[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 15]
[House]
[Pages 19976-19977]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Miller of Michigan). The gentleman will 
refrain from improper references to the President and Vice President.
  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. What was that, Madam Speaker?
  Madam Speaker, I do not understand. I did not say the President. What 
did I say that was improper?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Improper references to the President and 
Vice President, whether by accusation or innuendo are not in order.
  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I only said that the President and 
Vice President sat down with the drug and insurance industry and wrote 
this bill, and I never said the President did anything illegal. I 
questioned that it was the right thing to do. Am I not allowed to say 
that, Madam Speaker?

[[Page 19977]]

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman may not, even by innuendo, 
allege a quid pro quo between receipt of campaign contributions and 
public-policy decisions.
  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I really just want to make sure I 
understand. So if the President wrote a bill with the drug and 
insurance industry, then by my saying that the drug and insurance 
industry gave money to the President's campaign, that is improper to 
say?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman's characterization of the 
process as corrupt conveyed the impression of undue influence.
  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I was talking about the leadership 
of this Congress being corrupt by passing a Medicare bill the way they 
did.

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