Timothy Penny: “I rise in support of the Istook resolution. In September of 1992, by unanimous vote, this Congress expressed a desire to…”

“I rise in support of the Istook resolution. In September of 1992, by unanimous vote, this Congress expressed a desire to investigate the possible wrongdoing by Members of this institution in relation to the so-called post office scandal. In the months since that initial action, the Committee on Ethics of the House of Representatives has deferred to the Justice Department on this matter. But it is distressing to me that in the 1 years since the disclosure of this scandal, only House post office employees have been brought to justice to their misdeeds. Former House Postmaster Bob Rota has lost his job and has recently plea bargained before a court of law. Eight other post office employees have lost their jobs and been dealt with harshly by the court system. It just does not make sense that the only individuals who have not yet been brought to account in this sad episode are the several Members of Congress who both precipitated and benefited from this inappropriate and illegal activity. Obviously, simple justice is not so simple when it comes to the powerful in our society. It has been 1 years. Congress has, by tradition, been silent on this issue. It is time for this institution to break the code of silence by calling for an internal investigation of this matter. The Istook resolution instructs the Committee on Ethics to cooperate with the Justice Department on this matter and to assure the successful completion of that Justice Department investigation.”