Raising a question of the privileges of the House.

Madam Speaker, from February 3, 2009, to March 4, 2009, I missed Roll Call votes 47-96. Unfortunately, I underwent a surgical procedure and was in California recuperating. Had I been here, I would have voted the following:

Roll Call Vote 47: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and agree to H. Res. 82, raising awareness and encouraging prevention of stalking by establishing January 2009 as National Stalking Awareness Month;

Roll Call Vote 48: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and agree to H. Res. 103, supporting the goals and ideals of National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Week;

Roll Call Vote 49: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and agree to H.R. 559, The Fair, Accurate, Secure, and Timely (FAST) Redress Act of 2009;

Roll Call Vote 50: No on the motion to concur in the Senate Amendment to H.R. 2, the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009;

Roll Call Vote 51: Yes on the motion to commit with instructions S. 352, the DTV Delay Act;

Roll Call Vote 52: No on passage of S. 352, the DTV Delay Act;

Roll Call Vote 53: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 738, the Death in Custody Reporting Act;

Roll Call Vote 54: Yes on the motion to instruct conferees on H. R. 1, Making Supplemental Appropriations for Fiscal Year Ending 2009;

Roll Call Vote 55: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and agree to H. Res. 114, Supporting the Goals and Ideals of National Girls and Women in Sports Day;

Roll Call Vote 56: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and agree to H. Res. 60, Recognizing and commending University of Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford for winning the 2008 Heisman Trophy and for his academic and athletic accomplishments;

Roll Call Vote 57: No on the motion to table H. Res. 143, Raising a Question of the Privileges of the House;

Roll Call Vote 58: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and agree to H. Res. 128, Honoring Miami University for its 200 years of commitment to extraordinary higher education;

Roll Call Vote 59: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and agree to H. Res. 134, Recognizing the 50th Anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s visit to India and the positive influence that the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi had on Dr. King's work during the Civil Rights Movement;

Roll Call Vote 60: No on agreeing to H. Con. Res. 47, Providing for an adjournment or recess of the two Houses;

Roll Call Vote 61: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and agree to H. Res. 154, Honoring John D. Dingell for holding the record as the longest serving member of the House of Representatives;

Roll Call Vote 62: No on the motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 448, the Elder Abuse Victims Act;

Roll Call Vote 63: No on the motion to agree to H. Res. 157, providing for the consideration of motions to suspend the rules, and for other purposes;

Roll Call Vote 64: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and agree to H. Res. 117, Supporting the goals and ideals of National Engineers Week;

Roll Call Vote 65: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and agree to H. Con. Res. 35, Honoring and praising the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People on the occasion of its 100th anniversary;

Roll Call Vote 66: No on ordering the previous question on H. Res. 168, providing for consideration of the conference report to H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009;

Roll Call Vote 67: No on H. Res. 168, providing for consideration of the conference report to accompany H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009;

Roll Call Vote 68: No on the question of consideration of the conference report to H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009;

Roll Call Vote 69: Yes on the motion to recommit the conference report to H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009;

Roll Call Vote 70: No on agreeing to the conference report to H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009;

Roll Call Vote 71: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules agree to H. Res. 139, Commemorating the life and legacy of President Abraham Lincoln on the bicentennial of his birth;

Roll Call Vote 72: No on the motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 911, the Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act;

Roll Call Vote 73: No on the motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 44, the Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Act;

Roll Call Vote 74: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 601, the Box Elder Utah Land Conveyance Act;

Roll Call Vote 75: No on approving the journal;

Roll Call Vote 76: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and H.R. 80, the Captive Primate Safety Act;

Roll Call Vote 77: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 637, the South Orange County Recycled Water Enhancement Act;

Roll Call Vote 78: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and pass H. Res. 83, Recognizing the significance of Black History Month;

Roll Call Vote 79: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and pass S. 234, the Colonel John H. Wilson, Jr. Post Office Building;

Roll Call Vote 80: Yes on approving the journal;

Roll Call Vote 81: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and agree to H. Res. 47, Supporting the goals and ideals of Peace Officers Memorial Day;

Roll Call Vote 82: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and agree to H. Res. 180, Supporting the goals and ideals of the third annual America Saves Week;

Roll Call Vote 83: No on the consideration of H. Res. 184, providing for consideration of H.R. 1105, the Omnibus Appropriations for 2009;

Roll Call Vote 84: Yes on ordering the previous question on H. Res. 184, providing for consideration of H.R. 1105, the Omnibus Appropriations for 2009;

Roll Call Vote 85: Yes on H. Res. 184, providing for the consideration of H.R. 1105, the Omnibus Appropriations of 2009;

Roll Call Vote 86: No on passage of H.R. 1105, the Omnibus Appropriations of 2009;

Roll Call Vote 87: No on the motion to table H. Res. 189, raising a question of the privileges of the House;

Roll Call Vote 88: No on ordering the previous question on H. Res. 190, providing for consideration of H.R. 1106 to prevent mortgage foreclosures and enhance mortgage credit availability;

Roll Call Vote 89: No on H. Res. 190, Providing for consideration of H.R. 1106 to prevent mortgage foreclosures and enhance mortgage credit availability;

Roll Call Vote 90: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and agree to H. Res. 183, expressing condolences to the families, friends, and loved ones of the victims of the crash of Continental Connection flight 3407;

Roll Call Vote 91: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 146, the Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Battlefield Protection Act;

Roll Call Vote 92: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 548, the Civil War Battlefield Preservation Act;

Roll Call Vote 93: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and pass H. Res. 77, congratulating the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, VA for more than 100 years of service and leadership to the United States;

Roll Call Vote 94: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and pass H. Res. 201, recognizing Beverly Eckerts service to the nation and particularly to the survivors and families of the September 11, 2001, attacks.

