Steve Cohen

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to George Klein, a Memphis original and one of the late Elvis Presley's longest and closest friends after they met at Humes High School in 1948, both aged 13. Mr. Klein died Tuesday evening in Memphis at the age of 83. George Klein, known as ``GK,'' was Memphis disc jockey and protege of pioneering disc jockey Dewey Phillips, hosting WHBQ-TV's ``Talent Party'' (1964 to 1973) and WMC radio's ``George Klein's Rock & Roll Ballroom. `` He later hosted SiriusXM satellite radio's Elvis Radio channel until last year. Mr. Klein was inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame in 2018. A member of King of Rock & Roll's ``Memphis Mafia'' traveling entourage, Mr. Klein was a groomsman in Presley's wedding to Priscilla Beaulieu in 1967 in Las Vegas (Elvis served as his best man when Mr. Klein married in 1970) and served as an Elvis pallbearer after the singer's death in 1977. Mr. Klein also had bit parts in some of Elvis' movies, including ``Jailhouse Rock'' in 1957. When Elvis was posthumously inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, it was his loyal friend Mr. Klein who gave the acceptance speech. For Memphis, Mr. Klein was our Bob Hope, hosting many civic affairs programs and producing the annual George Klein Christmas Charity Show that people looked forward to seeing for years and which raised a lot of money for various charities. As a radio personality, he had a variety of career highlights, hosting Johnny Cash's radio debut; bringing the first African American recording artists--Fats Domino, Sam Cooke, James Brown, and Jackie Wilson--to play on live Memphis television; and introducing The Beatles when they played the Mid-South Coliseum in August 1966. Everybody loved George Klein. He was always cheerful and upbeat and made life better for all he met; you could say he helped make your day. Mr. Klein very closely followed Memphis State and later University of Memphis sports, particularly basketball. University of Memphis basketball coach John Calipari said he used to talk to Mr. Klein before basketball games and called him ``an unbelievable ambassador'' for Memphis. George and I had a mutual friend in Irvin Salky, who was his contemporary and occasionally his counselor. Priscilla, who visited my office last month, recognized Mr. Klein's influence. She released a statement Tuesday evening calling Mr. Klein ``a legendary broadcaster,'' adding ``but he was so much more to our family. George has been there from the beginning . . . He was a true Memphian and always made it feel like home on trips back to Graceland. I will forever cherish our memories together, they will stay with me always.'' George was my friend and his was a life well-lived. He will be missed.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 752, the Open Book on Equal Access to Justice Act, a bill House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Collins and I have worked on together for several years. The Equal Access to Justice Act was enacted to allow Americans to recover attorneys' fees and costs associated with lawsuits against the Federal Government. This has enabled ordinary citizens, such as veterans, seniors, small business owners, advocates for clean air and clean water, and any other type of citizen to fight unfair or illegal government actions without fear of court costs. The law has been a success. In 1995, however, an important reporting requirement was removed from it, which made it harder for the public to know how much money the government has awarded. Our bill, the Open Book on Equal Access to Justice Act reinstates the Equal Access to Justice Act's tracking and reporting requirements with respect to payments awarded so that American people can have access to this important information. It would do this by requiring ACUS, an acronym for the Administrative Conference of the United States, a highly respected, nonpartisan agency, to prepare an annual report for Congress on the fees and costs awarded in these cases. The reports would also include the number and nature of the claims involved. In summary, H.R. 752 would promote greater transparency and accountability. Accordingly, I urge my colleagues to join me and Mr. Collins in voting for this measure today, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, today, I recognize a lady who served in this Congress named Cynthia Lummis. She was the original cosponsor I had on this bill and worked hard on it and was a very fine Representative. We also worked with a man named Lowell Baier. Mr. Baier wrote a book called ``Inside the Equal Access to Justice Act: Environmental Litigation and the Crippling Battle over America's Lands, Endangered Species, and Critical Habitats.'' He was a great supporter of this concept, and I want to recognize his efforts as well as Mrs. Lummis'. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have up to 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 752) to amend titles 5 and 28, United States Code, to require the maintenance of databases on awards of fees and other expenses to prevailing parties in certain administrative proceedings and court cases to which the United States is a party, and for other purposes.