House Bank

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Tom McMillen of Maryland is proposing a spring cleaning for the House of Representatives -- an institution in turmoil over scandals involving bad checks, drugs in the post office and unpaid restaurant bills."

Simmering under the surface of a torpid Washington summer is another congressional scandal in the making with more explosive potential than the check-bouncing House bank. Since it is thus far in the sparring rounds, it has not attracted a great deal of attention. And it may not amount to much more than partisan jabs with a few bloody noses on well-known faces. But because one of the faces is very well known, the possibility of serious political damage is real.The House Post Office, a branch of the U.S. Post Office but operated by House of Representatives employees under House control, was a cesspool of political patronage, gross incompetence, flouted regulations and pandering to influential members.

Now that the House bank - whose advertising slogan could have been, "No fees ... no matter what!" - is closed, congressmen will have to take their business to the same banks that the rest of us use.And if they continue their check-bouncing ways, they'll soon become acquainted with the area banks' NSF (non-sufficient funds) fees, which are said to average $25 for each bad check. Here's what they'd pay in penalties:*The 8,331 bad checks written by House members in the year ending June 30, 1990: $208,275*The as-yet unnamed congressman who wrote 996 rubber checks in the 39-month period under review: $24,900*The 100 congressmen who bounced at least 45 checks each in three years: $1,125 eachThose fees, of course, don't include any that are levied by merchants, many of whom charge whenever they have to return a check.

WASHINGTON -- The head of the ethics committee investigating overdrafts at the House bank says so many members are complaining of errors in the bank's records that there is "no way" the panel can issue its report this week naming 24 members who abused banking privileges.On March 12, the House approved a resolution authorizing the release of the names after 10 days. Ten days after that, the panel was to release the names of 331 other current or former House members who overdrew their accounts at any time from July 1988 to October 1991.

WASHINGTON -- House members who returned to the Capitol this week concerned about potential election-year downers had to look no farther than the floor beneath their feet on three "members only" elevators.In each, old carpet-covered floors had been replaced with elegant black-and-white marble. The cost: $6,000 per elevator.Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., said Thursday that the new floors could prompt an outcry over congressional profligacy during hard times. Mr. Lewis raised the issue at a meeting of the House Appropriations subcommittee that handles Congress' own budget.

The House of Representives' Ethics Committee voted last week to disclose the names of the worst offenders who have bounced checks at the House bank.The worst were considered to be 19 current and five former House members who bounced checks over a 39-month period ending last October. The top check-kiter wrote about 900 hot checks.The House Republican Conference wants to go further and is pushing a resolution to reveal the names of all 296 members who bounced at least one check.The Evening Sun would like to know what you think.

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Kweisi Mfume disclosed yesterday he wrote 12 bad checks at the now-closed House bank, becoming the third member of the Maryland congressional delegation among the 355 current and former lawmakers who had overdrafts.The three-term Baltimore Democrat had said he did not believe he had any overdrafts. But late Thursday night the House ethics committee told him he had a dozen overdrafts with a face value of just over $2,500.Half the checks were for amounts under $100, and all of them were covered within an average of seven days.

House Speaker Thomas S. Foley, the highest-ranking Democratic office-holder in the land, finds his leadership in question, his minions out of control and his beloved Congress at the bottom of the heap in public esteem. Scandal and setback are his daily fare, raising speculation that there may be a move in the next Congress to oust him and institute reforms he hasresisted until recently.The latest troubles to hit the Oregon Democrat:* His wife, Heather, an unpaid member of his staff, was called to testify before a federal grand jury investigating criminal activity at the House Post Office and possible cover-up attempts by persons answerable to the speaker;* In a House vote, Mr. Foley was unable to muster even a simple majority, let alone the two-thirds majority required to overturn President Bush's veto of the Democrats' election-year tax bill.

WASHINGTON -- Congressional Republicans said yesterday that they want the House to turn over all bank records subpoenaed by the Justice Department as the lawmakers, fearing the political repercussions of resistance, rebelled against their leader.The Republicans' demand puts them in direct conflict with the Democratic leadership, which has indicated that it may resist the subpoenas.It also represents a reversal by Rep. Robert H. Michel of Illinois, the House Republican leader, who said on Monday that he favored narrowing the scope of the subpoenas.

WASHINGTON -- A federal grand jury investigating the House Post Office scandal has widened its probe to include Rep. Dan Rostenkowski, D-Ill., chairman of the House ways and Means Committee, and two other lawmakers, House leaders have disclosed.In a major escalation of the investigation,the grand jury subpoenaed Mr. Rostenkowski's expense records, along with those of two Pennsylvania Democrats, Reps. Austin J. Murphy and Joseph Kolter, and ordered all three men to appear before the panel for questioning.