[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 15833-15835]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           RAISING A QUESTION OF THE PRIVILEGES OF THE HOUSE

  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to a question of the privileges of 
the House and offer the resolution previously noticed.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the resolution.

[[Page 15834]]

  The Clerk read as follows:

       Whereas the attacks in Benghazi, Libya, on September 11, 
     2012, took the lives of U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, 
     Foreign Service Officer Sean Smith, and former Navy SEALs 
     Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty;
       Whereas the events leading up to and in the immediate 
     aftermath of the attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi 
     were rightfully and thoroughly examined to honor the memory 
     of the victims and to improve the safety of the men and women 
     serving our country overseas;
       Whereas the independent Accountability Review Board 
     convened by the U.S. State Department investigated the events 
     in Benghazi and found no evidence of deliberate wrongdoing;
       Whereas five committees in the U.S. House of 
     Representatives investigated the events in Benghazi and found 
     no evidence of deliberate wrongdoing;
       Whereas four committees in the U.S. Senate investigated the 
     events in Benghazi and found no evidence of deliberate 
     wrongdoing;
       Whereas in each fiscal year, more than $4 billion is 
     appropriated to run the Congress, with untold amounts of this 
     taxpayer money expended by nine Congressional committees to 
     investigate the events in Benghazi, none of which produced 
     any evidence of deliberate wrongdoing;
       Whereas after the exhaustive, thorough, and costly 
     investigations by nine Congressional committees and the 
     independent Accountability Review Board found no evidence of 
     deliberate wrongdoing, Republican leaders in the House 
     insisted on using taxpayer dollars to fund a new, duplicative 
     ``Select Committee on the Events Surrounding the 2012 
     Terrorist Attack in Benghazi,'' (hereafter the Select 
     Committee) to re-examine the matter;
       Whereas this taxpayer-funded committee was given broad 
     powers to pursue its investigations, including an unlimited, 
     taxpayer-funded budget and granting the Chairman the legal 
     authority to subpoena documents and compel testimony without 
     any debate or a vote;
       Whereas the ongoing Republican-led investigation into the 
     events in Benghazi is now one of the longest running and 
     least productive investigations in Congressional history;
       Whereas a widely-quoted statement made on September 29th, 
     2015 by Representative Kevin McCarthy, the Republican Leader 
     of the House of Representatives, has called into question the 
     integrity of the proceedings of the Select Committee and the 
     House of Representatives as a whole;
       Whereas this statement by Representative McCarthy 
     demonstrates that the Select Committee established by 
     Republican leaders in the House of Representatives was 
     created to influence public opinion of a presidential 
     candidate;
       Whereas the Select Committee has been in existence for 17 
     months but has held only three hearings;
       Whereas the Select Committee abandoned its plans to obtain 
     public testimony from Defense Department and Intelligence 
     Community leaders;
       Whereas the Select Committee excluded Democratic Members 
     from interviews of witnesses who provided exculpatory 
     information related to its investigation;
       Whereas information obtained by the Select Committee has 
     been selectively and inaccurately leaked to influence the 
     electoral standing of a candidate for public office;
       Whereas such actions represent an abuse of power that 
     demonstrates the partisan nature of the Select Committee;
       Whereas the Select Committee has spent more than $4.5 
     million in taxpayer funds to date to advance its partisan 
     efforts;
       Whereas this amount does not include the costs of the 
     independent Accountability Review Board; the hearings and 
     reports by nine Congressional committees; the time, money, 
     and resources consumed by Federal agencies to comply with 
     Select Committee requests; or the opportunity cost of not 
     spending this money elsewhere, such as improving security for 
     our diplomatic officers abroad;
       Whereas it is an outrage that more than $4.5 million in 
     taxpayer funds have been used by Republicans in the House of 
     Representatives, not to run the government, but to interfere 
     inappropriately with an election for president of the United 
     States;
       Whereas the use of taxpayer dollars by the House of 
     Representatives for campaign purposes is a violation of the 
     Rules of the House and Federal law;
       Resolved, That:
       1) this misuse of the official resources of the House of 
     Representatives for political purposes undermines the 
     integrity of the proceedings of the House and brings 
     discredit to the House;
       2) the integrity of the proceedings of the House can be 
     fully restored only by the dissolution of the Select 
     Committee; and
       3) the Select Committee shall be dismantled and is hereby 
     directed to make public within thirty days transcripts of all 
     unclassified interviews and depositions it has conducted.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair would entertain argument on 
whether the resolution qualifies as a question of the privileges of the 
House.
  Does any Member seek recognition?
  If not, the Chair will rule.
  The gentlewoman from New York seeks to offer a resolution as a 
question of the privileges of the House under rule IX. The resolution 
alleges that a select committee established by order of the House has 
misused House resources for a political purpose and proposes to 
dismantle the select committee.
  In evaluating the resolution under rule IX, the Chair must determine 
whether the resolution affects ``the rights of the House collectively, 
its safety, dignity, and the integrity of its proceedings.'' In 
addition, Cannon's Precedents, volume 6, section 395 cites the 
precedent of September 24, 1917, for the proposition that ``the 
presence of unprivileged matter destroys the privilege of a resolution 
otherwise privileged.'' That ruling is the foundation for the principle 
that either the entire resolution is privileged, or none of it is.
  Section 706 of the House Rules and Manual documents several 
precedents holding that a resolution alleging a question of the 
privileges of the House may not collaterally challenge a rule of the 
House.
  One such precedent occurred on January 23, 1984. On that date, 
Speaker O'Neill ruled that a resolution directing a change in political 
ratios of committee membership did not qualify as a question of 
privilege because that issue could be otherwise presented to the House 
in a privileged manner. The Speaker noted that the resolution itself 
did not constitute a change in the rules of the House, but nevertheless 
held that the resolution did not qualify because it presented a 
collateral challenge to an adopted rule of the House.
  The Chair would also note the events of January 31, 1996, when a 
resolution directing the Speaker to withdraw an invitation for a 
foreign head of state to address a joint meeting of Congress was held 
not to present a question of privilege because it proposed a collateral 
change in a previous order of the House.
  In each of these cases, the crucial question was whether the 
resolution presented a collateral challenge to an existing rule or 
order of the House.
  The resolution offered by the gentlewoman from New York proposes to 
dismantle the Select Committee on the Events Surrounding the 2012 
Terrorist Attack in Benghazi, which was established in the 114th 
Congress by section 4(a) of House Resolution 5, adopted by the House on 
January 6, 2015. The resolution presents a collateral challenge to that 
order of the House. As such, the resolution does not constitute a 
question of the privileges of the House.
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I appeal the ruling of the Chair.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is, Shall the decision of the 
Chair stand as the judgment of the House?