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ms. Bass for yielding. I just wanted to stand on this bill because this is an important area and I want to commend Representative Bass for bringing it. I am happy to be a cosponsor, but I particularly thank Congresswoman Ann Wagner. When we had a bill last year, the SOAR Act, Stop, Observe, Act and Respond, to Health and Wellness Act, a pilot program to train healthcare workers who come into contact with people who have been sexually trafficked, they oftentimes do see healthcare workers because they have either been beaten up by their pimps or they have gotten a venereal disease. They might have to go in for birth control or for some other reason sexually related, oftentimes health related, so that we need to train health workers to observe and to know when they were seeing somebody trafficked to stop, to observe, to see if that person might be in that situation, and then to ask them, and then to send them to an agency that can help them. This was an important bill that we were able to pass in the Senate and make law. Representative Kinzinger helped, Representative Cardenas helped, but Representative Wagner was my star, and I want to thank her so much for working with us and helping on the Senate side, particularly, to get it passed. I am proud to be a cosponsor of this bill. I also want to mention that Representative Burchett is a strong sponsor and supporter of this type of legislation, and a great American.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the Private Student Loan Bankruptcy Fairness Act, a bill I introduced earlier today with my colleagues Danny Davis and Eric Swalwell. This bill would provide critical relief to Americans in severe financial distress who are struggling with overwhelming private student loan debt. Before 2005, private student loans issued by for-profit lenders were treated in bankruptcy like most other unsecured consumer debt, such as credit card debt. Our bill will ensure that privately issued student loans will once again be treated like other consumer debt and be dischargeable in bankruptcy. Private student loans have much in common with credit cards and subprime mortgages. For example, private student loans often have onerous interest rates with no caps and can include exorbitant fees and hidden charges. In addition, many lenders have used aggressive marketing and high-pressure sales tactics to target particularly vulnerable people, namely, young men and women without financial experience, and older Americans seeking to re-start their careers by pursuing higher education and training. To make matters worse, private student loans lack the critical consumer protections that come with federal student loans. For instance, private lenders are not required to--and typically do not-- provide any of the deferments, income-based repayment plans, cancellation rights, or loan forgiveness programs that are available to federal student loan borrowers. A hallmark of our nation's bankruptcy law is to give an honest but unfortunate debtor a chance to obtain meaningful relief. To that end, the law exempts very few types of debt from elimination through the bankruptcy process, and only for principled policy reasons, such as debts for child support, taxes, criminal fines and intentional injury. In 2005, however, Congress changed the bankruptcy law without any substantive analysis so that student loans made by private, for-profit lenders became very difficult to discharge in bankruptcy. Currently, the Bankruptcy Code prohibits the discharge of private educational debt unless the debtor, in addition to meeting the already stringent requirements for personal bankruptcy, proves that repayment would impose an, ``undue hardship,'' on the debtor and the debtor's dependents. In practice, however, it's hard for a debtor to ever successfully meet this standard. The current bankruptcy law unjustly punishes hardworking Americans who are simply trying to improve their lives by pursuing a higher education and became victims of predatory private student loan lenders. We can do better. I urge my colleagues to support the Private Student Loan Bankruptcy Fairness Act and restore the fair treatment of private student loan borrowers in bankruptcy.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, fortunately, the United States Government is open, and, fortunately, when Donald Trump comes to this Chamber on February 5, he can say the state of the Union is that the government is open. Otherwise, the State of the Union would have been different. A lot of people lost paychecks and had great difficulties because of 35 days without many Federal employees getting paid. That should not happen again. A lot of private entrepreneurs whose businesses are located near Federal facilities will never recover the losses. When Federal employees did not go to work, people who have grocery stores, cafeterias, and lunchrooms lost business that they can never make up. The ability of the FAA to keep our airlines going was jeopardized. We don't need to let that happen again. That hurts commerce and hurts our country. We need to have an agreement, but we don't need to build an unnecessary fifth-century wall. George Bush put up more barriers than any other President, but none in Texas, his home State, because the Rio Grande River is the dividing point. There is a big difference. God bless Walter Jones

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize International Holocaust Remembrance Day which marks the anniversary of the 1945 liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. I join with people around the world to commemorate the millions of lives lost to Nazism, especially the six million Jewish lives lost. It is imperative that we remember the loss of those six million people and, also, the people who survived and those who helped them survive. Of the 1.3 million people taken to Auschwitz, an estimated 1.1 million were killed. In 1984, as a young State Senator, I sponsored legislation to create the Tennessee Holocaust Commission, one of the first such state Commissions. I'm very proud of the work of the Tennessee Holocaust Commission, much of which is educating Tennessee teachers so they can teach children about the Holocaust. As we remember the lives lost, we should also remember those who survived and, also, the military that liberated the camps and the hundreds of thousands of righteous gentiles who risked their own lives to save Jews. The Holocaust showed that a society that tolerates antisemitism is susceptible to other forms of racism, hatred, and oppression. I urge all Americans visiting Washington to visit the U.S. Holocaust Museum and I urge all Tennesseans and those visiting Nashville to go to the Memorial on the State Capitol Grounds, situated alongside six cedar trees representing six million people, to remember and to understand why we must always remember and stand up against antisemitism, racism, hatred and oppression wherever and whenever it occurs.