Steve Cohen

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. This legislation is supported by many, including the American Jewish Committee, B'nai B'rith International, the Commission for Art Recovery, the World Jewish Congress, the World Jewish Restitution Organization, and the Association of Art Museum Directors. I do applaud Chairman Goodlatte and Mr. Nadler for their work on this important legislation. I urge my colleagues to support it. Just kind of parenthetically, I watched a movie called ``Race,'' which was put out last fall, about Jesse Owens. It was a movie about the 1936 Olympics and how Hitler didn't want him to participate and how there were two Jewish runners who were supposed to participate and they were scratched by our American Olympic chairman because he didn't want the Jewish men to run in front of Hitler and win--because they would have--and the Americans won by a large amount of space and time, and that was not allowed. Things that happened there should never be forgotten. Elie Wiesel was remembered at the Holocaust Museum recently, after he passed earlier this year. He told us that we can never forget, and we always should bear witness. We should bear witness and remember and try to do justice for the victims of the Holocaust, as we should to the people who have been disenfranchised and damaged and hurt by our periods of Jim Crow and slavery. Keep us attuned and aware and alert. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. First, I would like to compliment the Senate on passing the bill we passed last week, the 21st Century Cures Act, which will help research and save the lives of many Americans, something we did in a bipartisan fashion. I am pleased that that happened. I rise in support of S. 2971, the National Urban Search and Rescue Response System Act of 2016, as amended, which codifies the Urban Search and Rescue Response System. Authorizing the urban search and rescue teams, better known as USAR teams, and codifying protections for team members, such as workers' comp and liability protections, have been a top priority of mine since I first introduced a bill to do so in 2007, my first year in Congress. I was pleased that the late former Democratic Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman, an outstanding Member, Mr. Oberstar, now deceased, included my USAR language in a bill that was reported from the committee in 2010. Since then, legislation authorizing USAR teams has passed the House several times, and now the Senate has passed one as well. The 28 urban search and rescue teams that are strategically located across the United States provide timely response when needed in the aftermath of a disaster. In fact, USAR teams can be ready for deployment within 6 hours of being called up. These specialized teams of first responders provide search and rescue services, extraction from structural collapses, and swift, rapid rescue, among other activities, after disaster strikes. Their dedication is truly commendable, as they drop everything in their busy daily lives to come to the prompt assistance of others when needed. It should be noted that USAR teams even respond internationally when assistance is requested. In fact, two USAR teams deployed in the aftermath of Nepal's earthquakes in 2015 and were responsible for many rescues from structural collapses. It is only appropriate that we ensure that they have the protection they need to perform their jobs as well as the peace of mind that will come from clarity in compensation and liability issues. USAR teams may be composed of firefighters, law enforcement officers, paramedics, engineers, medical professionals, and canine handlers. Often, these team members are civil servants. By extending job protection benefits when activated for Federal service, team members know that their jobs will be waiting at home for them. In addition, it helps USAR teams recruit and retain new members. Tennessee's USAR, known as Tennessee Task Force One, has a strong commitment to their jobs, and they do an extraordinarily good job. Tennessee Task Force One is based in Memphis, Tennessee, and consists of firefighters, police officers, and civilians; and they responded when called to assist in the aftermath of disasters, such as Hurricane Matthew in South Carolina and, most recently, for the tragic wildfires in our Smoky Mountains. They did so despite the uncertainty of whether they would be covered for any injuries. Their actions are truly heroic, and I applaud them and their dedication. The protections in today's bill are long overdue, and team members can now rest assured that they will be taken care of if they are injured when performing Federal duties. I am sadly disappointed, though, that the Republican leadership is once again selectively choosing when and when not to enforce its budget rules. The underlying Senate bill we are considering authorized ``such sums as necessary'' to carry out the USAR system. Despite the House having passed a bill authorizing ``such sums as necessary'' for the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System earlier this year, we are now told that this authorization violates budget rules and an amendment and further consideration by the Senate is required. As a result, USAR team members must wait another day before we afford them the protections that they deserve. They deserve better, and they deserve laws that will ensure that Congress will appropriate adequate funds to support them and their activities. I thank all the USAR teams for their service, and I thank Mr. Barletta for working on this bill as well. I urge my colleagues to support our USAR teams by supporting the legislation. