Porter Goss: “This is a corrections bill, it is necessary, and it is necessary now. Mr. Speaker, a stunning decision by the Supreme…”

“This is a corrections bill, it is necessary, and it is necessary now. Mr. Speaker, a stunning decision by the Supreme Court last spring once again leaves this institution above the law. In Hubbard versus United States, the Court held that section 1001 of 18 United States Code is only applicable to individuals who knowingly issue a false statement to the executive branch, implying that penalties for lying do not apply if the individual is lying to Congress. So, in effect, we have a law on the books that says individuals cannot lie to the executive branch, but it is OK to make false statements to the legislative branch of the Government. That is not good government. Think about what that means. It means individuals who do business with the Government or testify before congressional committees are not legally accountable for the accuracy of what they say and do, and that includes Members of Congress themselves. In fact, the Supreme Court's decision makes it very difficult, if not impossible, to prosecute Members of Congress who have been charged with kickback schemes, ghost employee schemes, check-kiting and falsifying financial disclosure reports. It also means that pending prosecution cases and prior convictions of Members of Congress are in jeopardy of being overturned.”