Establishing Select Committee on Benghazi

Floor Speech

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Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I will yield myself 1 minute before yielding to the gentleman from Missouri.

Mr. Speaker, last night in the Rules Committee, the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Slaughter) offered an amendment that was supported by all the Democrats on the committee. That amendment would have allowed for membership on the committee to be equally divided between Republicans and Democrats. It would guarantee minority signoff on subpoenas and depositions. It would guarantee equal distribution of money, staffing, and other resources of the committee. It would require the committee to establish written rules, specifically including rules concerning how documents and other information may be obtained, used, or released.

I will offer a caveat there about the intelligence that you are about to get into with the select committee. It would guarantee equal access to evidence and materials of the committee. It provides for transparency of the committee's expenditures and budgeting, and it would ensure that a quorum for taking testimony or receiving evidence includes at least one minority Member.

Finally, it would ensure that the minority has a say in decisions about extended questioning and staff questioning of witnesses. That would produce a bipartisan result that would be credible.

I am very pleased at this time to yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Clay), my good friend and a member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

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