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, today the House of Representatives has a Member in great distress, and it causes all of us who are aware of that--and I think most of us are--sorrow. Representative Walter Jones is the Congressman from the Third Congressional District of North Carolina. He is a man of courage, a man who speaks truth to power, and has been a Member of this body since 1995. Representative Jones has a condition that has caused him to go into hospice care. He likely will not be joining us on this floor. But he is a man who I have had the great privilege of knowing, because he is a good human being and an honorable man, who made a mistake in a vote for the Iraq war and after he realized that that was a mistake, having voted for that war, he voted against war and conflicts ever after, and wrote personal notes to the families of the victims of military deaths. He supported veterans. He supported our country. He was a man of conscience. He still is. Our thoughts are with him, and I thank him for his service and his friendship. Mr. Speaker, I say to my friend: Fair winds and following seas.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 29th anniversary of the ``Black January'' killings which is one of the most tragic events in Azerbaijan's history. On the night of January 20, 1990, approximately 26,000 Soviet troops stormed Azerbaijan's capital city of Baku in tanks and armored vehicles. That night, the Soviet military bulldozed innocent Azerbaijanis and opened indiscriminate fire on peaceful demonstrators, including women and children. As a result of these merciless acts 147 people were killed, around 800 were injured, 841 were arrested, and 5 went missing. The Human Rights Watch report ``Black January in Azerbaijan'' states that ``among the most heinous violations of human rights during the Baku incursion were the numerous attacks on medical personnel, ambulances, and even hospitals.'' The report concludes that the violence used by the Soviet Army constituted an exercise in collective punishment and that the punishment inflicted on Baku by Soviet soldiers may have been intended as a warning to nationalists, not only in Azerbaijan, but in other Republics of the Soviet Union. I offer my thoughts and prayers to the families of those who gave their lives for the independence of Azerbaijan. The United States and Azerbaijan are strategic allies and share common interests in the region and globally. I commend Azerbaijan's contributions to the security of the United States. As the co-chairman of the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus, I urge my colleagues to recognize the sacrifices of the Azerbaijani people in their steps toward a free market economy and encourage a recommitment to the democratic values for which many Azerbaijanis sacrificed their lives.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Madam Speaker, I thank Mr. Nadler for yielding me the time. Madam Speaker, I want to thank Mr. Clyburn for bringing this resolution, and I want to thank the Republican leadership, Mr. McCarthy and company, who have condemned white supremacist and white nationalist language. It is important that we come together and condemn this language because, unfortunately, in Charlottesville, Virginia, we had Ku Klux Klan people and neo-Nazis marching and saying: ``Jews will not replace us in blood and soil.'' Our President said there were fine people on both sides. We must condemn bigotry, racial superiority, and hate whenever it raises its ugly head so that it will not come back to bite us once again. So today, hopefully, in the House, we have done that. I commend my Republican colleagues and Mr. Collins, and I hope that when hatred and bigotry once against surface, raises its head, which it will, that we will stand together as Americans to condemn it and not see fine people on both sides.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to my constituent and friend, Leonid ``Lulu'' Saharovici, a longtime member of the Tennessee Holocaust Commission, who worked in a Nazi-backed Romanian labor camp in his youth and passed away last month at age 91. Mr. Saharovici was educated at the University of Bucharest Law School and pursued a career in administrative law and teaching at his alma mater before he and his wife of 62 years, Frida, and their children Alex (Debra), then 12, Livio (Heidi), then 8, emigrated to the U.S. Mr. Saharovici was hired by National Mortgage in Memphis in 1972 and worked there until his retirement in 1994. He also taught Romanian and Romanian Culture classes at Rhodes College. After attending a Jewish Holocaust survivors gathering in Washington, D.C., in 1983, Mr. Saharovici wrote to Tennessee lawmakers with the idea of creating a Tennessee Holocaust Commission, which became a reality two years later. I'm proud to have been a sponsor of that effort as a Tennessee state senator. Mr. Saharovici was named as a Tennessee Holocaust commissioner and served in that capacity for 33 years. In that position, he devoted his time to educating high school