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of a constitutional amendment I introduced today to eliminate the electoral college and provide for the direct election of our nation's President and Vice President. For the second time in recent memory, and for the fifth time in our history, we have a President-elect, who lost the popular vote. The reason is because of an antiquated system that was established to prevent citizens from directly electing our nation's President. That notion--that citizens should be prevented from directly electing the President--is antithetical to our understanding of democracy. In our country, ``We the People,'' are supposed to determine who represents us in elective office. Yet, we use an anachronistic process for choosing who will hold the highest offices in the land. It is time for us to fix this, and that is why I have introduced this amendment today. When the Founders established the electoral college it was in an era of limited nationwide communication. It was premised on a theory that citizens would have a better chance of knowing about electors from their home states than about presidential candidates from out-of-state. The development of mass media and the internet, however, has made information about presidential candidates easily accessible to U.S. citizens across the country and around the world. Today, citizens have a far better chance of knowing about out-of- state presidential candidates than knowing about presidential electors from their home states. Most people don't even know who their electors are. As Thomas Jefferson said, ``I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions, but laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might well as require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.'' Since our nation first adopted our Constitution, ``We the People,'' have amended it repeatedly to expand the opportunity for citizens to directly elect our leaders. What resulted was the following: The 15th Amendment guarantees the right of all citizens to vote, regardless of race. The 19th Amendment guarantees the right of all citizens to vote, regardless of gender. The 26th Amendment guarantees the right of all citizens 18 years of age and older to vote, regardless of age. And the 17th Amendment empowers citizens to directly elect U.S. Senators. We need to empower citizens to directly elect the President and the Vice President of the United States. I am privileged to serve as Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice. My colleagues and I at the Judiciary Committee will be holding a forum next week to examine our outdated presidential election process. I hope members will attend and share their views. Working together, I know we can fix this historical anomaly, and make our Constitution better reflect the ``more perfect Union'' to which it aspires.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. I thank the gentleman. Mr. Speaker, I think everybody has been thanked who should be thanked, but I certainly want to thank Mr. Upton for all of his work and Mr. Pallone for his time and his work and Ms. DeGette. I also want to thank Senator Roger Wicker, who worked on a bill that is incorporated into this bill that Congressman Duncan and I sponsored, called the EUREKA Act, which will incentivize and reward research on diseases for which there is not great public-private partnerships but for which there is a great handicap and problem for the American public because of the particular disease. It will reward successful treatments through a competition, which I think is a great way to go about encouraging research and then paying for it. Roger Wicker, I think, came up with the idea, and I sponsored it with John Duncan, and it is included in the bill. It was originally aimed at Alzheimer's. It is now for other diseases, but Alzheimer's is one of them. Alzheimer's is a disease that is going to have a particularly crippling effect on our country economically in the future. Beyond that, it will affect many of us, and it will affect our pocketbooks; so it is important that this bill goes after Alzheimer's and that it deals with the opioid crisis, which is great in my State and across the country. It works against all diseases and it encourages moneys in the National Institutes of Health. I have long said, while we need to have a strong Defense Department, that my Secretary of Defense is Francis Collins, the head of the NIH, because the true enemy of each and every one of us isn't somebody in South Korea or somebody in Iran or ISIS or one of those folk--it is cancer; it is Alzheimer's; it is AIDS; it is diabetes; it is heart disease; it is Parkinson's. It is all of those diseases--the dreadful, awful, awful diseases for which the NIH is looking for cures. That is our Secretary of Defense, and that is what we need to invest our moneys in. I don't think there is enough money that we can put into the NIH, because it is important and it affects all Americans independent of political party, race, sexual orientation--you name it. I thank the Members for their work on this, and I am proud to vote for it.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, it is my honor to rise on this occasion to have the courthouse in Nashville named for a distinguished American, a friend of mine, Senator Fred Thompson, who is the only University of Memphis graduate to serve in the United States Senate. Fred was an outstanding attorney and Federal employee. He made Tennessee proud when he was counsel to the Watergate Committee. In a phenomenal fashion, he gave people a good feeling about bipartisanship when a Republican such as Fred Thompson stood up and raised the questions that needed to be raised to end the illegal and crime-ridden episodes of Richard Nixon that were exposed in Watergate. Despite the fact that Richard Nixon was a Republican, Fred Thompson saw to it that when the President acted in an untowardly fashion, diminishing the Constitution, diminishing our government, all Americans should stand up and oppose such. Fred did it in an admiral way, and Richard Nixon resigned eventually, and Gerald Ford helped save our country. Vice Presidents can do that. Fred served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney. He was a mentee of Senator Howard Baker, a great Member of the United States Senate and a great American. He was also a private-practicing attorney who had a case concerning pardons. It was a Democrat was doing things that were illegal. Ray Blanton from Tennessee was giving pardons that were improper. Marie Ragghianti stepped forward. Fred Thompson wrote a book about Marie exposing illegal pardons. Somebody who did the script thought Fred could make a good actor. And Fred made a good actor. He did a lot of TV series and movies and had another career besides politician and lawyer: actor. He came to Memphis one time, I remember specifically, to speak to the Chamber. And he had a droll way about him. He said--and I guess he said it other places, as well--sometimes when I am in Washington, I miss the reality and the sincerity of Hollywood. Well, I laughed when Fred said it. I think about it often here. When he ran for office, Fred took a little red truck and used it to campaign. He drove