Joe Barton: “Yesterday another colleague from New Mexico raised on the House floor the issue of Hillary Rodham Clinton's investment…”

“Yesterday another colleague from New Mexico raised on the House floor the issue of Hillary Rodham Clinton's investment of nearly $100,000 in a hedge fund that sold short health care and pharmaceutical stocks. Every President since Jimmy Carter has put his family's investments in a blind trust before taking office. Because the Clintons did not do so, they were in a position to know where their money was. Whether Mrs. Clinton knew about her financial interest in health care and pharmaceutical short sales is very important, because if she did, she may have violated the ethics laws. Our colleague implied that Ms. Clinton did not know about specific short sales of health care and pharmaceutical stocks. In fact, however, the Clinton's financial disclosure reports suggest she and the President did know. They reported, by name, several specific short sales of health care and pharmaceutical companies on just 1 day-- December 31, 1992. That was half a year after our colleague suggests specific investment information had stopped coming to them. Bill Clinton himself signed the report. Still, the Clintons have yet to reveal the short sales made by Ms. Rodham Clinton's partnership during the campaign, or in the first half of 1993, before they belatedly put their investments in a blind trust. Mr. Speaker, that is why 81 of our colleagues have asked for an investigation of Mrs. Clinton's compliance with the Ethics in Government Act.”