To create a bipartisan, bicameral special committee to investigate the improper insertion of an earmark for Coconut Road into the conference report of the 2005 highway bill after both chambers of Congress had approved identical versions of the conference report.

SA 4538. Mr. COBURN (for himself, Mr. Nelson of Florida, Mr.
Martinez, Mr. McCain, Mr. Obama, Mrs. Clinton, and Mrs. McCaskill)
proposed an amendment to amendment SA 4146 proposed by Mrs. Boxer to
the bill H.R. 1195, to amend the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient
Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users to make technical
corrections, and for other purposes; as follows:

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

SEC. __. COCONUT ROAD INVESTIGATION.

(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) According to item number 462 of the table contained in
section 1934 of the Conference Report on H.R. 3 (109th
Congress), which was passed by the Senate and the House of
Representatives on July 29, 2005, $10,000,000 was allocated
for ``Widening and Improvements for I-75 in Collier and Lee
County''.
(2) According to item number 462 of such table in the
enrolled version of H.R. 3 (109th Congress), which was signed
into law by the President on August 10, 2005, $10,000,000 was
allocated for ``Coconut Rd. interchange I-75/Lee County''.

[[Page S3086]]

(3) A December 3, 2007, article in the Naples Daily News
noted, ``Mysteriously, after Congress voted on the bill but
before the president signed it into law, language in the
earmark was changed to read: `Coconut Rd. interchange I-75/
Lee County.' ''.
(4) Page 824 of Riddick's Senate Procedure notes that
``Concurrent resolutions are used to correct errors in bills
when enrolled, or to correct errors by authorizing the re-
enrollment of a specified bill with the designated changes to
be made.''.
(5) The only concurrent resolution that Congress passed
regarding the enrollment of H.R. 3 (H. Con. Res. 226) does
not refer to the change made to item 462 of section 1934.
(6) The secret, unauthorized redirection of $10,000,000 to
the ``Coconut Rd. interchange I-75/Lee County'' calls into
question the integrity of the Constitution and the
legislative process.
(7) A full and open investigation into this improper change
to congressionally-passed legislation is necessary to restore
the integrity of the legislative process.
(b) Preservation of Documentation Relating to the
Enrollment of H.R. 3.--Officers and employees of the Senate
and the House of Representatives shall take whatever actions
may be necessary to preserve all records, documents, e-mails,
and phone records relating to the enrollment of H.R. 3 in the
109th Congress, including all documents relating to changes
made to item 462 of the table contained in section 1934 of
such Act, to allocate funding for the Coconut Road
interchange in Lee County, Florida.
(c) Special Committee on Enrollment Irregularities.--
(1) Establishment.--There is established a select committee
of Congress to be known as the Special Committee on
Enrollment Irregularities (referred to in this subsection as
the ``Committee'').
(2) Purposes.--The purposes of the Committee are to--
(A) investigate the improper insertion of substantive new
matter into the table contained in section 1934(c) of the
Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity
Act: A Legacy for Users (Public Law 109-59) after the Act
passed the Senate and the House of Representatives on July
29, 2005; and
(B) determine when, how, why, and by whom such improper
revisions were made;
(3) Membership.--The Committee shall be comprised of 8
members, of which--
(A) 2 shall be appointed by the majority leader of the
Senate;
(B) 2 shall be appointed by the minority leader of the
Senate;
(C) 2 shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of
Representatives; and
(D) 2 shall be appointed by the minority leader of the
House of Representatives.
(4) Authority.--The Committee, consistent with the
applicable rules of the Senate or the House of
Representatives, may--
(A) hold such hearings, take such testimony, and receive
such documents as the Committee determines necessary to carry
out the purposes described in paragraph (2); and
(B) require, by subpoena or otherwise, the attendance and
testimony of such witnesses and the production of such books,
records, correspondence, memoranda, papers, documents, tapes,
and materials as the Committee determines necessary.
(5) Reports.--
(A) Interim report.--Not later than August 1, 2008, the
Committee shall prepare an interim report that details the
Committee's findings and make such report available to the
public in searchable form on the Internet.
(B) Final report.--Not later than October 1, 2008, the
Committee shall prepare a final report that details the
Committee's findings and make such report available to the
public in searchable form on the Internet.
(6) Use of information.--The Committee may share all
findings, documents, and information gathered in an
investigation under this subsection with--
(A) the Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate;
(B) the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct of the
House of Representatives; and
(C) appropriate law enforcement authorities.
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