that truck around the State. People identified with it. He was ahead of his time. It was kind of like Donald Trump eating McDonald's, I think. He related to the common man with that truck. I thought about Fred as I was flying up here. I just did get here in time. I was on one of the last of those regional jets, which was kind of like Fred's truck with wings on it. But we made it. I want to thank Fred Thompson for all he did as an attorney, as an actor, and as a friend to me. He was bipartisan. He was always friendly to me. He was a courteous gentleman. I came here when Fred won the National Conference of State Legislatures Award for looking out for States' rights. He was the only member of the Senate to vote on a bill that the NCSL was in favor of. And he was right. There was a province that belonged to the States that the Federal Government usurped because it was so wonderful to do and sets good brownie points back home. But Fred didn't do that. He stayed with his position that States' rights should be first and those areas of tort liability should have remained with the States. I came to see Fred get that award. Fred had a wonderful wife and a wonderful family. One of his sons was a good friend of my mine. He still is. I am honored to be a sponsor of this bill. I am sorry that Fred left us, succumbing to cancer last year, but it is appropriate that we name the U.S. courthouse and Federal building in Nashville after this great American.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the men and women of the Tennessee State University (TSU) Aristocrat of Bands marching band and the Sophisticated Ladies majorettes for their performance at the White House reception for the grand opening ceremony of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. TSU has an over 100-year-long history as a historically black university and, as the first historically black university band to appear on national television and the first to march in an Inaugural Parade for President John F. Kennedy, it was fitting for the Aristocrat of Bands to perform in Washington, DC during this historic event in our nation's history. The TSU Aristocrat of Bands began in 1946 as a 100-piece ensemble. Since that time, the band has become world-renowned for its performances across the country. During the late 1940s, the marching band performed twice in Washington, DC in the Washington Classic, a national competition for top historical black colleges and universities. Under the direction of Frank T. Greer, the marching band became the first historically black university band to appear on television when it performed during the half-time show of a Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Rams football game. The band went on to perform during nine half-time shows between 1956 and 1978, including the New York Giants vs. the Chicago Bears National Championship in 1963 at Wrigley Field. Between 1979 and 2014, the band was directed by Edward L. Graves--a former Aristocrat under Director Greer who marched during the 1961 inauguration of President Kennedy. Under his tutelage, the band continued to perform for half-time shows, had a spot in the 1981 CBS television movie The Concrete Cowboy, recorded for television ads and traveled abroad to perform in Tokyo, Japan. In 1993, the Aristocrat of Bands returned to Washington, DC to march in President Bill Clinton's Inaugural Parade. The Aristocrat of Bands performed several songs for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture opening reception, including No Problems by Chance the Rapper, Signed Sealed Delivered I'm Yours by Stevie Wonder, Gin and Juice by Snoop Dogg and TSU's fight song, I'm So Proud. The Aristocrat of Bands and the Sophisticated Ladies represented TSU well and, like TSU students who are proud of their school and marching band, I was proud to watch the band perform on the South Lawn of the White House. I congratulate Director Dr. Reginald McDonald, the men and women of the Aristocrat of Bands, and the Sophisticated Ladies for being selected for this honor and putting on a performance worthy of the school's legacy.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the young men and women of the Stax Music Academy (SMA) in Memphis, Tennessee for their outstanding performance on the main stage at the ``Freedom Sounds: A Community Celebration'' festival on the National Mall for the grand opening of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Students from SMA have performed around the world and it was fitting for the school to be invited to perform in Washington, DC for this historic event in our nation's history. The Stax Music Academy began in 2000 at Stafford Elementary School as a Soulsville Foundation after school and summer music learning center. SMA is now located next to Stax Museum where the historic Stax Records was founded. Under Presidents and CEOs of the Foundation, including Memphian and celebrated jazz saxophonist, Kirk Whalum, SMA developed a program that has served more than 4,000 students in the studies of vocals, instruments, music writing, music theory and music production. SMA students have performed for and alongside world- renowned artists, including Isaac Hayes, Mavis Staples, Stevie Wonder, Brandford Marsalis, Ben Cauley of the Bar-Kays and many more. Additionally, SMA students have opened for BB King at his annual BB King Homecoming Festival and Concert, performed at the Levitt Shell in Memphis's Overton Park opening for Booker T. Jones and sang backup for Faith Hill during the 2008 Freedom Awards Dinner and Ceremony hosted by the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. Stax Music Academy students have also traveled the country and world sharing their talents for all to hear. Audiences have included Oprah Winfrey and President Bill Clinton as well as the U.S. Ambassador to Australia during performances in Australia and the U.S. Ambassador to Germany during the grand opening of the ``Memphis Exhibition Berlin'' in Berlin, Germany. SMA students have traveled to Porretta Terme, Italy for the Porretta Soul Festival in Rufus Thomas Park, performed at The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC for a July 4th performance and participated in the Smithsonian Institute's Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the National Mall in 2011. In addition to excelling in the performing arts, since 2008, every SMA senior has been accepted to a college or university. I was very happy for Stax Music Academy when I learned that its students were scheduled to perform in Washington, DC for the opening festivities of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The students performed several legendary songs by Stax recording artists, including ``I've Been Loving You Too Long'' by Otis Redding and ``Walking the Dog'' by Rufus Thomas, and covered songs by Stax artists Sam and Dave and the Staple Singers as well as songs by Prince and Queen. The performers represented Stax Music Academy, the city of Memphis and Memphis's musical legacy well, and I am proud of this latest milestone in the Academy's storied history.