[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 52 (Wednesday, April 14, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H2553-H2554]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           RAISING A QUESTION OF THE PRIVILEGES OF THE HOUSE

  Mr. BOEHNER. Madam Speaker, I have a privileged resolution at the 
desk and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Edwards of Maryland). The Clerk will 
report the resolution.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 1249

       Whereas, on March 4, 2010, the Committee on Standards of 
     Official Conduct issued the following public statement, ``The 
     Committee, pursuant to Rule 18(a), is investigating and 
     gathering additional information concerning matters related 
     to allegations involving Representative Massa'';
       Whereas, on March 8, 2010, Representative Eric Massa 
     resigned from the House;
       Whereas, in the days following Representative Massa's 
     resignation, 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 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, on March 11, 2010, the House of Representatives 
     voted 402-1 to refer to the Standards Committee House 
     Resolution 1164. The resolution would have directed the 
     Committee on Standards of Official Conduct to ``investigate 
     fully, pursuant to clause 3(a)(2) of House Rule XI, which 
     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'';
       Whereas, House Resolution 1164 also stated, ``Within ten 
     days following the 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'';
       Whereas, thirty-four days have passed since the House vote 
     on the resolution that, had it passed, would have required 
     the Standards Committee to create an investigative 
     subcommittee. Nevertheless, during that time the committee 
     has failed to establish an investigative subcommittee and has 
     issued no public announcements indicating its intention to do 
     so;
       Whereas, during the past thirty-four days, numerous news 
     reports have made public additional disturbing information 
     about Mr. Massa's actions and his staff's attempts to bring 
     their concerns about Mr. Massa's conduct to the attention of 
     Democratic leadership;
       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, as recently as this morning, the Washington Post 
     published an article on its Web site and on page three of 
     that newspaper headlined ``Staffers' Accounts Paint More 
     Detailed, Troubling Picture of Massa's Office'';
       Whereas, the same Washington Post article also contained 
     the following sub-headline: ``Workers Felt Helpless'';
       Whereas, in the wake of the aforementioned media accounts 
     and a 402-1 vote by the House that should have signaled to 
     the committee the seriousness of this matter, the continued 
     failure by the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct to 
     establish an investigative subcommittee has held the 
     committee and the full House to public ridicule;
       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;
       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, officers 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 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 
     July 31, 2010.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The resolution qualifies.


                     Motion to Refer the Resolution

  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam 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. Madam 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 previous question was ordered.
  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. BOEHNER. Madam 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 will be followed by a 5-minute vote 
on the motion to suspend the rules on House Resolution 1246.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 235, 
noes 157, answered ``present'' 17, not voting 20, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 202]

                               AYES--235

     Ackerman
     Adler (NJ)
     Altmire
     Andrews
     Arcuri
     Baca
     Baird
     Baldwin
     Barrow
     Bean
     Becerra
     Berkley
     Berman
     Berry
     Bishop (GA)
     Bishop (NY)
     Blumenauer
     Boccieri
     Boren
     Boswell
     Boucher
     Boyd
     Brady (PA)
     Braley (IA)
     Bright
     Brown, Corrine
     Capps
     Capuano
     Cardoza
     Carnahan
     Carney
     Carson (IN)
     Childers
     Chu
     Clarke
     Clay
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Cohen
     Connolly (VA)
     Conyers
     Cooper
     Costa
     Costello
     Courtney
     Crowley
     Cuellar
     Cummings
     Dahlkemper
     Davis (CA)
     Davis (IL)
     Davis (TN)
     DeFazio
     DeGette

[[Page H2554]]


     Delahunt
     DeLauro
     Dicks
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Donnelly (IN)
     Doyle
     Driehaus
     Edwards (MD)
     Edwards (TX)
     Ellison
     Ellsworth
     Engel
     Eshoo
     Etheridge
     Farr
     Fattah
     Filner
     Foster
     Frank (MA)
     Fudge
     Garamendi
     Giffords
     Grayson
     Green, Al
     Green, Gene
     Grijalva
     Gutierrez
     Hall (NY)
     Halvorson
     Hare
     Harman
     Hastings (FL)
     Heinrich
     Herseth Sandlin
     Higgins
     Hill
     Himes
     Hinchey
     Hinojosa
     Hirono
     Hodes
     Holden
     Holt
     Honda
     Hoyer
     Inslee
     Israel
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson Lee (TX)
     Johnson (GA)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Kagen
     Kanjorski
     Kaptur
     Kennedy
     Kildee
     Kilpatrick (MI)
     Kilroy
     Kind
     Kissell
     Klein (FL)
     Kosmas
     Kratovil
     Kucinich
     Langevin
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lee (CA)
     Levin
     Lewis (GA)
     Lipinski
     Loebsack
     Lowey
     Lujan
     Maffei
     Maloney
     Markey (CO)
     Markey (MA)
     Marshall
     Matheson
     Matsui
     McCarthy (NY)
     McCollum
     McDermott
     McGovern
     McIntyre
     McMahon
     McNerney
     Meek (FL)
     Meeks (NY)
     Melancon
     Michaud
     Miller (NC)
     Miller, George
     Minnick
     Mitchell
     Mollohan
     Moore (KS)
     Moore (WI)
     Moran (VA)
     Murphy (CT)
     Murphy (NY)
     Murphy, Patrick
     Nadler (NY)
     Napolitano
     Neal (MA)
     Nye
     Oberstar
     Obey
     Olver
     Ortiz
     Owens
     Pallone
     Pascrell
     Pastor (AZ)
     Payne
     Perlmutter
     Perriello
     Peters
     Peterson
     Pingree (ME)
     Polis (CO)
     Pomeroy
     Price (NC)
     Rahall
     Rangel
     Reyes
     Richardson
     Rodriguez
     Ross
     Rothman (NJ)
     Roybal-Allard
     Rush
     Ryan (OH)
     Salazar
     Sanchez, Loretta
     Sarbanes
     Schakowsky
     Schauer
     Schiff
     Schrader
     Schwartz
     Scott (VA)
     Serrano
     Sestak
     Shea-Porter
     Shuler
     Sires
     Skelton
     Slaughter
     Smith (WA)
     Snyder
     Space
     Speier
     Spratt
     Stark
     Stupak
     Sutton
     Tanner
     Taylor
     Teague
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Tierney
     Titus
     Tonko
     Towns
     Tsongas
     Van Hollen
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Waters
     Watson
     Watt
     Waxman
     Weiner
     Wilson (OH)
     Woolsey
     Wu
     Yarmuth

