Steny Hoyer: “This bill terminates the employment of Mr. Noble. That is what this bill does. It has a provision in it that he can be…”

“This bill terminates the employment of Mr. Noble. That is what this bill does. It has a provision in it that he can be rehired by a vote of four to three. The commission is made up of three Republicans and three Democrats. Do not kid anybody. This bill fires a Federal official for doing something that you did not like, and that is going after GOPAC and the Christian Coalition. That provision should not be in this bill. There are three Republicans and three Democrats, and you are correct, if four of them believe that Mr. Noble is not performing, they ought to remove him from office. But it ought not to be done on a partisan vote. That is the reason for this provision in current law, to protect the counsel and the executive director from partisan attack.”