Tom Lantos: “a few years ago, as the chairman of the Subcommittee on Employment and Housing of the Government Operations Committee, I…”

“a few years ago, as the chairman of the Subcommittee on Employment and Housing of the Government Operations Committee, I conducted an investigation of fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement of billions of Federal dollars at the Department of Housing and Urban Development during the Reagan administration. That investigation required almost 2 years to complete and involved the holding of some 30 public hearings. That investigation was carried out with the regular subcommittee staff, which was augmented for a portion of that time by two investigators from the General Accounting Office. I received no additional funding for my investigation. We conducted a serious and thorough investigation with no allocation of additional funds. Today, we are considering a Committee Funding Resolution that will provide some $12 to $15 million for the investigation Chairman Burton proposes to conduct in the Government Reform and Oversight Committee. This resolution includes a slush fund of an additional $8 million for this same investigation. The Government reform investigation is being allocated two to three times the amount which the Senate committee under Senator Thompson has received. Not only is Chairman Burton's investigation duplicating only a portion of that same Senate investigation, he is doing so at three times the cost. Mr. Speaker, the committee funding resolution is a serious waste of taxpayer dollars.”