                            Motion to Table

  Mr. STIVERS. Mr. Speaker, I move to lay the appeal on the table.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to table.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, this 15-
minute vote on the motion to table will be followed by a 5-minute vote 
on adoption of House Resolution 462.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 240, 
nays 183, not voting 11, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 536]

                               YEAS--240

     Abraham
     Aderholt
     Allen
     Amash
     Amodei
     Babin
     Barletta
     Barr
     Barton
     Benishek
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (MI)
     Bishop (UT)
     Black
     Blackburn
     Blum
     Bost
     Boustany
     Brady (TX)
     Brat
     Bridenstine
     Brooks (AL)
     Brooks (IN)
     Buchanan
     Buck
     Bucshon
     Burgess
     Byrne
     Calvert
     Carter (GA)
     Carter (TX)
     Chabot
     Chaffetz
     Clawson (FL)
     Coffman
     Cole
     Collins (GA)
     Collins (NY)
     Comstock
     Conaway
     Cook
     Costello (PA)
     Cramer
     Crawford
     Crenshaw
     Culberson
     Curbelo (FL)
     Davis, Rodney
     Denham
     Dent
     DeSantis
     DesJarlais
     Diaz-Balart
     Dold
     Donovan
     Duffy
     Duncan (SC)
     Duncan (TN)
     Ellmers (NC)
     Emmer (MN)

[[Page 15835]]


