Ernest Istook: “Mr. Speaker, as has been mentioned previously in debate earlier today, last July a former employee of the House of 20…”

“Mr. Speaker, as has been mentioned previously in debate earlier today, last July a former employee of the House of 20 years's standing confessed in Federal court to three charges of assisting Members of Congress to embezzle large sums from taxpayers. As unpleasant as the task may be, Mr. Speaker, we have a constitutional obligation, article I, section 5 gives it to us, to pursue incidents of misconduct by our Members, to take any necessary steps that may include discipline or even expulsion from this body. It is a duty that no one here wishes that we had to have, but nevertheless, is ours. Our Ethics Committee, Mr. Speaker, although aware of the circumstances, evidently has yet to try to find the answer to some simple questions that are necessary for the protection of this body: Who are the Members who allegedly were involved in the embezzlement, what are the amounts taken, and how many are there? I submit, Mr. Speaker, that only if we can satisfy some threshold questions can we understand the scope of these very serious allegations and determine how we should proceed, whether we can indeed, as many of us believe we can, cooperate and coordinate an internal investigation with the current probe by the Justice Department, rather than giving an automatic response of deferral.”