                               NOES--157

     Aderholt
     Akin
     Alexander
     Austria
     Bachmann
     Bachus
     Bartlett
     Barton (TX)
     Biggert
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (UT)
     Blackburn
     Blunt
     Boehner
     Bono Mack
     Boozman
     Boustany
     Brady (TX)
     Broun (GA)
     Brown (SC)
     Brown-Waite, Ginny
     Buchanan
     Burgess
     Burton (IN)
     Buyer
     Calvert
     Camp
     Cantor
     Cao
     Capito
     Carter
     Cassidy
     Castle
     Chaffetz
     Coble
     Coffman (CO)
     Cole
     Crenshaw
     Culberson
     Davis (KY)
     Diaz-Balart, M.
     Dreier
     Duncan
     Ehlers
     Emerson
     Fallin
     Flake
     Fleming
     Forbes
     Fortenberry
     Foxx
     Franks (AZ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Garrett (NJ)
     Gerlach
     Gingrey (GA)
     Gohmert
     Goodlatte
     Granger
     Graves
     Griffith
     Guthrie
     Hall (TX)
     Heller
     Hensarling
     Herger
     Hunter
     Inglis
     Issa
     Jenkins
     Johnson (IL)
     Johnson, Sam
     Jones
     Jordan (OH)
     King (IA)
     King (NY)
     Kingston
     Kirk
     Kirkpatrick (AZ)
     Kline (MN)
     Lamborn
     Lance
     LaTourette
     Latta
     Lee (NY)
     Lewis (CA)
     Linder
     LoBiondo
     Luetkemeyer
     Lummis
     Lungren, Daniel E.
     Mack
     Manzullo
     Marchant
     McCarthy (CA)
     McClintock
     McCotter
     McHenry
     McKeon
     McMorris Rodgers
     Mica
     Miller (FL)
     Miller (MI)
     Miller, Gary
     Moran (KS)
     Murphy, Tim
     Neugebauer
     Nunes
     Olson
     Paul
     Paulsen
     Pence
     Petri
     Pitts
     Platts
     Posey
     Putnam
     Quigley
     Rehberg
     Reichert
     Roe (TN)
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rogers (MI)
     Rohrabacher
     Rooney
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Roskam
     Royce
     Ryan (WI)
     Scalise
     Schmidt
     Schock
     Sensenbrenner
     Sessions
     Shadegg
     Shimkus
     Shuster
     Smith (NE)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Souder
     Stearns
     Sullivan
     Thompson (PA)
     Thornberry
     Tiahrt
     Tiberi
     Turner
     Upton
     Walz
     Westmoreland
     Whitfield
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Wolf
     Young (FL)

                        ANSWERED ``PRESENT''--17

     Bonner
     Butterfield
     Castor (FL)
     Chandler
     Conaway
     Dent
     Diaz-Balart, L.
     Harper
     Hastings (WA)
     Latham
     Lofgren, Zoe
     McCaul
     Myrick
     Poe (TX)
     Simpson
     Walden
     Welch

                             NOT VOTING--20

     Barrett (SC)
     Bilbray
     Campbell
     Davis (AL)
     Gallegly
     Gonzalez
     Gordon (TN)
     Hoekstra
     Lucas
     Lynch
     Price (GA)
     Radanovich
     Ruppersberger
     Sanchez, Linda T.
     Scott (GA)
     Sherman
     Terry
     Wamp
     Wasserman Schultz
     Young (AK)


                Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (during the vote). There are 2 minutes 
remaining in this vote.

                              {time}  1628

  Mrs. KIRKPATRICK of Arizona and Mr. WALZ changed their vote from 
``aye'' to ``no.''
  Mr. FATTAH changed his vote from ``no'' to ``aye.''
  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.
  Stated against:
  Mr. LUCAS. Madam Speaker, on rollcall No. 202, I was unavoidably 
detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

                          ____________________