John Sarbanes: “Senator Inouye indicated yesterday that the Iran-Contra Committee intensified its hearings as it approached its deadline…”

“Senator Inouye indicated yesterday that the Iran-Contra Committee intensified its hearings as it approached its deadline in order to complete the work. They did 21 days of hearings in the last 23 days. This committee, in contrast, in the last 2 weeks of February, before the February 29 date, did 1 day of hearing--in the last 2 weeks. The Iran-Contra Committee did 21 out of 23 days. This committee, the Whitewater Committee, has worked at a much more intense pace at an earlier time. Back last summer, in 3 weeks in the latter part of July and the first part of August, the committee held 13 days of hearings. The minority leader, Senator Daschle, did not put out a proposal: Well, you have reached February 29. This is the end of it. In an effort to be reasonable and accommodating, he said, we will agree to an extension of 5 weeks in which to conduct hearings, an additional month beyond that in which to submit the report. Let me point out this committee itself held 13 days of hearings during a 3-week period last summer. The Iran-Contra Committee held 21 days of hearings in less than a 4-week period in July and August 1987. So an intense hearing schedule of that sort is clearly possible. It has been done before. It could be done again. I submit that the proposal offered by the minority leader is a reasonable proposal.”