John Hope Bryant

If we continue to allow the building of roads in these areas, Madam Chairman, we are going to continue to see a system whereby the rape of the land is substituted for the care of the land, a system whereby we spend more to get the timber…

The bill is sitting on the podium right in front of the gentleman, if he wants to read it, and furthermore, I would say the bill has been out since the subcommittee reported it out last November. So if any Member has not read it, it is not…

My question is this, does the gentleman think that the rules of this place ought to permit him to have a lobbyist, whose job it is to influence him, pay for his greens fees?

Let me ask the gentleman a question. Maybe a rhetorical question will do some good. Does the gentleman think the rules ought to permit him to go and play golf and have a lobbyist, whose job it is to convince him to vote for his client and…

I would simply say this to the comments by the gentleman from Indiana [Mr. Burton] just a moment ago, and the others preceding him, that the fact of the matter is that campaign money goes into a campaign, and the money we are talking about…

The answer is, the gentleman must perform his speaking duties within 48 hours of arriving and leave within 48 hours of speaking, and they must disclose every 6 months all that they spent on the gentleman on that trip. If the gentlemen can…

I understand the sentiments behind the gentleman's words, but the point is that we are only relating this to people who are registered lobbyists, who in effect are the lawyers in the courtroom. They should not be able to take the judge to…

I say to the gentleman, Mr. Mfume, let me answer you in the quickest way possible. The answer to that question is simply this: They do not want to have to reveal their lobbying contacts with the executive branch, and they have cloaked that…

Of course. Everything that applies to a lobbyist with regard to lobbying the House applies to lobbying the executive branch.

There was a statement made by the gentleman from Florida [Mr. Goss] that he interpreted that there was a reference to the House rules in here. At the request of the gentleman from Georgia [Mr. Gingrich], who is the leader-elect on your…

Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Walker] has the moral and professional obligation to read this bill before he comes to the floor. This bill applies all the same rules of lobbying the executive branch that it applies to…

If this bill doesn't pass today, that's exactly what's going to happen. We're going to be back out here voting----

This bill was handled just like the 1989 revision of the gift laws in a task force. It went through the subcommittee, was voted out unanimously. It was the subject of intense scrutiny----

But we have crafted a bill here which met the objections of all parties in this House, which was participated in by the Republican leadership and the Democratic leadership, and we are on the floor with it today because those guys decided…

I would say to the gentleman, because ``personal, financial, or political conflict of interest,'' all of those would be good grounds for going forward, but we have broadened it even further to say if it is in the public interest for any…

The gentleman stopped reading too soon. If he kept reading he would specifically see that the statute already says that the specificity of information received and the credibility of the source are the key factors in her determination. So…

I really wonder if the gentleman understands what we are saying is what the gentleman has done is provide that the Attorney General under his provision has 15 days in order to determine whether there is sufficient evidence of a violation…

Again, I would emphasize removal is possible for an independent counsel for cause, and a serious violation of any of these standards would satisfy that requirement.

I just want to continue saying I think that the objection of the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Hyde] goes to his view that the Attorney General did not act appropriately at that time. But that is a fact question. The fact of the matter is…

That is a fair question and there is a good answer for it. First of all, every American, no matter whether they are an independent counsel or not, is subject to title 18, United States Code, section 798, which provides criminal penalties…

I would like to say that I regret very much the remarks I heard the gentleman from Florida [Mr. Goss], and the gentleman from New York [Mr. Solomon], make a moment ago... This rule makes in order 10 amendments. Six of them are Republican…

First I would like to respond by saying that the gentleman's very strong remarks about the intent of the Rules Committee, or our intent in carrying this bill, I think, are perhaps a little bit stronger than they should be, to say the…