[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Pages 23861-23862]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  THE HOUSE FACES A GRAVE MORAL CRISIS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Lampson) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, as I reflect on my time as a member of this 
great institution, my most important concern is to leave the House of 
Representatives a better place than when I started. Unfortunately, the 
House faces a grave moral crisis, and we have already heard other 
Members speak, within the last few speakers, of these morals that we 
have brought to bear.
  Two weeks have barely passed since election day and, the majority 
party has just perpetrated one of the biggest hypocrisies that this 
institution and, more importantly, our Nation has seen. Today, just as 
the Washington Post reported that it would and just as our nightly news 
reported that it did, the majority amended its own leadership 
structure, if we can believe it, to allow a Member under felony 
criminal indictment to hold a position of leadership in this body.
  The majority party campaigned on its alleged moral values agenda, but 
when they got back to Washington, moral values flew right out the 
window. I am sorely disappointed to see the majority so quickly and so 
arrogantly turn its back on its biggest promise to America. The 
proposed leadership rule change is a flagrant and despicable insult to 
the American public and is firm evidence that the majority party's 
moral compass is permanently off center.
  Indeed, this rule was adopted by the majority in 1993 as an effort to 
bring accountability to this House's leadership structure, and rightly 
so. Our elected leaders must be of the highest, utmost moral fiber, and 
I dare anyone to disagree with that notion.
  Now, the majority finds it politically inconvenient to hold 
congressional leaders accountable and wants to allow Members facing 
felony criminal charges to continue tarnishing this institution. What 
sort of moral value does the majority exhibit by allowing those under 
criminal investigation to infiltrate our highest leadership posts? Can 
our children ever truly understand moral clarity when the majority 
allows those facing criminal felony indictments to rule the roost? Has 
the majority lost so much control of its own moral balance by rewarding 
Members facing felony criminal indictments with the perquisites of 
leadership?
  Clearly, the majority is struggling, and unsuccessfully at that, to 
find its own moral balance. The majority is verbally tap dancing around 
this issue, claiming incredulously that State court criminal 
indictments carry less

[[Page 23862]]

weight than Federal court criminal indictments. Instead of supporting 
State prosecutors, the law enforcement officers who protect our 
communities against waves of criminal behavior, the majority has 
attacked them as partisan hacks with hidden agendas.
  What sort of moral values does the majority display by declaring 
local law enforcement efforts irrelevant? Would any of us tell our 
children to ignore the safety warnings given by our brave police 
officers, firefighters and other law enforcement figures? For the 
safety of our Nation, I pray not.
  Mr. Speaker, the law is the law, period. If you are suspected of 
breaking it, then you are the subject of a criminal indictment. This is 
a simple, basic and fundamental moral lesson anyone can faithfully 
recite, yet one the majority apparently does not understand.
  The Congress is not the place to play fast and loose with the 
principles of moral clarity nor should any majority exploit its own 
internal rules and structure for crass political purposes.
  When we make excuses to allow anyone under felony indictment to lead 
Congress, we set ourselves down a slippery slope of immoral activity 
and scheming. These are not the type of morals and values that the 
voters thought they were voting for on election day; nor should the 
majority so brazenly embrace this foundation of corruption.
  Absolute power corrupts absolutely. The majority talked about moral 
values on the campaign trail but clearly blanked on their empty promise 
once back in Washington. The majority is not about morals. It is not 
about values but one thing and one thing only, protecting their 
majority at any or all costs.
  Shame, shame on this House of Representatives and the majority for 
caring more about protecting their majority than about promoting true 
moral values for the American people.

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