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, today marks the 25th anniversary of the opening of the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee. The National Civil Rights Museum is located at the former Lorraine Motel, the site of the tragic assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. From that horrific incident rose from the ashes a phoenix in a wonderful story of the efforts and the achievements of many--both Black and White--to achieve a more perfect union in the civil rights for people in this country. Mr. Speaker, I urge everybody who has a chance to go to Memphis and tour the civil rights museum and pay tribute to the civil rights soldiers who made America more what it was intended to be and make it a more perfect union.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, this is a historic week in the United States as we dedicate and open the National Museum of African American History and Culture. It starts with a story of African Americans being brought to this country as slaves from Africa, not citizens but property, and considered such until they were freed, some through the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, and others through an amendment to the Constitution. Even after that, they weren't really considered full citizens, as there was Jim Crow segregation, and that continued for over 100 years. Today, we see African Americans are still threatened. I woke up Tuesday morning to the shocking video of Mr. Crutcher being shot while his hands were up and on a car, following apparent instructions from police, and was shot to death. It is one of the most shocking videos I have seen. There is no way to defend what happened. At best, it was gross negligence; at worst, it was murder. This has been happening too often in the United States. I support police. My first job out of law school was an attorney for the police department. I worked 3\1/2\ years for the police. I understand their importance, and I support them. But police who are not well trained are doing a disservice to their profession and to the United States. This morning on ``Morning Joe,'' former Congressman Joe Scarborough, a Republican Member of this House, said two things are necessary in light of the shootings, and particularly the Crutcher shooting in Tulsa, Oklahoma. One is body cameras and cameras on all police vehicles so we can see, as we did in Oklahoma, exactly what occurred. And, secondly, independent prosecutors, prosecutors from outside the jurisdiction to see to it that justice is served. There is a bill in this Congress that Lacy Clay, myself, every member of the Congressional Black Caucus, and nearly 90 Members of this House are cosponsors of. That is a bill that will require police training towards racial sensitivity and understanding of different cultures, independent prosecutors for States to determine how they would set it up, and a requirement for States to have independent prosecutors in law enforcement killings of American citizens. This is necessary for people to believe and to know that justice is, indeed, blind and justice is being meted out. There is no way to look at Tulsa, but to see there was either inadequate training or there was racial profiling and insensitivity that ended in the death of Mr. Crutcher. It is so sad as we open the National Museum of African American History and Culture to see that African Americans still are not being treated the same as others in our Nation. It is not a mere coincidence that every shooting by a police person videoed has an African American victim. Nobody can say that Mr. Crutcher was resisting arrest or possibly had a gun or brandished a pistol. None of those things occurred. He was following instructions. I ask my Republican colleagues, none of whom are sponsors of my bill, to consider coming on to the bill. The bill is important for justice in America. It is important for people to know there is justice. And in this week, as we look to the National Museum of African American History and Culture opening and the recognition of rights that people have, and the understanding that they are human beings and part of America, who built America, literally built America as slaves and built this building, we need to go forward and see to it that justice is colorblind and justice is meted out.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Ruby Wilson, a legendary Memphis Blues singer who was known as the ``Queen of Beale Street'' and was beloved not only by the city of Memphis but by fans all over the world. Ruby Wilson was born in 1948 in Fort Worth, Texas before making Memphis, Tennessee her home in 1972. Over time, Ruby became one of the greatest ambassadors for Memphis and Blues music alike. Ruby's passion for singing began early as a child in Texas singing in her church choir, which was directed by her mother. Through the choir, Ruby performed with notable gospel singers Rosetta Tharpe, The Blind Boys of Alabama and Reverend James Cleveland. At age 15, Ruby accepted renowned gospel singer Shirley Ceasar's invitation to sing backup during a summer tour. During this same time in her youth, Ruby learned her love of the Blues from her father, who was an associate of famed guitarist and blues singer Freddie King. It was time spent with her father listening to Muddy Waters and other Blues musicians on the radio that influenced her future music career. This included listening to Memphis Blues legend B.B. King, whom she met in Texas at age 14. They formed a friendship that lasted his lifetime. It was then that B.B. King named Ruby his goddaughter, six years before she would sing with him for the first time. By 1972, Ruby had lived and worked in Chicago singing gospel and directing church choirs, and had returned to Texas to sing jazz. She was touring by then and had, on