Howard Berman: “The one thing I know is that if we say in the rules at the beginning that this is what will happen after 180 days, we…”

“The one thing I know is that if we say in the rules at the beginning that this is what will happen after 180 days, we are raising the likelihood of the deadlock massively. And what I have told several people, and I repeat here on the floor, is that if I am in a committee meeting and we are in deadlock and people are acting in good faith, and it is a close question, because if it is a frivolous issue, the gentleman from Utah [Mr. Hansen], the chairman of the committee, and I have dismissed it before it ever got to that full committee level, because under this task force report we have the ability to do that; but if it is a close question and we are deadlocked and we cannot work it out, long before those 180 days, this particular Member, if he is on the side of going forward with an investigation, changes his vote, because he does not want to see Members hanging out to dry week after week, month after month, understanding what this means to them, their political and personal futures, and their families. All I am saying is, 180 days or any time certain works against solving those kinds of problems.”