[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 3731-3732]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          PERSONAL EXPLANATION

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. TIMOTHY V. JOHNSON

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 11, 2009

  Mr. JOHNSON of Illinois. Madam Speaker, unfortunately last night, 
February 10, 2009, I was unable to cast my votes on the Motion to

[[Page 3732]]

Instruct Conferees on H.R. 1, H. Res. 114, H. Res. 60, H. Res. 143, H. 
Res. 128, and H. Res. 134 and wish the record to reflect my intentions 
had I been able to vote.
  Had I been present for rollcall No. 54, on the Motion to Instruct 
Conferees to H.R. 1, stating that the Economic Stimulus bill must be 
made available for 48 hours before a final vote, I would have voted 
``aye.'' It is unbelievable to me that we are more than likely going to 
be asked to vote on an $800 billion piece of legislation, that will be 
drafted behind closed doors, after having less than 24 hours to review 
it. We owe it to our constituents to take our time with this bill, 
study it extensively and ensure that the stimulus will actually create 
jobs.
  Had I been present for rollcall No. 55, on suspending the rules and 
passing H. Res. 114, Supporting the goals and ideals of ``National 
Girls and Women in Sports Day,'' I would have voted ``aye.''
  Had I been present for rollcall No. 56, on suspending the rules and 
passing H. Res. 60, Recognizing and commending University of Oklahoma 
quarterback Sam Bradford for winning the 2008 Heisman Trophy and for 
his academic and athletic accomplishments, I would have voted ``aye.''
  Had I been present for rollcall No. 57, on a motion to table H. Res. 
143, the personal resolution offered by Rep. John Carter to ensure that 
Chairman Charlie Rangel steps aside during his ethics investigation, I 
would have voted ``no.'' Over the past couple of years we have had an 
unbelievable number of ethics violations by Members of Congress that 
have deteriorated the trust that the American people had for its 
Representatives and it is about time we took a hard line on ethics 
violations. Rep. Rangel has admitted that he has made mistakes and the 
House ethics committee is currently investigating him on numerous 
separate cases. To make clear to the American people that this is a 
House of integrity, I must ask Chairman Rangel to step aside until the 
ethics committee can complete its work.
  Had I been present for rollcall No. 58, on suspending the rules and 
passing H. Res. 128, Honoring Miami University for its 200 years of 
commitment to extraordinary higher education, I would have voted 
``aye.''
  Had I been present for rollcall No. 59, on suspending the rules and 
passing H. Res. 134, Recognizing the 50th Anniversary of Dr. Martin 
Luther King, Jr.'s visit to India, and the positive influence that the 
teachings of Mahatma Gandhi had on Dr. King's work during the Civil 
Rights Moement, I would have voted ``aye.''

                          ____________________