occasions, performed in Memphis, where she met Stax Records songwriter, recording artist and producer Isaac Hayes, who suggested she move there. After relocating to Memphis, Ruby taught kindergarten for eight years while building her music career on the nightclub stages of Beale Street and surrounding venues, including Club Handy, Rum Boogie Cafe, Club Royale, Mallard's, Alfred's, Silky 'O Sullivan's, The Blues Room, In The Alley on Beale, Neil's, Bosco's, 50/ 50 Tower, The Spot, The Other Place, Beale Street Blues Club, Elvis Presley's (on Beale), and the New Daisy and Old Daisy Theaters. Ruby was also a regular performer at B.B. King's Blues Club and its upstairs restaurant, Itta Bena. Ruby enjoyed new experiences and performing in new venues across the globe. Throughout her career, Ruby performed in Asia, Europe and New Zealand for audiences that included British and Monegasque royalty. She also performed for U.S. President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore, and she was a featured performer at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in 2008, 2011 and 2012. In addition to touring, Ruby Wilson recorded 10 albums and worked alongside Ray Charles, the Four Tops, Willie Nelson, Isaac Hayes, Al Green's Full Gospel Tabernacle Choir in Memphis and countless others. She also appeared in over 10 major films, including The Firm (1993), The Client (1994), The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996), Black Snake Moan (2006), and Delta Rising: A Blues Documentary (2008). Ruby was the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions. She earned the title ``Queen of Beale Street'' in 1992 and has received the ``Authentic Beale Street Musician Award,'' the ``Memphis Sound Award for Best Entertainer,'' the ``Blues Ball Award: Special Achievement,'' the ``Willie Mitchell Jus Blues Award,'' and the ``W.C. Handy Heritage Awards: Lifetime Achievement.'' Ruby also received the St. Jude Children's Hospital ``Supporter Award,'' the ``Networking for Memphis Community Service Award,'' and the ``Arc of the Mid-South Community Leader Award.'' She has been inducted into the African American Hall of Fame, the Afro-American Walk of Fame at Lemoyne Owen College in Memphis and has a brass note in her honor on the Beale Street Walk of Fame. Ruby Wilson received accolades from critics and fans throughout her career and she will always be remembered for her great voice and warm personality. For the city of Memphis, Ruby Wilson was more than just the Queen of Beale Street. She possessed a voice that was sought after by businesses and politicians for television commercials and radio ads because hers was a credible voice of endorsement. She recorded for small local businesses and I am forever grateful for the ads that she recorded for me and the support that she gave me. I am also thankful for the opportunity to have watched her perform many times in Memphis, including at her last benefit performance at B.B. King's Blues Club on July 31st, less than two weeks before her passing. As always, she was beautiful and smiling while performing to a packed house as was befitting of her life, achievements, contributions and memory. Ruby Wilson's passing places her on the same level, if not higher, as many Memphis legendary geniuses that we've recently lost, including Elvis Presley's guitarist Scott Moore, Stax Records and American Sound Studio producer Chip Moman, The Memphis Horns saxophone and trumpet players Andrew Love and Wayne Jackson, and Maurice White, founder of the multi-Grammy Award winning music group Earth, Wind and Fire. Ruby Wilson passed away on Friday, August 12, 2016 at 68 years of age. She is survived by her daughters Shallisa Alexander and Stacey Ragston, her sons Keith and Kenneth Moseley, and 12 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Ruby Wilson had a unique and incredible voice that Memphis, Beale Street, the entire music community and all of her fans around the world will miss. Hers was a life well-lived.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I am dressed in a seersucker suit. Most people from the South would recognize that, and traditionally people from the country and the South and the fashion industry would say you are not supposed to wear seersucker after Labor Day and before Memorial Day. But this year, according to NASA, is going to be the hottest year on record ever since the 1880s, when we started keeping records. Each of the first 6 months of the year have been the hottest months in history, according to NASA. Global warming is real, and we are going to be wearing these seersucker suits into October, and we will be starting to wear them in April, probably around the first of April to coincide with April Fool's Day, because for those people who don't think there is global warming, all they have got to do is go out in the weather before Memorial Day or after Labor Day in something other than seersucker and they will realize that global warming is real. Climate change is with us. The oceans will rise; land will disappear. Miami Beach is too nice.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, late Governor of Tennessee Ned McWherter used to say: If you don't want to work, you shouldn't hire out. Speaker Ryan, if you don't want to work, if your team doesn't want to work, you shouldn't have run for office and hired out. We are taking off for nearly 8 weeks of vacation when we should be here dealing with gun violence; when we should be dealing with the voting rights extension, which we have not done with elections coming up; when we should be dealing with the Zika virus, which threatens the health of our people; when we should be dealing with the Flint water crisis. We are leaving for 8 weeks of vacation. This Congress started 8 years ago with terrible political priorities. Rather than policy, it was politics. Mitch McConnell said their job was to see to it that Barack Obama didn't get reelected. What did we do this week? We had hearings about Hillary Clinton and emails. That is politics. We didn't have questions of the U.S. Attorney General about voting rights or gun violence. If you don't want to work, don't hire out. Ned McWherter was right, Speaker Ryan. You shouldn't have come here without being willing to work.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of a bipartisan bill I introduced today with several of my colleagues to authorize a statue of Elie Wiesel to be placed in the U.S. Capitol building. Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel was a great American, whose moral leadership served as a beacon across our country and around the globe. President Obama rightly called him, ``the conscience of the world.'' Wiesel was born in Romania in 1928. In 1944, at the age of fifteen, Elie Wiesel was sent to the Nazi concentration camp of Auschwitz, and later to Buchenwald. Both of his parents and his younger sister died in the concentration camps. After the war, Elie Wiesel became a journalist and wrote about his experiences during the Holocaust. He spent his life as a vocal witness against both the evil that gave rise to the Holocaust and man's inhumanity against his fellow man. His purpose was to speak the truth in the face of power and to clearly and repeatedly say ``Never Again.'' His memoir, Night, has been translated into over 30 languages. He fought against indifference, intolerance, and injustice. He helped create the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Elie Wiesel was one of the greatest moral forces in the world. He was brilliant, pure, honest, and courageous. I met Elie Wiesel when I was a Tennessee State Senator and he was honored at Vanderbilt. He was the inspiration for me founding the Tennessee Holocaust Commission in 1987. I have a picture of him and me hanging in the foyer of my Washington, DC office. The photo was taken when he was honored at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. His voice was strong and will be sorely missed. He was one of my heroes. I urge my colleagues to help pass this bill.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I made a request in the Judiciary Committee to our chairperson to have hearings on this issue. We have a bill that would require each State to set up a system of independent prosecutors to look at law enforcement killings, shootings. The fact is an Attorney General can't look at a law enforcement shooting without prejudicing their ability to do their jobs. They work hand in glove with law enforcement, and if they have to police law enforcement, they have a problem in effectively doing their jobs later on. We have asked that each State set up a system of independent prosecutors so people know there is justice and fairness and oversight. That is reasonable, and we should have hearings. What happened in Baton Rouge, what happened in Minnesota has happened in New York, has happened in North Charleston. It has happened in Cleveland, Ohio. It has happened in Memphis, Tennessee. And African American men are subject to being shot for reasons that others aren't. Police need to be more careful, and we need to see that our country takes this, as President Obama has in his statement from Europe: this is an American problem.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of a bipartisan resolution I introduced today with my colleagues Trent Kelly, Bennie Thompson and Gregg Harper in honor of the 50th anniversary of the James Meredith March Against Fear. Senator Roger Wicker recently offered a similar resolution in the Senate with his colleagues Senator Thad Cochran and Jeanne Shaheen. The Senate swiftly passed that resolution, and I hope the House will do the same with the one we introduced today. Fifty years ago last month, after already making history at the University of Mississippi, James Meredith risked his life once again by organizing a march from Memphis, Tennessee to Jackson, Mississippi to encourage African Americans to register to vote. This was not long after passage of the landmark Voting Rights Act, and a march like this--into the heart of Mississippi--was anything but safe. Sure enough, Meredith was brutally shot and wounded. Civil rights leaders quickly met at the Centenary United Methodist Church in Memphis to plan a resumption of the march. They were aided by the church's courageous Reverend James M. Lawson. They were also aided by the Memphis chapter of the N.A.A.C.P. and civil rights leaders Maxine and Vasco Smith, Jesse Turner, Russell Sugarmon, and A.W. Willis, among others. The next day, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Floyd McKissick, and Stokely Carmichael resumed the Meredith March Against Fear. By the time marchers reached Jackson, 4,000 African Americans in Mississippi had registered to vote. This was a great moment in the history of voting rights in our country, and I urge my colleagues to help us pay homage to it by passing this resolution.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, Elie Wiesel, one of the great human beings who graced this Earth, passed away this week. He said that sometimes we are powerless to prevent injustice, but we should never fail to protest against injustice. John Lewis is a man in this House who is of the same caliber as Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King. He is the same caliber as Elie Wiesel. When John Lewis and other Democrats protested on this floor, they were here because they might not have been able to prevent injustice, but they needed to protest. And they did it in the spirit of Elie Wiesel. Mr. Speaker, you said John Lewis and the Democrats' activity on the floor was a stunt. It wasn't a stunt. It was in keeping with the great tradition of people like Elie Wiesel and John Lewis who know that at sometimes, when society and the government are so far out of line, there need to be extraordinary steps to bring attention to issues and make a change. The bill you are bringing to the floor is a stunt. John Lewis does not engage in stunts.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join with the people of Memphis who are mourning the loss of a member of the Memphis Police Department's K-9 unit. Gunner, a fearless German Shepherd, served with his partner and handler Sgt. Roosevelt Twilley for five years before retiring in 2010. In 2009, Gunner risked his life to help apprehend a suspected thief and saved his handler's life in the process. Gunner was stabbed 10 times during the incident. After emergency surgery and a blood transfusion, he returned to duty just two months later. Last week, Gunner was laid to rest by his brothers and sisters of the Memphis Police Department in recognition of his life-long service to the safety of Memphis. As a State Senator I offered legislation to increase the penalty for shooting police dogs like Gunner because an attack on a member of the K-9 unit is an attack on all our police, and we need to protect those who protect us from harm. We are grateful for their service and we mourn the loss of K-9 officer Gunner.