[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 13787]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           SUPPORTING THE FBI

  (Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise today to 
alert my fellow Members to a deadline that passed with little comment 
over the weekend.
  Following the FBI search of a Member of this body's office, President 
Bush sealed the collected files for a period of 45 days. That deadline 
passed over the weekend.
  My question is, What next?
  Will this House continue to shield one of its own from criminal 
investigation and hide behind a misreading of the speech or debate 
clause, or will we admit that no American is above the law, Member of 
Congress or not?
  I have introduced a resolution making it clear that when law 
enforcement officers have a valid search warrant in pursuit of criminal 
misconduct, it is entirely within their rights to search the office of 
a Member of Congress.
  Now that the 45-day hold has passed, I would hope that President Bush 
would allow law enforcement officers to continue their duties to 
investigate criminal misconduct wherever it may originate. Currently, 
there are 20 Members of this body on that resolution, and I would 
encourage any others who want to send a loud and clear message we are 
not above the law to join me in cosponsoring it.

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