students about the horrors of the Holocaust in an effort to ensure something like it could never happen again. Mr. Saharovici was an active member of the Baron Hirsch Synagogue congregation and was a life member of its Board of Directors. Mr. Saharovici also co-founded the Jewish Historical Society and served as its second president. He also collected Passover Haggadahs. As Chairman of the Belz Museum of Asian and Judaic Art, he gave guided tours of the museum through the years. An avid fan of the Memphis Symphony and opera in Memphis, he served as Chairman of the Belz/Parker Ascending Concerts series and invited musicians visiting Memphis to stage concerts at LeBonheur Children's Hospital, the West Clinic, Stax Museum and St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital. In 2010, Mr. Saharovici received the Jefferson Award for his efforts to improve society, his work educating the public about the Holocaust and his work bringing cultural and historical events to the city. Mr. Saharovici lived a storied life and contributed in important ways to the adopted community he loved so well. I wish his friends and family my best.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Mr. G. Lincoln McCurdy, the president of the Turkish Coalition of America (TCA) who received the 2018 Gusi Peace Prize. TCA, founded by noted Turkish American Dr. Yalcin Ayasli, is an educational, public, charitable organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. whose mission is to educate the general public about Turkey and Turkish Americans and voice their opinions on critical issues to interested parties by supporting people-to-people exchanges, educating Congress about Turkish American perspectives; promoting balanced dialogue on U.S.-Turkey relations, and building bridges between the Turkish American community and other heritage communities. The Gusi Peace Prize Foundation is based in Manila, Philippines and annually recognizes individuals and organizations working toward the attainment of peace and respect for human life and dignity. I congratulate G. Lincoln McCurdy and the Turkish Coalition of America for receiving the 2018 Gusi Peace Prize.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I am here to urge this House to defeat the previous question so that we can hear H.R. 5476, a bipartisan bill to protect the Special Counsel, Mr. Mueller. It is important for democracy and for the rule of law for which we are respected around the globe that Mr. Mueller's investigation goes on and not be impeded by the firing of Mr. Rosenstein and the imposition of somebody who is inimical to Mr. Mueller's investigation. I want to quote Bill Frist, former Republican majority leader in the Senate. ``Congress must never abandon its role as an equal branch of government. In this moment, that means protecting Mueller's investigation. We're at our best as Senators and Republicans when we defend our institutions. But more than that, it's our best face as Americans. ``People around the world admire not just the material well-being of the United States but our values, too. The rule of law is something many die trying to secure for their countries. We can't afford to squander it at home.'' Defeat the previous question. Protect Robert Mueller.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, the soul of our country is in jeopardy and in question. It couldn't be more directly seen than in the Senate on Thursday with the hearings for Judge Kavanaugh. The two most pressing issues that will be heard are the #MeToo movement and respect for women and their safety from sexual assault, and the truth and whether or not the truth is something that matters to people anymore or whether it is just spinning lies to get ratings. The man who has been nominated to the Supreme Court went on FOX News and said he didn't drink illegally when he was 18 years old. Well, he did. The drinking age was 21. The lady who accuses him has passed a lie detector test administered by a former FBI agent and has told more than four or five different people about this incident over the last 6 years, which has been very difficult for her. She should be given respect, and there should be an attempt to find the truth. But the third person in that incident has not been subpoenaed by the Senate, because they don't want to know the truth. They fear the truth. They are keeping the truth from the American people, and they are failing in respecting women.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member DeFazio and Chairman Shuster for their excellent efforts to work out this compromise on the FAA reauthorization and finding consensus with our Senate counterparts. I am glad to have successfully included four important measures in the final package. Special thanks to Senator Nelson and Ranking Member DeFazio for keeping in many key Democratic priorities that support labor, airports, and consumers; and, most notably, preserve the safety of the flying public. I should comment that the SEAT Act, which I am most proud of, a 3- year effort that I worked on with Adam Kinzinger, was accepted by voice vote in committee. I thank Mr. Shuster for that. It is a watershed moment for safety for the flying public. We have never before been forced to regulate seat sizes, but the reality is, the safety of the flying public is at risk unless we do. Representative Kinzinger and I worked on this to see to it that we put an end to the shrinking sizes of seats on airplanes through the SEAT Act, or the Safe Egress in Air Travel Act, so it would become law. Americans have become larger. Seats have become smaller. They have become more dangerous. There needs to be a study on the width and the pitch of seats to make sure that they are safe to be evacuated within the approximate 90 seconds they are supposed to be able to evacuate a plane. Flyers Rights and the National Consumers League also supported this. I would like to thank Senators Blumenthal, Markey, Warner, and Whitehouse, and others. I look forward to voting for this bill, and I encourage everybody to vote for it.