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, on June 21, 2016, my flight was delayed and I was unable to vote on H.R. 5525, H.R. 5388 and H.R. 5389. If present, I would have voted ``No'' on H.R. 5525, and ``yea'' on H.R. 5388 and H.R. 5389.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, on June 10, 2016, I attended a funeral and I was unable to vote on H.R. 5325, H. Con. Res. 89, and H. Con. Res. 112. If present, I would have voted ``yea'' on Ellison of Minnesota Amendment No. 2, ``nay'' on Blackburn of Tennessee Amendment No. 6, ``yea'' on Takano of California Amendment No. 11, ``nay'' on Pearce of New Mexico Amendment No. 13, ``yea'' on the Motion to Recommit H.R. 5325 with Instructions, ``nay'' on passage of H.R. 5325, ``nay'' on H. Con. Res. 89, and ``nay'' on H. Con. Res. 112.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, this week marks the 10th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. White. The Court held, unanimously, that workers who stand up against workplace discrimination are entitled to protection against a broad array of retaliatory actions by their employers. The case, and the vital precedent that it set--that the scope of the Civil Rights Act of 1964's, ``antiretaliation provision extends beyond workplace-related or employment related retaliatory acts and harms''-- would not have been possible but for the courage of my constituent, Sheila White, from Memphis, Tennessee. In 1997, Ms. White was working as a forklift operator at the Tennessee Yard of Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway. At the time she was the only woman in her department. Ms. White complained that her supervisor had been sexually harassing her. The company disciplined her supervisor, but also reassigned Ms. White to a less desirable position. After Ms. White filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the railway suspended her without pay for more than a month for insubordination. Ms. White's story is a true profile in courage. Even though the company eventually found that she was not insubordinate, reinstated her and gave her backpay, she nonetheless persisted with her lawsuit to set the record straight. She knew, and the Supreme Court ultimately agreed, that the way she had been treated fell far short of the protections established by Congress in the Civil Rights Act. As Justice Breyer explained, ``The significance of the congressional judgment that victims of intentional discrimination can recover compensatory and punitive damages to make them whole would be undermined if employers could avoid liability in these circumstances. . . . An indefinite suspension without pay could well act as a deterrent to the filing of a discrimination complaint, even if the suspended employee eventually received backpay.'' As we commemorate the 10th anniversary of this case, I want to publicly thank Ms. White--for her bravery, for her perseverance, and for her continued leadership on behalf of workplace fairness. Our nation is better because of Sheila White.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, on May 18, 2016, while I was in an office meeting, the legislative signal bells in my office malfunctioned due to a loose electrical connection, and neither I nor my staff accompanying me knew that a vote had been called. The Architect of the Capitol's Electrical Engineering Branch later repaired the signal bells. If present, I would have voted ``no'' on H. Res. 735.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I express and join with the people of the City of Memphis who are mourning the loss of another law enforcement officer. Officer Verdell Smith, Jr., served 18 years as a Memphis policeman. He also served his country in the United States Navy. Last weekend, a man went wild in Memphis and shot three different people and then had his car hurtling at a high speed in the wrong direction on a one-way street toward a busy intersection of Beale and B.B. King. Officer Smith tried to clear the intersection of civilians to save them from tragedy. Unfortunately, Officer Smith was struck by the car and died. Officer Verdell Smith's funeral will be tomorrow. He leaves behind a family, particularly two children, Chelsea and Verdell, Jr.; his stepchildren; his grandmother; his father, O'Dell Smith, Sr.; and siblings. Law enforcement put themselves in danger all the time to protect us. We appreciate their service. We mourn the loss of Officer Smith, a life of service.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, there is so much that has been said appropriately about Muhammad Ali that people in this era might not realize that when he was fighting, all of America really looked forward to his fights and watched them. The eyes of the Nation were glued to the television to see him fight and to see afterwards Howard Cosell speaking the sports talk to him and reviewing those fights. He was a lot about Louisville. There is a street in Louisville named after him, Muhammad Ali Boulevard, and the Muhammad Ali Center. Nobody carries on and will carry on Muhammad Ali's love of Louisville more than you, Mr. Yarmuth. I appreciate you having this hour. He was to Louisville in such a great way, and he was a great man to America. I thank you for putting this hour together.

Mr. COHEN. I want to thank Mr. Yarmuth for putting together this hour. I think it is important that we recognize icons in our society and people who have contributed so much, as you well expressed, to American culture and to the thinking in our country about war, about race, and about people with disabilities. Those are three very, very major areas that Muhammad Ali had a great impact on. You related back to when you were 16 years old. I was not quite 15 years old. At that time, my family had moved to Coral Gables, Florida. We lived there from 1961 to 1964. During that period, Muhammad Ali's second home was Miami Beach and the 5th Street Gym. During that period is when Ali, as Cassius Clay, had won the Olympic gold medal--and I remember him winning the Olympic gold medal in 1960, in Rome--and when his professional career started. He probably started in Louisville, but he was quickly in Miami Beach fighting. So he was on the news all the time in Miami Beach and on the sports shows and whatever else, but always on TV and a personality in Miami Beach. My granddad gave me $20, which was a lot of money, on February 