     Farenthold
     Fincher
     Fitzpatrick
     Fleischmann
     Fleming
     Flores
     Forbes
     Fortenberry
     Foxx
     Franks (AZ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Garrett
     Gibbs
     Gibson
     Gohmert
     Goodlatte
     Gosar
     Gowdy
     Graves (GA)
     Graves (LA)
     Graves (MO)
     Griffith
     Grothman
     Guinta
     Guthrie
     Hanna
     Hardy
     Harper
     Harris
     Hartzler
     Heck (NV)
     Hensarling
     Herrera Beutler
     Hice, Jody B.
     Hill
     Holding
     Huelskamp
     Huizenga (MI)
     Hultgren
     Hunter
     Hurd (TX)
     Hurt (VA)
     Issa
     Jenkins (KS)
     Jenkins (WV)
     Johnson (OH)
     Johnson, Sam
     Jolly
     Jones
     Jordan
     Joyce
     Katko
     Kelly (MS)
     Kelly (PA)
     King (IA)
     King (NY)
     Kinzinger (IL)
     Kline
     Knight
     Labrador
     LaHood
     LaMalfa
     Lamborn
     Lance
     Latta
     LoBiondo
     Long
     Loudermilk
     Love
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     MacArthur
     Marchant
     Marino
     Massie
     McCarthy
     McCaul
     McClintock
     McHenry
     McKinley
     McMorris Rodgers
     McSally
     Meadows
     Meehan
     Messer
     Mica
     Miller (FL)
     Miller (MI)
     Moolenaar
     Mooney (WV)
     Mullin
     Mulvaney
     Murphy (PA)
     Neugebauer
     Newhouse
     Noem
     Nugent
     Nunes
     Olson
     Palazzo
     Palmer
     Paulsen
     Pearce
     Perry
     Pittenger
     Pitts
     Poe (TX)
     Poliquin
     Pompeo
     Posey
     Price, Tom
     Ratcliffe
     Reed
     Reichert
     Renacci
     Ribble
     Rice (SC)
     Rigell
     Roby
     Roe (TN)
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rohrabacher
     Rokita
     Rooney (FL)
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Roskam
     Ross
     Rothfus
     Rouzer
     Royce
     Russell
     Ryan (WI)
     Salmon
     Sanford
     Scalise
     Schweikert
     Scott, Austin
     Sensenbrenner
     Sessions
     Shimkus
     Shuster
     Simpson
     Smith (MO)
     Smith (NE)
     Smith (NJ)
     Stefanik
     Stewart
     Stivers
     Stutzman
     Thompson (PA)
     Thornberry
     Tiberi
     Tipton
     Trott
     Turner
     Upton
     Valadao
     Wagner
     Walberg
     Walden
     Walker
     Walters, Mimi
     Weber (TX)
     Webster (FL)
     Wenstrup
     Westerman
     Westmoreland
     Whitfield
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Womack
     Woodall
     Yoder
     Yoho
     Young (AK)
     Young (IA)
     Young (IN)
     Zeldin
     Zinke

                               NAYS--183

     Adams
     Aguilar
     Ashford
     Bass
     Beatty
     Becerra
     Bera
     Beyer
     Bishop (GA)
     Blumenauer
     Bonamici
     Boyle, Brendan F.
     Brady (PA)
     Brown (FL)
     Brownley (CA)
     Bustos
     Butterfield
     Capps
     Capuano
     Cardenas
     Carney
     Carson (IN)
     Cartwright
     Castor (FL)
     Castro (TX)
     Chu, Judy
     Cicilline
     Clark (MA)
     Clarke (NY)
     Clay
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Cohen
     Connolly
     Conyers
     Cooper
     Costa
     Courtney
     Crowley
     Cuellar
     Cummings
     Davis (CA)
     Davis, Danny
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     Delaney
     DeLauro
     DelBene
     DeSaulnier
     Deutch
     Doggett
     Doyle, Michael F.
     Duckworth
     Edwards
     Ellison
     Engel
     Eshoo
     Esty
     Farr
     Fattah
     Foster
     Frankel (FL)
     Fudge
     Gabbard
     Gallego
     Garamendi
     Graham
     Grayson
     Green, Al
     Green, Gene
     Grijalva
     Gutierrez
     Hahn
     Hastings
     Heck (WA)
     Higgins
     Himes
     Honda
     Hoyer
     Huffman
     Israel
     Jackson Lee
     Jeffries
     Johnson (GA)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Kaptur
     Keating
     Kelly (IL)
     Kennedy
     Kildee
     Kilmer
     Kind
     Kirkpatrick
     Kuster
     Langevin
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lawrence
     Lee
     Levin
     Lewis
     Lieu, Ted
     Lipinski
     Loebsack
     Lofgren
     Lowenthal
     Lowey
     Lujan Grisham (NM)
     Lujan, Ben Ray (NM)
     Lynch
     Maloney, Carolyn
     Maloney, Sean
     Matsui
     McCollum
     McDermott
     McGovern
     McNerney
     Meeks
     Meng
     Moore
     Moulton
     Murphy (FL)
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Nolan
     Norcross
     O'Rourke
     Pallone
     Pascrell
     Pelosi
     Perlmutter
     Peters
     Peterson
     Pingree
     Pocan
     Polis
     Price (NC)
     Quigley
     Rangel
     Rice (NY)
     Richmond
     Roybal-Allard
     Ruiz
     Ruppersberger
     Rush
     Ryan (OH)
     Sanchez, Linda T.
     Sanchez, Loretta
     Sarbanes
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Schrader
     Scott, David
     Serrano
     Sewell (AL)
     Sherman
     Sires
     Slaughter
     Smith (WA)
     Speier
     Swalwell (CA)
     Takai
     Takano
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Titus
     Tonko
     Torres
     Tsongas
     Van Hollen
     Vargas
     Veasey
     Vela
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Walz
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters, Maxine
     Watson Coleman
     Welch
     Wilson (FL)
     Yarmuth

                             NOT VOTING--11

     Dingell
     Granger
     Hinojosa
     Hudson
     Lummis
     Payne
     Scott (VA)
     Sinema
     Smith (TX)
     Walorski
     Williams

                              {time}  1413

  So the motion to table was agreed to.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________