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this body's action to pass HR. 5439, a bill I introduced to designate the U.S. Postal Office at 1320 Autumn Ave. Memphis, Tennessee as the ``Judge Russell B. Sugarmon Post Office.'' I want to thank my colleagues from the Tennessee House delegation, Representatives Roe, Duncan, Fleischmann, DesJarlais, Cooper, Black, Blackburn, and Kustoff, all of whom cosponsored this legislation honoring a great American. I also want to thank Chairman Gowdy and Ranking Member Cummings for reporting this bill favorably out of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Born in Memphis, Tennessee in 1929, Judge Russell B. Sugarmon is heralded for his contributions to the City of Memphis and his work to reverse the tide of racism in Tennessee, paving the way for future black leaders in the area and inspiring their efforts to increase their representation in elected, Democratic bodies. Working alongside notable Memphis pioneers and leaders in the fight for racial justice and equality, Judge Sugarmon was instrumental in using the courts to desegregate public transportation, restaurants and public facilities and the desegregation of Memphis public schools. As a trailblazer for African-Americans in public office and a leader in the Civil Rights Movement, it is only fitting that we enshrine our recognition of Judge Sugarmon's contributions to the City of Memphis and the African American community by naming the 1320 Autumn Ave. Post Office in Memphis, Tennessee in honor of his legacy. I thank my colleagues in the House for voting to pass this measure honoring Judge Russell B. Sugarmon, an exemplary American and titan of his time. I urge my colleagues in the Senate to quickly take up this bill and send the legislation to the President's desk. The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, was read the third time, and passed. The title of the bill was amended so as to read: ``A bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1325 Autumn Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee, as the `Judge Russell B. Sugarmon Post Office Building'.''. A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the bill I introduced today along with Senator Duckworth from Illinois, the School Bus Safety Act. No more precious cargo is there than school-aged children entrusted by their parents to go and earn an education and pave the way to a better life. The common-sense measures called for in this legislation will save young lives and it's the right thing to do. In November 2016, there were two high-profile school bus accidents in Chattanooga, Tennessee and another in Baltimore, Maryland that left 6 school-aged children robbed of their futures. According to a subsequent National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) crash investigation report, seat belts and other safety measures could have prevented the death of those children and no doubt countless others involved in school bus accidents across the United States. That is why I am glad that others have joined in the chorus to improve school bus safety including my colleagues, Representatives Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey and Charlie Crist of Florida who have introduced similar legislation, along with Representatives Elijah Cummings from Maryland and John Duncan from my state of Tennessee who joined me earlier this year to call for a hearing on this very matter. Despite the recommendations of the NTSB, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration refuses to initiate the process to enshrine these life-saving measures into federal regulation. As a result of this inaction, Senator Duckworth and I have put forth the School Bus Safety Act, a comprehensive bill to not only make children safer in the event of a crash, but to promote technologies to prevent crashes in the first place. Buses, like so many passenger vehicles on the road today, should be equipped with automatic electronic breaking systems and electronic stability control. It is just common-sense that our children are the safest they can be on their way to and from school. The School Bus Safety Act has been endorsed by the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety as well as the National Safety Council. I urge this body to swiftly pass this legislation so that no other young souls fall victim to our failure to act and make school buses safer.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Hill for scheduling this Special Order. It is most appropriate that we meet here and we talk about John McCain, whose elected political career started in this House with two terms in the House of Representatives. I spent most of my life as an elected legislator, 39 years, and I value my service. I think highly of people who take the oath of office and support it and make people think that government is an honorable profession and encourage younger generations to get involved because they set good examples. John McCain was one of those people who set a good example for American citizens to think well of their government, to think well of their leaders, and to desire to serve in public office. John McCain was a person I only had a few opportunities to interact with, and each of those opportunities are ones I will never forget. He was as nice and kind as he could be. But I knew him from his career. We didn't always agree. He was a conservative and a Republican. But when he was wrong, he learned and he changed, and