25, 1964, if I remember--and I went to that fight. I was sitting probably in the highest seat in the Miami Beach Convention Center and watching that fighting by myself. My dad wasn't so much into it, but my grandfather gave me that $20 and I went to it. I have got my docket. It's a great looking Clay-Liston ticket, in good shape, and a couple of programs from that event, which I am proud to have. I have been a fan of his, and I know how much of an impact he had on our world. I was also a boxing fan of Floyd Patterson. Floyd Patterson was a previous champion. The first time that Floyd fought Muhammad Ali, I have to admit that I was cheering for Floyd. Floyd didn't do too well. He hurt his back and was taunted by Ali. He wanted him to say his name. And he punished him pretty good through 12 rounds. But the second time they fought, which was in the early seventies, Patterson did a lot better. They stopped the fight at the end of the sixth or the beginning of the seventh. And it was closer to even. After the fight, as I understand it, Ali told the referee not to stop the fight because Patterson is fighting so well and he should be able to continue fighting and it wasn't fair to stop it. I saw an interview with then-Cassius Clay with Steve Allen from 1963 that is on the Internet. In that interview, they said something about Floyd Patterson. First, Clay made a joke and he said that Liston knocked him out twice in one round. And Floyd's jaw was somewhat challenged. He said his leg should sue his body for lack of support. And then he kind of stopped and laughed and chuckled and said: I shouldn't say that; I like Floyd. Of course, that was before. Floyd didn't recognize his new name. Louisville was the home of Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali. One of the great attractions in Louisville is the Muhammad Ali Center, which I have had the opportunity to visit and go through. You can sit and watch all of Ali's fights, any one of them. Sit in a chair and push a button and there it is. And just watch any fight. I watched that second Patterson-Ali fight. Floyd was doing pretty good through those six rounds. It is more than for boxing. It is a center. And it is about what he did for children and there are a lot of displays about what he did for children and what he did for peace and his efforts around the world. I think that is the great thing about Muhammad Ali. They didn't build a boxing museum. They built a center about all of his desires for freedom and for helping people around the globe and showing we are all one. As he said back in I think January of this year, his religion of Islam was not about San Bernardino and Brussels or Paris or any other place there have been attacks. Islam was a religion of love, and it should be that way. And it was not the religion he knew. Anybody who thought it was that way and wanted to discriminate against people based on their religion were wrong, because it wasn't that type of religion. So he was still, up until this year, taking positions of conscience to try to steer people in the right direction. I keep under my glass on my office desk a quote from Muhammad Ali. It is on a postcard that I got at the Muhammad Ali Center. It shows Muhammad Ali in the ring kind of dancing around. And it says: ``The fight is won or lost away from witnesses--behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.'' And it made me think about what we do in politics. Our elections are generally not won--if you are serious about your job and your constituents--right before elections. It is done during your term of office and what you do for your constituents and how you vote and what you do for folks, which is the same thing as a fighter being out there in the gym and on the road doing roadwork, hitting the bag, and training. So Ali is what I look at when I sit down. It is right underneath my desk. And I see that and he kind of guides me--and he guides everybody--in that way, if you think about that. That is what life is about: preparation and having a plan and taking action to implement the plan.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, today, I introduced the Stop, Observe, Ask and Respond (SOAR) to Health and Wellness Act along with my colleagues Representatives Adam Kinzinger, Tony Cardenas and Ann Wagner. It is a companion to S. 1446, which was introduced by Senators Heidi Heitkamp and Susan Collins. This bipartisan bill supports efforts underway at the Department of Health and Human Services to combat human trafficking by directing the Secretary to establish a pilot program to be known as `Stop, Observe, Ask and Respond to Health and Wellness Training' to provide training on human trafficking to health care providers at all levels. Human trafficking is a modern-day form of slavery that uses force, fraud or coercion to lure millions of men, women and children in countries around the world annually, including here in the United States. Human trafficking includes both sex and labor trafficking, and generates billions of dollars in profits each year, making it the second most profitable form of transnational crime behind drug trafficking. Recognizing the key indicators of human trafficking is the first step in identifying victims, providing life-saving help and bringing traffickers to justice. Human trafficking, however, is a hidden crime and victims rarely seek help because of cultural barriers or out of fear of their traffickers or law enforcement. While victims are often difficult to identify, a reported 68 percent of trafficking victims end up in a health care setting at some point while being exploited, including in clinics, emergency rooms and doctor's offices. Despite this, out of more than 5,680 hospitals in the country, only 60 have been identified as having a plan for treating patients who are victims of trafficking and 95 percent of emergency room personnel are not trained to treat trafficking victims. Our bill aims to ensure health care professionals are trained to identify and assist victims of human trafficking, and help close the gap in health care settings without plans for treating trafficking victims. I want to urge my colleagues to pass this important legislation so that health care professionals can better identify trafficking victims, provide victim centered care and help bring perpetrators of human trafficking to justice with the help of law enforcement as well as social and victims service agencies and organizations.