[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 2342]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      MORATORIUM ON PRIVATE TRAVEL

  (Mr. PENCE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PENCE. Madam Speaker, millions of Americans are troubled by 
recent revelations concerning privately funded travel, and Congress, in 
my judgment, should ban privately funded travel until a system of prior 
approval can be established within the framework of the House Ethics 
Committee.
  While private travel permits Members of Congress to expand their 
knowledge of issues affecting the Nation and the world without 
burdening taxpayers, recent revelations have served to undermine public 
confidence about this practice, and I believe it should be suspended 
until new safeguards can be put in place to ensure accountability and 
transparency. Congress must take bold action to restore the confidence 
of the American people in the integrity of our national legislature.
  I commend Speaker Hastert and Chairman David Dreier for offering a 
bold vision of ethics reform and urge my colleagues to join me in 
supporting their efforts today.

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