that is a great sign of a human being, to be able to continually evolve and become a better human being. When he was running for President, he wasn't able, in South Carolina, in 2000, to come out against the Confederate flag, but he later knew it was wrong, came out against it and admitted his mistake. He learned about campaign finance and worked with Russ Feingold on campaign finance reform, and on that, he was a maverick. And he was a maverick on climate change. He recognized science and the need to preserve our planet. He recognized the need to have reasonable and good immigration laws to not only protect our borders, but to give others an opportunity to come to this country and continue to make our country greater, because what we are is a country of immigrants that has benefited from the brainpower and hard work of immigrants who have sought a better home for themselves and their families. John McCain was courageous as a military leader in Vietnam when he was in prison, but he was courageous as a politician. When he stood up to the lady that condemned Barack Obama and was trying to throw scurrilous remarks about Barack Obama--in her mind they were scurrilous--John McCain, the candidate, could have just gone on and let it pass and moved to the next subject, but he didn't because he had character and he had a soul. And he stopped and he told the lady: ``No. You are wrong. Barack Obama is a good man. He is a good family man.'' And he spoke well of his opponent, something that we have not seen in recent Presidential elections, a Presidential candidate who rose above the fight and realized that Barack Obama and he were both Americans and on the same team even though he wanted to be President rather than Barack Obama. There is so much that John McCain did. And when he came and did that famous thumbs-down on the ACA--yes, I was for the ACA, so I liked that a lot. I don't know if he did that because of the fact that the Senate wasn't following their rules and regular order, which was a good reason not to be for it, or if it was because he had recently found out that he had brain cancer and was undergoing a horrific health experience that he did face with great courage, but he saw that he had had the best medical treatment available, and I suspect he had to think about Americans who needed health insurance if they came into the same situation that he had experienced. That showed he had empathy and he could grow and vote in a way as a human being and not just as a party person, because of others who suffer from health afflictions. I watched every minute of the services in Phoenix, here in Washington, and was inspired--inspired--by Meghan McCain and her remarks and the two Presidents who were his opponents who spoke so well of him, and others. I am sorry I couldn't attend those services on Saturday. I will be in Annapolis, Maryland, and I will visit his grave and pay my respects in person. He was a great American, and he was courageous. We are lucky he came our way. Fair winds and following seas, John McCain.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Reducing Obesity in Youth Act, a bill I introduced earlier today along with my colleagues Rosa DeLauro and Jan Schakowsky. This bill would promote beneficial healthy eating and physical activity habits for children. I was disheartened to learn that Tennessee has the highest childhood obesity rate in the country. While, nationally, 31 percent of kids are obese or overweight--a number that is already too high--in Tennessee, the rate is 38 percent. Childhood obesity has lifelong consequences. It leaves our kids at a higher rate for cardiovascular disease, including heart disease and stroke, diabetes, and even certain types of cancer. Research has shown that early childhood is a critical time for the development of lifelong dietary and physical activities. That is why we are introducing the Reducing Obesity in Youth Act. If enacted, this bill would create a competitive grant program to incentivize the development of healthier early care and education environments to improve healthy eating and physical activity for children under five. It's time that we act. I urge my colleagues to help pass this bill.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, some Members of this House have embarrassed themselves, our Congress, and our country by bringing a baseless impeachment resolution against Rod Rosenstein, Deputy Attorney General of the United States of America. Mr. Rosenstein has done his job lawfully and appropriately according to Hoyle. They want him to release information which, if he does it, will be releasing matters that are classified and confidential and could jeopardize the investigation that Robert Mueller is leading and Mr. Rosenstein is over and harm that investigation. Prosecutors will not release their information of who their witnesses are, where they are going, or whom they have interviewed. They can't and should not give away sources and methods. To do so would be in dereliction of duty. To file impeachment resolutions is to hurt Mr. Rosenstein, to hurt the investigation, hurt Mr. Mueller, and keep the truth from being known by the American public. If they weren't concerned about the truth, they wouldn't be going after the investigator so much. You do that when you can't deal with the data. I hope when we come back Mr. Mueller is still safe in his job, Mr. Rosenstein is still safe in his job, and the United States of America still stands for the rule of law and democracy. God bless America.