Roll Call Vote 95: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and pass H. Res. 195, recognizing and honoring the employees of the Department of Homeland Security on its sixth anniversary for their continuous efforts to keep the nation safe; and

Roll Call Vote 96: Yes on the motion to suspend the rules and pass H. Res. 45, raising awareness and promoting education on the criminal justice system by establishing March as National Criminal Justice Month.

Madam Speaker, pursuant to clause 2(a)(1) of rule IX, I hereby notify the House of my intention to offer a resolution as a question of the privileges of the House.

The form of my resolution is as follows:

Whereas The Hill reported on February 10, 2009, that ``a

top defense-lobbying firm'' that ``specializes in obtaining

earmarks in the defense budget for a long list of clients''

was ``recently raided by the FBI.'';

Whereas the Associated Press reported on February 25, 2009

that the ``FBI searched the lobbying firm . . . and the

residence of its founder . . .'';

Whereas The Hill reported on March 4, 2009, that the firm

``has given $3.4 million to 284 Members of Congress'';

Whereas Politico reported on February 13, 2009, that

``federal investigators are asking about thousands of dollars

in campaign contributions to lawmakers as part of an effort

to determine whether they were illegal `straw man'

donations.'';

Whereas Roll Call reported on February 20, 2009, that they

have ``located tens of thousands of dollars worth of [the

raided firm]-linked donations that are improperly reported in

the FEC database.'';

Whereas Roll Call also reported that ``tracking Federal

Election Commission records of campaign donations attributed

to [the firm] is a comedy of errors, misinformation and

mysteries, providing more questions than answers about how

much money the lobbying firm actually raised for

Congressional campaigns.'';

Whereas CQ Today reported on February 19, 2009, that ``104

House members got earmarks for projects sought by [clients of

the firm] in the 2008 defense appropriations bills,'' and

that 87 percent of this bipartisan group of Members received

campaign contributions from the raided firm;

Whereas The Hill reported on February 10, 2009, that in

2008 clients of this firm had ``received $299 million worth

of earmarks, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense.'';

Whereas The Hill reported on February 23, 2009, that

``clients of a defense lobby shop under investigation are

continuing to score earmarks from their patrons in Congress,

despite the firm being on the verge of shutting its doors

permanently'' and that several of the firm's clients ``are

slated to receive earmarks worth at least $8 million in the

omnibus spending bill funding the federal government through

the rest of fiscal 2009 . . .'';

Whereas the Washington Post reported on June 13, 2008, in a

story describing increased earmark spending in the House

version of the fiscal year 2009 defense authorization bill

that ``many of the earmarks serve as no-bid contracts for the

recipients.'';

Whereas the Associated Press reported on February 25, 2009,

that ``the Justice Department's fraud section is overseeing

an investigation into whether [the firm] reimbursed some

employees for campaign contributions to members of Congress

who requested the projects.'';

Whereas Politico reported on February 12, 2009, that

``several sources said FBI agents have spent months laying

the groundwork for their current investigation, including

conducting research on earmarks and campaign

contributions.'';

Whereas House Resolution 189, instructing the Committee on

Standards of Official Conduct to investigate the relationship

between earmark requests already made by Members and the

source and timing of past campaign contributions, was

considered as a privileged matter on February 25, 2009, and

the motion to table the measure was agreed to by recorded

vote of 226 to 182 with 12 Members voting present;

Whereas House Resolution 212, instructing the Committee on

Standards of Official Conduct to investigate the relationship

between earmark requests already made by Members on behalf of

clients of the raided firm and the source and timing of past

campaign contributions, was considered as a privileged matter

on March 3, 2009, and the motion to table the measure was

agreed to by recorded vote of 222 to 181 with 14 Members

voting present;

Whereas the reportedly fraudulent nature of campaign

contributions originating from the raided firm, as well as

reports of the Justice Department conducting research on

earmarks and campaign contributions, raise concern about the

integrity of congressional proceedings and the dignity of the

institution; and

Whereas the fact that cases are being investigated by the

Justice Department does not preclude the Committee on

Standards of Official Conduct from taking investigative

steps: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That (a) the Committee on Standards of Official

Conduct, or an investigative subcommittee of the committee

established jointly by the chair and ranking minority member,

shall immediately begin an investigation into the

relationship between earmark requests for fiscal year 2009

already made by Members on behalf of clients of the raided

firm and the source and timing of past campaign contributions

related to such requests.

(b) The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct shall

submit a report of its findings to the House of

Representatives within 2 months after the date of adoption of

this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to a question of the privileges of the House and offer the resolution previously noticed.

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. Speaker, I move to lay the resolution on the table.