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    "localId": "4525521",
    "label": "Ford Press Releases - Congress, 1965-1966",
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    "contentType": "document",
    "title": "Ford Press Releases - Congress, 1965-1966",
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        "Gerald R. Ford Congressional Papers",
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        "U.S. House of Representatives. (03/04/1789 - )",
        "House Republican Policy Committee (U.S.)",
        "U.S. Congress. (1789 - )",
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{
    "seq": 35,
    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "photo",
    "url": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/ford/grf-0054/642076/4525521/4525521_Page_36.jpg",
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    "ocrText": "( 2 )\nThe Republican Members of the House of Representatives long have been inter-\nested in Congressional reform. At the outset of this session of Congress, a task\nforce of the House Republicans on Congressional Reform and Minority Staffing was\nappointed to study the matter of Congressional reform in depth. As a result of\nthe vork of this task force, a book entitled \"We Propose: A Modern Congress\" has\nbeen published. The conclusions and recommendations contained in this book were\npresented in full to the Joint Committee and many of the recommendations of the\ncommittee stemmed from the work of the task force.\nIt is unfortunate that the Joint Committee rejected the recommendations by\nthe Republican Members that a Committee on Procedures and Policies be created.\nThis Committee would be given the power to examine into and report back to Con-\ngress on the expenditure of Federal funds by the Executive Branch to insure that\nthey are spent efficiently and in accordance with the lawi The Chairman of the\nCommittee would be a Member of the minority party. This would insure that a\nthorough evaluation of the programs administered by the party in power would be\nmade. It is difficult, if not impossible, for a committee of this type to con-\nduct an effective investigation if the results are apt to reflect unfavorably on\ntheir own party's administration.\nThis is not a new idea. The House of Commons in Great Britain has a com-\nmittee known as the Committee of Public Accounts whose chairman is by convention\na leading member of the opposition. Also; in 1923,1 a Dethocratic Senator was\ndesignated to head the Teapot-Dome oil reserve investigation at a time when both\nHouses of Congress and the Executive Branch were controlled by the Rep ublican\nParty.\nWe are also concerned by the fact that the Joint Committee failed to address\nitself to the problem of Executive Branch lobbying. Although the United States\nCode specifically prohibits the use of appropriated monies to influence Members\nof Congress \"to favor or oppose, by vote or othervise, any legislation or appro-\npriation by Congress,\" substantial sums have been used for this purpose. In the\nrecent past, long and detailed telegrams have been sent by Executive Department\nofficials to Members of Congress urging their support of certain legislation.\nSimilarly, long distance calls have been made and Members have been personally\ncanvassed regarding their intentions with respect to a particular bill: The\nloophole in the present law that permits this type of activity, or the failure\nto adequately enforce the present law, must be corrected.\nThis Congress should not adjourn until it has acted on the Congressional\nreform recommendations. This legislation must not be filed and forgotten. Con-\ngress needs strengthening and modernizing and time is of the essencé. Reforms\nshould be enacted now so that the next Congress may utilize the new institutions\nand procedures. We pledge our support and assistance in getting this important\nlegislation enacted into law. We call upon the Democratic leadership to schedule\nH.R. 17873 for immediate House consideration.\n101 to\na to ot ont 10\n20 scit hos so\ntoop to aris 34\n(Give)"
}