BREAKING: House Republicans Want Professional Investigators to Look into Stolen Vote

I am writing concerning the Select Committee to Investigate the Voting Irregularities of August 2, 2007, established by the House on August 3, 2007 to investigate the circumstances surrounding the overturned 215-213 vote on a Republican measure that sought to add language to the Agriculture Appropriations bill prohibiting illegal immigrants from receiving taxpayer-funded benefits.

Now that you and I have appointed six distinguished Members of the House to serve on the panel, I hope you will join me in ensuring that the select committee is provided all the resources necessary to complete its important work; and that you will agree to expand the inquiry’s scope to include several other troubling incidents occurring just prior to the August recess that were closely related to the controversy over the roll call vote that prompted creation of the Select Committee.

As you know, the House has customarily provided investigative select committees with professional staff as well as substantial financial resources in order to conduct the type of comprehensive, thorough inquiry Majority Leader Hoyer surely had in mind when he said on the House floor “I welcome the investigation. I applaud coming to the bottom of what happened…”

-- Provide $1 million in funding for professional staff, consultants, and other expenses related to the inquiry.

-- Authorize the Select Committee to retain, on a contractual basis, the services of professional investigators and other individuals with expertise relevant to the inquiry.

-- Direct the Office of the Inspector General of the House to detail to the Select Committee, to the extent feasible, professional staff whose assistance could help expedite the inquiry.

-- Authorize the detail (both full and part-time, as needed) from the offices of leaders, officers, committees, and Members of staff necessary to conduct the inquiry.

In light of the September 30, 2007 deadline for the Select Committee’s initial report to the House, we should strive to introduce the resolution and urge its passage by the House as soon as possible.

As you no doubt recall, Madame Speaker, the disputed roll call vote was just one of several exceedingly controversial events in the House that occurred in close succession in early August:

-- During the first recorded vote the very next day, for example, the ordinarily reliable automatic voting system broke down, requiring a three hour suspension of legislative operations.

-- Making matters worse, the account of that day’s deliberations in the Congressional Record for August 3, 2007 was altered substantially in a manner wholly inconsistent with the actual debate, as confirmed in recordings provided by the House Recording Studio.

-- Finally, those same recordings plainly show the Speaker Pro Tempore declining to recognize a Member on his feet actively seeking to exercise his right under House Rules to propound a point of order.

Madame Speaker, our votes in the House are cast on behalf of the American people – and public confidence in the integrity of legislative actions in the House can only be restored by fully and aggressively investigating the circumstances surrounding each of these deeply disturbing events. Simply put, the Select Committee must follow the evidence wherever it leads – and it must have all the tools necessary to complete that critically important task. Restoring the bonds of trust between the American people and their elected representatives demands no less.

To that end, I hope you agree that we should urge the Select Committee to expand the scope of its important inquiry, and that you will join me in introducing immediately a resolution providing the panel with staff, funding and other resources essential to its mission.

PENCE APPOINTED RANKING MEMBER OF SELECT COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE VOTING IRREGULARITIES

Washington, Sep 5 -

WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Congressman Mike Pence was appointed ranking member of the Select Committee to Investigate the Voting Irregularities of August 2, 2007 today by Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH). Pence’s statement in response follows:

“I look forward to my service as Ranking Member of the Select Committee to Investigate the Voting Irregularities of August 2, 2007, and am humbled by the confidence that Republican Leader Boehner has placed in me. I will seek to confirm his confidence by approaching this task with a firm commitment to fairness and the facts.

“I am especially grateful to serve with Rep. Steve LaTourette (R-OH) and Rep. Kenny Hulshof (R-MO), whose years of experience and reputations for integrity will greatly enhance our investigation. And based on the caliber of the members appointed by the Democrat majority, I am confident we will be able to proceed with this inquiry in a bipartisan manner that puts the interests of the American people over partisan politics.

“The Constitution of the United States enshrines the right of every member of the House of Representatives to vote on the floor of the Congress on behalf of the people they were elected to serve.

“The integrity of the House of Representatives is completely dependent on the integrity of the vote that takes place on the floor of the Congress. Every American is entitled to have a voice in the People’s House and to know that their representative’s vote counts.

“The events of August 2, 2007, where confusion and anger reigned on the House floor, represent a serious breakdown in the voting system of this institution and I commend both parties for appointing this Select Committee to get to the bottom of what happened.

“That night, the Republican minority voted to deny taxpayer-funded benefits to illegal immigrants in the Agriculture Appropriations bill. According to the voting machine and the minority, the Republican motion prevailed. According to the man in the chair and the majority, the Democratic majority prevailed.

“This conflict between parties, man and machine must be thoroughly investigated. The Select Committee must follow the facts, and whether they lead to findings of an abuse of authority to benefit illegal immigrants, glaring holes in the Rules of the House, or other determinations, we will expose the truth of what happened and ensure that the voting franchise of every member of Congress is protected.

"I look forward to working with my colleagues in both parties to ensure that the Members, officers of the House or staff who were responsible for this incident be held to account and to develop recommendations to ensure that this never happens again. We owe the American people and the People's House no less.”

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.