Steve Cohen

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, due to a flight delay on February 5, 2018, I was unable to vote on Roll Call numbers 51 and 52. If present, I would have voted yes on H.R. 4547, and would have voted no on approving the journal.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to note the passing of South African jazz trumpeter, composer and anti-apartheid activist Hugh Masekela, who died January 23 after a long fight with prostate cancer. Mr. Masekela, 78, was honored in October at the 26th annual National Civil Rights Museum Freedom Awards in Memphis although he was too sick to make the trip from Johannesburg and the award was accepted by his son, Salema Masekela, in his place. Masekela was an integral part of the African jazz scene in the 1950s and '60s with his band the Jazz Epistles. In response to South Africa's oppressive apartheid, which prevented large gatherings of black people from legally attending his bands' concerts, he went into exile in 1964, at the age of 21, first in Britain and then in the United States. In 1968, he had an international No. 1 hit--``Grazing in the Grass.'' He was also known for ``Bring Him Back Home,'' an anthem calling for the release of the future South African President Nelson Mandela, imprisoned for 27 years for his anti-apartheid activities, and ``Soweto Blues.'' Masekela collaborated with a variety of activists and entertainers including Harry Belafonte, Jimi Hendrix, Otis Redding, Janis Joplin and Paul Simon, with whom he toured on the ``Graceland'' album concerts with Ladysmith Black Mambazo. He released more than 40 albums in his career and toured internationally until last year. ``My biggest obsession is to show Africans and the world who the people of Africa really are,'' he said on his official website. In 2012, he participated in UNESCO's International Jazz Day at the United Nations General Assembly Hall in New York City with Richard Bona of Cameroon, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Danilo Perez, Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, Jack DeJohnette, Herbie Hancock, Jimmy Heath, Zakir Hussain of India, Angelique Kidjo of Benin, Lang Lang of China, Romero Lubambo of Brazil, Shankar Mahadevan of India, Wynton Marsalis, Christian McBride, Dianne Reeves, Wayne Shorter, Esperanza Spalding, Hiromi Uehara of Japan. Masekela returned to South Africa in 1990 when Mandela was freed and has been a vocal voice for freedom. I join fans and activists around the world in paying tribute to a giant of African culture and the arts.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to not speak about Alabama winning the national championship. Mr. Speaker, the reason we are here is because Republicans care more about the extremely wealthy than they do about average American citizens. They got together and passed a tax scam bill that gave 86 percent of the moneys to the top 1 percent in our society. They gave crumbs to the middle class that will expire, unlike the corporate cuts they gave that will not expire. And then they come up with a children's healthcare plan as a bargaining chip to get what is not a clean CR through, but a CR where they took funds that will help the ACA continue and take those down for 2 years so the ACA is further crippled. To hear the Republicans talk about their care for healthcare is laughable. They were never for Medicaid or Medicare or the Affordable Care Act. They are not for a permanent children's healthcare plan. They are not for community health centers, where 40 percent of those CHIP children get their healthcare. If they wanted to bring the government back and get us open, they would offer us the medical extenders like Mr. Pallone talked about. This is unfortunate. We should get past this and we should stop our mantra that the Republicans have learned.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, this moment in time in this previously respected and hallowed Hall is being diminished in the same manner in which the White House has recently been diminished. President Trump recently had a meeting and he referred to the Roosevelt Room, where he had a meeting with Cabinet members and other Senators, as ``the studio.'' The studio, as if this is all theater, ``Theatre of the Absurd.'' Now, the President has a history in entertainment, and he may be trying to get a lifetime Oscar for the most farcical display or appearance of an executive since Governor Lepetomane of Mel Brooks fame. But this House should not follow in those footsteps and make this Congress a studio for a show being presented for the right-to-life people who are marching on this anniversary of Roe v. Wade. This bill violates regular order, which we were supposed to be implementing. There was no hearing in the subcommittee, there was no hearing in the committee, and there have been no amendments allowed. This is irregular. This is not regular order. This is a theater, a show put on and produced by Trent Franks, who left this House under disgrace, and continued by this Republican administration while this government possibly could go into shutdown. Yet we are acting like this is not the situation. We have a bill that will go nowhere in the Senate, that is unnecessary, and that violates the principles of federalism because most of the principles herein are reserved to the States and are unnecessary and are an impediment to a woman's health, in many cases making the Members of Congress doctors and superimposing their magical medical knowledge over that of physicians who are attending the pregnant woman and the child. It is already against the law to murder a child. If the child is born, it is a child, and to not use the duty of care that a doctor has would be murder. That is State law, but it is already the law. To require it to be taken immediately to a hospital could endanger the child. It should be a decision by the doctor. This is the theater of the absurd. We should not be in this House making it into a studio like President Trump has made the White House into a studio. We should be going through regular order and considering bills that have a chance to protect the American people and women.