[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 14973]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            ENDING SCANDALS

  (Mr. EMANUEL asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. EMANUEL. Mr. Speaker, at this time last year, the Jack Abramoff 
scandal was on the front pages of the newspaper. Today, a new guilty 
plea in the scandal proves it is not over. It is like deja vu all over 
again. The president of a major environmental group with close ties to 
this administration pleaded guilty to obstructing a congressional 
investigation and agreed to provide assistance in the ongoing Jack 
Abramoff scandal investigation.
  In little more than 4 months, Democrats and Republicans together in 
Congress have put an end to ``business as usual'' on Capitol Hill and 
passed the most sweeping ethics reform since Watergate. But our work is 
not done. We must continue to hold those in this institution 
accountable for their conduct, and reform doesn't stop at this end of 
Pennsylvania Avenue. The American people deserve better from their 
public servants.
  This Congress passed legislation to assure that the public trust is 
not lost at the expense of private interests. We are shining a bright 
light on the goings on at the Department of Justice, the Department of 
Education, the Department of the Interior, the Veterans Administration 
and the Student Loan Administration. With the power to hold hearings 
and ask questions that demand answers, this Congress is holding the 
administration and their officials accountable for their conduct and 
their oversight of the public trust.
  America voted for change, and we will hold both ends of Pennsylvania 
Avenue accountable. We will never accept business as usual in 
Washington and will not stop until we bring the right reforms to the 
goings on here in Washington.

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