The Bundestag is the German Parliament
German Bundestag Press Release, December 20, 1999
By Jeanie Senior
1st Committee of Inquiry
Presiding Chairman Hans-Peter Friedrich
Berlin: (hib/VOM-bn) In the current session of the Bundestag, Hans-Peter Friedrich (CDU/CSU) was selected as the presiding chairman of the 1st Committee of Inquiry last Thursday. In our press release on the current session (hib 253/99), Andreas Schmidt (Muelheim, CDU/CSU) was erroneously named as representative of chairman Volker Neumann (SPD). We apologize for the oversight.
The 1st Committee of Inquiry should clarify the extent to which donations, commissions and other financial dealings or advantages affected, directly or indirectly, members and officials of the former administration, which was carried by the CDU/CSU and F.D.P., as well as their parties and factions, and to other persons or institutions.
Implementing The Suggestions Of The Enquete Commission On "Sects" (Proposal)
Berlin: (hib/VOM-in) The federal administration should carry the recommendations for action made by the Enquete Commissions "So-called Sects and Psychogroups" over from the past election period. This was stated by the CDU/CSU faction in a proposal (14/2361). The report of the Commission (13/10950) was said to be a valuable working foundation for the decision on legislative changes in this area. Among other things, it was recommended that a foundation should be established, that private counselling and information centers should be promoted, and that commercial assistance in life management should be regulated. The faction further spoke in favor of introducing legal responsibility for legal persons [legal entities], making pyramid schemes illegal, including structured sales in the legislation for revenue agency investigators and insurance investigators, and expanding the existing law, primarily the tax law, the medical practice law and the legal regulation of child and usury laws.The administration should present their first report by the middle of the year 2000 at the latest, especially in regard to the activity of the Federal Administration Office, the surveillance of the Scientology Organization by Constitutional Security, international cooperation in the uniform treatment of new religious and ideological communities and psychogroups in the European Union, the fight against occultism and Satanism, the training, extended training and promotion of research as well as state support of registry organizations and consumer protection centers.
