Excerpt from Independent Counsel Statute and Independent Counsel Accountability and Reform Act, Vol. 92: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Crime of the Committee on the Judiciary House of Representatives, One Hundred Fourth Congress, Second Session, on H. R. 892; Independent Counsel, Accountability and Reform Act, February 29, 1996 The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:39 a.m., in room 2141, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Bill McCollum (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Representatives Bill McCollum, Steven Schiff, Stephen E. Buyer, Howard Coble, Fred Heineman, Ed Bryant of Tennessee, Steve Chabot, Bob Barr, Charles E. Schumer, Robert C. Scott, Zoe Lofgren, Sheila Jackson Lee, and Melvin L. Watt. Also present: Representative John Conyers, Jr. Staff present: Paul J. McNulty, chief counsel; Glenn R. Schmitt, counsel; Audray L. Clement, secretary; and Tom Diaz, minority counsel. Opening Statement of Chairman McCollum Mr. McCollum. This hearing of the Subcommittee on Crime will come to order. Good morning. Our hearing today examines the Independent Counsel Act. This law was enacted in 1978 in response to Watergate, and the seemingly inability of our own Government to investigate crimes that may have been committed by senior administration officials. When Congress drafted this statute, its basic purpose was to create a process which would restore public confidence in the Government's ability to impartially investigate alleged wrongdoing by Government officials. Since 1978, there have been 17 independent counsel investigations, four of which are ongoing. During those 18 years, the Government has spent almost $115 million on these investigations. Some of the investigations have produced indictments and convictions, while some have found no criminal laws were broken. During this period also, Congress has amended the act three times, allowed it to lapse for 2 years, and then reauthorized it again in 1994 for 5 more years. Today we'll consider anew whether this act is still necessary to promote the public's confidence in its Government, and what changes, if any, need to be made to the act. We'll also examine the bill H.R. 892, which proposes to modify the act. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.