Chronology of Committee Work

Minority Views on the White House Database Report

In the 104th and 105th Congresses, the majority conducted a multi-year investigation of the White House database (WhoDB), a computerized rolodex used to track contacts of citizens with the White House and to create a holiday card list. The majority concluded its investigation by alleging that President Clinton, First Lady, and senior aides were involved in “theft” of government property. As explained in the minority views, these charges had no basis in fact.

Tobacco Companies’ Efforts to Target Children

Rep. Waxman released internal tobacco company documents that revealed the extent of the tobacco industry's efforts to market to children. One set of documents detailed R. J. Reynolds’s decades-long efforts to capture the youth market. The second set of documents, released by Reps. Waxman, John Dingell, and Sherrod Brown disclosed the efforts of Philip Morris to target children. In a detailed letter to Rep. Tom Bliley, then the Chairman of the House Commerce Committee, Rep. Waxman summarized the most important documents and their legal and policy significance.

Members Request Briefing on FDA Clinical Trials

Ten committee members request that the Food and Drug Administration brief the committee on the clinical trial case histories of several witnesses scheduled to testify in FDA oversight hearings.

Children's Access to Lead Screening

At the request of Rep. Waxman, GAO investigated whether children in Medicaid receive necessary screening for lead poisoning. In February 1998, GAO found that most Medicaid children had never been screened, and that an estimated 352,000 children covered by Medicaid probably had lead poisoning that was undetected.

Doctored Transcript of Hubbell Tapes

On April 30, 1998, Rep. Burton released a transcript of tape recordings of conversations between Webster Hubbell, the former Associate Attorney General, and his family and friends. These recordings were made by the Bureau of Prisons during Mr. Hubbell’s incarceration for tax evasion and mail fraud. According to Mr. Burton, the prison tape recordings showed that former Associate Attorney General Webster Hubbell was paid off for his silence. In fact, the transcript released by Rep. Burton was heavily edited to appear incriminating. The minority’s analysis of the majority’s “Hubbell Master Tape Log” showed that it contained selective and misleading transcripts of the taped prison phone conversations of Webster Hubbell.

Air Tobacco: Campaign Travel on Tobacco Industry Jets

Rep. Waxman released a report by the Special Investigations Division that investigated the tobacco industry’s practice of providing corporate aircraft to congressional leaders and political parties for campaign activities. The report found: (1) the tobacco industry provides more subsidized campaign travel to congressional leaders and political parties than any other corporate special interest; and (2) the principal beneficiary of subsidized campaign travel from the tobacco industry is the Republican congressional leadership and Republican party organizations.

Underage Tobacco Buying Sting in U.S. Capitol Buildings

The Special Investigations Division worked with the American Lung Association to conduct an undercover "sting" to determine if teenagers could buy cigarettes in House, Senate, and Capitol buildings. One 15 year-old girl succeeded in buying cigarettes from all sites tested in the House office buildings. A teen also was able to buy cigarettes in Senate office buildings and the Capitol building itself.

Costs of the Campaign Finance Investigation

The Committee's campaign finance investigation was the most expensive congressional investigation in history, costing over $8 million. Campaign finance investigations by this Committee and other congressional committees also imposed costly burdens on federal agencies that had to respond to hundreds of congressional campaign finance inquiries.

Minority Views on Campaign Finance Investigation

The majority’s campaign finance investigation was marked by a series of unsupported charges and missteps. It also virtually ignored Republican campaign finance abuses. The minority views document the investigation's abuses, respond to the major findings in the majority’s November 1998 campaign finance report, and describe some of the most serious campaign finance allegations involving Republicans.

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