John Sarbanes: “I want to say that the unreasonable element in this current situation is a request for an indefinite extension of the…”

“I want to say that the unreasonable element in this current situation is a request for an indefinite extension of the work of the committee. That was not the premise on which the committee was established in Senate Resolution 120. In fact, it is very clear that in Senate Resolution 120 we agreed to a termination date just as we did in the Iran-Contra investigation at the strong urging of Senator Dole who at that time was the minority leader and who pressed the Democratic majority at that time in the Senate and the House to have a closing date on the inquiry in order to avoid making it a political exercise in a Presidential election year in 1988. That is exactly what we sought to do here by having a termination date of February 29, 1996, and the request that has been made is for an indefinite extension. The minority leader, Senator Daschle, has responded to that by proposing a limited time period. But the proposal before us that was brought first from the Banking Committee, and then by the Rules Committee, on a straight partisan vote is for an indefinite time period in order to carry out this inquiry. And, as I have indicated, this is perceived as unreasonable.”