John Linder

Mr. LINDER

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I offer a motion.

Mr. LINDER. Point of order.

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. LINDER

Mr. LINDER. Regular order, Mr. Speaker. I have been recognized in the well of the House. Do I have the floor?

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I would like to further ask if any of these ethical questions were raised about the book, ``Earth in the Balance,'' which yielded a $100,000 advance to its author, a former Member of the other body, and $670,000 in royalties. Where were the questions of impropriety there? Mr. Speaker, it seems to me these questions are very selective.

Mr. LINDER. Do I have the floor, Mr. Speaker? Mr. Speaker, I do not recall these questions being raised about a former Member of the Senate---- point of order

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, sometime just before the campaigns got in earnest, a former majority whip of this House, Tony Coelho, was brought in to help the Democrats win. He said this: Ideas are not the issue. Candidates can't get reelected if they run on who they are and what they stand for. They have to go in and put negative ads out. The only way you can win races today is with negative advertising. It seems to me that the minority has decided to continue the campaign and absent an ability to compete with the Speaker's ideas, they have chosen to tear down the Speaker personally. There are far more things to be done in this House than to make personal attacks. I do not recall----

Mr. LINDER

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, a further parliamentary inquiry. Since this entire issue has been disposed of through a majority vote of the House, is it appropriate to get on with the business of the House?

Mr. LINDER

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate being given the time to speak on the important issue of term limits for committee chairmen. It is an issue in which I have been involved for over 2 years and am pleased that we now have the opportunity to consider and pass this fundamental and much-needed reform. The current system of unlimited terms for committee chairmen created an unjust situation in Congress, for up until the recent elections, power had become far too concentrated and entrenched. A handful of Members were able to dictate the legislative agenda, frequently based on efforts to protect committee turf or consolidate power of chairmen. Consequently, the committee structure became mired in a stagnant existence completely out of touch with the American people. Republicans have long recognized the problems with unlimited terms for committee chairmen. In December 1992 I introduced a rule to the Republican rules package to limit the ranking minority members to three terms as ranking member of a committee. The rule was adopted by the Republican Conference and was called by the New York Times and the Washington Post the Linder rule. Now the Republicans have gained the majority in the House of Representatives. It is time for the whole House to adopt this rule and limit the terms of all committee chairmen to three consecutive terms. Adopting this measure would help put an end to the cozy relationships with special interests, enhance free flow of new and innovative ideas and bring an end to an iron-fisted ruling in Congress by a very few people. I am gratified that this limit on the tenures of committee chairmen is included in the rules package of the 104th Congress. I believe that it truly represents the fundamental change in the status quo that the American people voted for last November 8. I urge its passage.

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California [Mr. Dreier] for yielding this time to me. Mr. Speaker, I would like to address directly the question of stilling of voices, whether the Republican Party wants to still the voices, and the minority whip says we are stilling the black voices, the Hispanic voices, the women's voices and the Arts Caucus' voices, and I would like to suggest that it is precisely at the crux of a November 8 election. One tends to see America as groups of groups with groups' claims and society's assets, and we argue that America is 258 million individual Americans, each with their own voice, each being heard at every opportunity. The last time we had a party in this country that saw America as a collection of groups with group claims and assets was in 1832, and 1856 and 1860. They were organized around opposition to another idea. They did not have a single organizing principle of their own. It was the Whig Party, and they died.

Mr. LINDER

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I would like to point out that it is clear what the theme of the day is from your side and, that is, gifts from lobbyists and that is going to appeal not to the people in this body but to the people watching this on C-SPAN. It is worth noting that after 40 years of rule, including the last 2 when the Democrats had control of both the House and the Senate and also the White House, that this should have been able to have been passed. But this rule is not about gifts from lobbyists. That is a bill to come. This rule does not include amendments for campaign finance reform or parking at Washington National or indeed paid travel from lobbyists. This rule has to do with process, process of how Congress acts, the committees, the staffs, the way we budget. We will deal with those issues at a later date in separate bills. We have done that in the past. We have cooperated in trying to get campaign finance reform to the floor, in trying to get lobbying reform to this House, all in stand-alone, individual bills. Let us be honest about it. We understand your point of view in the minority, trying to distract Americans' attention from the issue of the day, which is passing a rule by which we live for the next 2 years. This rule deals with process, how Congress conducts itself. Let us contain our comments to that point.