On the recordJanuary 6, 1999
I strongly oppose amending House rule to increase the amount of gifts a member of Congress or their employees may receive, and am disappointed a recorded vote was not requested so that members would be held accountable to taxpayers for their vote. There is a reason the institution of Congress is held in such low esteem by the American public: people simply don't believe we do the right things for the right reason, and that we are here to look out for our own interests rather than those of our constituents. My experience is that that is not the case. But clearly we have a credibility problem and a trust problem. Increasing the gifts we can receive only reinforces that lack of trust and makes it harder for us to lead. Congress needs to lead by example. We didn't today.
Source
govinfo.gov