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce a bill sanctioning Russia for its continued occupation of Ukraine. This bill sends a strong signal by going after Russian financial institutions, which are one of the few soft areas of Russian President Vladimir Putin's underbelly. On February 27, 2014, Russia invaded and occupied Ukraine's Crimea region. Russia continues to ignore the Minsk Agreement and sanctions to date have failed to alter President Putin's calculations regarding Crimea and eastern Ukraine. Putin's regime relies on several large financial institutions to implement its policies and keep the regime afloat. That is why I am introducing a bill to impose sanctions on Russian financial institutions. Russia's continued occupation of Ukraine is intolerable and continued aggression and violation of international norms is unacceptable. Congress must use every tool available to change President Vladimir Putin's behavior. I want to urge my colleagues to pass this important bill.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the following op-ed by former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist about the need to protect Special Counsel Mueller's investigation from partisan political interference. The piece recently appeared in the Washington Post. The Senate I Led Put Country Over Party. This One Must Do the Same for Robert Mueller. (By Bill Frist) Bill Frist is a heart and lung transplant surgeon, former U.S. Senate majority leader and senior fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center. When I retired from the U.S. Senate in 2007 as its majority leader, my parting words were a prayer for my colleagues to rise above the passions of the moment and protect the institution as a bulwark for our country's enduring values. The Senate I served in was not devoid of partisanship, nor should it be, but my hope was that patriotism would always take priority over party. It is with some trepidation that I offer thoughts on how the good people still serving in the Senate should address a current crisis, but staying silent is no longer an option. Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III is under assault, and that is wrong. No matter who is in the White House, we Republicans must stand up for the sanctity of our democracy and the rule of law. Certainly, my former colleagues face difficult pressures. They go to work in a Washington that is divided. They want to ensure a Supreme Court that, like most of our citizens, understands that government power must be limited. They want a fair tax code that supports a growing economy. They want less regulation. By those measures, President Trump is a great partner at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue. But we can't look the other way as, tweet by tweet, with each new assault on the Justice Department's independence, the bedrock principles of our party crumble. I'm a Republican because I stand for small government and also, as a physician, for the dignity of every life. But I am also a Republican because I believe in the rule of law. Republicans must fight for that principle today--even if it means pushing back against a Republican administration. As a party, we can't let the president or his allies erode the independence of the Justice Department or public trust in the vital work of law enforcement. That would be true even if the stakes were much lower, but it is overwhelmingly so when it comes to investigating foreign interference in our elections. Congress must ensure that Mueller is able to do his job without interference or intimidation. Nobody knows what the special counsel's investigation will conclude. I, for one, do not think the president colluded with Russian President Vladimir Putin to win the 2016 election. But I do believe Putin purposely tried to undermine our democratic process. It isn't easy to tell a president of your own party that he is wrong. But the assault on Mueller's investigation does not help the president or his party. When Trump talks about firing the special counsel or his power to pardon himself, he makes it seem as though he has something to hide. The president must remember that only Mueller's exoneration can lift the cloud hanging over the White House. The special counsel's investigation is not about Trump. It is about our national security. Every American should be rooting for Mueller's success in determining precisely how Russia interfered in our fundamental democratic process. I had no illusions about the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and I have none about Putin now. Mueller's most recent court filings indicate that Putin is seeking to meddle in this year's elections. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats and FBI Director Christopher A. Wray--all Trump appointees confirmed by the Republican-led Senate--have also warned of foreign interference. We should heed these warnings and empower Mueller to see his important work through to its conclusion. I have worried over the years about runaway legal authority, and I've battled against activist judges. I don't worry about Robert Mueller. He is a lifelong Republican with a career of distinguished service running the Criminal Division of the Justice Department for President Ronald Reagan and serving as President George W. Bush's FBI director, twice unanimously confirmed by the Senate. And his investigation is getting results: By any objective standard, he has moved swiftly, obtaining 23 indictments and five guilty pleas in just more than a year. Congress must never abandon its role as an equal branch of government. In this moment, that means protecting Mueller's investigation. We're at our best as senators and Republicans when we defend our institutions. But more than that, it's our best face as Americans. People around the world admire not just the material well- being of the United States but our values, too. The rule of law is something many die trying to secure for their countries. We can't afford to squander it at home.