Kennedy
Kildee
Kilpatrick (MI)
Kilroy
Kind
King (IA)
King (NY)
Kingston
Kirk
Kirkpatrick (AZ)
Kissell
Klein (FL)
Kline (MN)
Kratovil
Kucinich
Lamborn
Lance
Langevin
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
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
Myrick
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
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
Ryan (OH)
Ryan (WI)
Salazar
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
Stearns
Stupak
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
Welch
Whitfield
Wilson (OH)
Wilson (SC)
Wittman
Wolf
Woolsey
Wu
Yarmuth
Young (AK)
Young (FL)
ANSWERED ``PRESENT''--12
Bonner
Butterfield
Castor (FL)
Chandler
Conaway
Dent
Diaz-Balart, L.
Harper
Latham
McCaul
Simpson
Walden
NOT VOTING--21
Ackerman
Barrett (SC)
Bishop (NY)
Bishop (UT)
Burgess
Cao
Cummings
Davis (TN)
Deal (GA)
Grijalva
Hastings (WA)
Hoekstra
Kaptur
Kosmas
Lofgren, Zoe
Radanovich
Rush
Sanchez, Linda T.
Stark
Sullivan
Westmoreland
Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore
The SPEAKER pro tempore (during the vote). There are 2 minutes
remaining in this vote.
{time} 1717
Mr. JORDAN of Ohio changed his vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
Messrs. WALDEN and LATHAM changed their vote from ``yea'' 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.
____________________