RESOLUTION RECOMMENDING THAT THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FIND HECTOR ROOS IN CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS FOR REFUSAL TO COMPLY WITH SUBPOENAS DULY ISSUED BY THE COMMITTEE ON ETHICS

On 2026-09-01, Representative Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA-10) delivered a floor speech titled "RESOLUTION RECOMMENDING THAT THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FIND HECTOR ROOS IN CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS FOR REFUSAL TO COMPLY" in the House.

RESOLUTION RECOMMENDING THAT THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FIND HECTOR ROOS IN CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS FOR REFUSAL TO COMPLY WITH SUBPOENAS DULY ISSUED BY THE COMMITTEE ON ETHICS

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 138 (Tuesday, September 1, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 138 (Tuesday, September 1, 2026)] [House] [Pages H5394-H5395] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] RESOLUTION RECOMMENDING THAT THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FIND HECTOR ROOS IN CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS FOR REFUSAL TO COMPLY WITH SUBPOENAS DULY ISSUED BY THE COMMITTEE ON ETHICS Mr. GUEST. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1505) which is printed in House Report 119-694, regarding proceedings against Hector Roos and ask for its immediate consideration. The Clerk read the title of the resolution. The text of the resolution is as follows: H. Res. 1505 Resolved, That Hector Roos shall be found to be in contempt of Congress for failure to comply with the subpoena duces tecum issued to him August 12, 2025. Resolved, That Hector Roos shall be found to be in contempt of Congress for failure to comply with the subpoena ad testificandum issued to him August 12, 2025. Resolved, That pursuant to 2 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 192 and 194, the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall certify the Report of the Committee on Ethics, detailing the refusal of Hector Roos to produce documents and appear before the Investigative Subcommittee as directed by these subpoenas to the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, to the end that Mr. Roos be proceeded against in the manner and form provided by law. Resolved, That the Speaker of the House shall otherwise take all appropriate action to enforce the subpoenas. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Guest) and the gentleman from California (Mr. DeSaulnier) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Mississippi. General Leave Mr. GUEST. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution printed in House Report 119-694. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Mississippi? There was no objection. Mr. GUEST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I reemphasize my comments made earlier regarding these matters and would urge adoption. At this time, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. DeSAULNIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the resolution holding Hector Roos in contempt of Congress for his failure to comply with duly authorized subpoenas issued by the Committee on Ethics. [[Page H5395]] The investigative subcommittee, in the matter of Sheila Cherfilus- McCormick, repeatedly sought documents and testimony from Mr. Roos, who was a key witness in the matter. Yet Mr. Roos failed to comply with voluntary requests for information and multiple subpoenas in the 118th and 119th Congresses. While other witnesses did not fully cooperate with the committee's investigation, Mr. Roos' conduct went further. He simply ignored multiple subpoenas without asserting any valid legal privilege or basis for noncompliance. Despite his later claims that he affirmatively reached out to the committee after he was contacted about his noncompliance, Mr. Roos never communicated to an email address belonging to any staff, and he failed to respond to numerous emails and phone calls at the points of contact where he claims to have been reachable. The bipartisan subcommittee unanimously found, and the full committee agreed, that his conduct unnecessarily and significantly delayed the committee's investigation and was thus worthy of a referral for criminal contempt proceedings. Compliance with the Ethics Committee subpoenas is not optional, as I have said before. This contempt resolution is meant to demonstrate to witnesses before the committee that obstructive conduct has consequences, and the committee will vigorously use all the tools at its disposal to thoroughly and swiftly investigate allegations of misconduct. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. Mr. GUEST. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional witnesses and am prepared to close. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules to agree to the resolution printed in House Report 119-694 regarding proceedings against Hector Roos. I urge its adoption, and I yield back the balance of my time. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Guest) that the House suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 1505. The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the resolution was agreed to. A motion to reconsider was laid on the table. ____________________

Referenced legislation: HRES1505, HRES1505