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the longtime host of Chicago Public Media's ``The Week in Review'' for 40 years of helping to keep the Windy City well informed. Joel Weisman conceived the longest-running series in the history of WTTW over coffee at the Palmer House with colleague John Callaway and William J. McCarter, the then-president and CEO of WTTW. The Emmy Award-winning program has welcomed a rotating four-person panel from print, broadcast and digital news media to discuss politics and other news relevant to Chicago each Friday since. Mr. Weisman's last stint as host will be on Friday, January 19, for an hour-long special with special guests and highlights from the past four decades. Mr. Weisman, a lawyer and lifelong Chicagoan, began his journalism career at the City News Bureau after graduating from the University of Illinois. He has also worked for The Gary Post-Tribune; The Chicago American; as a reporter, columnist and metropolitan editor for The Chicago Sun-Times; and as Midwest correspondent for The Washington Post. He is also the father of my legislative director, Matt Weisman. I want to wish him all the best as he retires from ``The Week in Review.''

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Safer Streets Act which creates a new grant program that focuses on violent crime in our local communities. Reducing violent crime should be a priority for the federal government. In my district 228 people were killed in 2016. The deadliest year in two decades. In 2017, 200 people were killed. That is 200 people too many. Cities like Memphis were able to reduce violent crimes by hiring more police and providing programs to help children in the city. It is important that local governments that are trying to reduce violent crimes get federal assistance. That is why I am introducing the Safer Streets Act. This bill would create a new grant program that would provide grants to units of local government that have crime rates significantly above the national rate. Units of local governments with crime rates four times the national rate would get 50 percent of the funds, units of local governments with crime rates three times the national rate would get 20 percent of the funds, and units of local governments with crime rates two times the national rate would get 10 percent of the funds. This bill also creates an emergency fund for units of local governments that have spikes of violent crimes. I urge my colleagues to pass this important legislation and support our local communities as they work to reduce violent crime.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the fiercely independent progressive think tank co-founder Professor Marcus G. Raskin and to pay my respects to his family, especially to my colleague, Maryland Congressman Jamie Raskin. Mr. Raskin died December 24 at 83. As a founder of the Institute for Policy Studies in 1963, Mr. Raskin was at the forefront shaping important policy proposals for more than five decades as the intellectual force against ``the national security state,'' a term he coined. Mr. Raskin was instrumental in galvanizing the anti-Vietnam War movement and in seeing the Pentagon Papers were published. He was indicted in 1968 as one of the ``Boston Five''--including William Sloane Coffin and Dr. Benjamin Spock--for conspiracy to aid resistance to the draft, and was acquitted. Later, practicing what he called ``passionate scholarship''--pairing ideas with action--he was instrumental in organizing the IPS campaign that ultimately persuaded 350 cities across the country to vote on resolutions opposing the Iraq War. A graduate of the University of Chicago and its law school, Mr. Raskin joined the Kennedy administration in early 1961 as an aide to National Security Adviser McGeorge Bundy. Along with Richard J. Barnet, he founded the Institute for Policy Studies as a national vehicle for promoting progressive policies for the left-leaning elements of the Democratic Party. IPS became the model for policy think tanks in Washington and remained independent by refusing to take government grants. The author or editor of 20 books, Mr. Raskin was a leading force in progressive social causes, including the anti-nuclear arms debate, civil rights, women's rights, the environment and consumer affairs. In 1977, IPS was asked by 56 members of Congress, led by members of the Congressional Black Caucus, to analyze the federal budget, leading to the 1980 publication of The Federal Budget and Social Reconstruction. After the 9/11 attacks, he wrote three books forging a new approach to threats, including, with Robert Spero, The Four Freedoms Under Siege: The Clear and Present Danger from Our National Security State (2006). In 2012, he co-edited Warfare Welfare: The Not-So-Hidden Coasts of America's War Economy. I want to express my condolences to Mr. Raskin's family. The country was strengthened and enlightened my Marcus Raskin's persuasive ideas. As an American citizen who took an active role shaping public policy, he will be missed.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, today the Republicans showed their values. They showed their values in the tax bill that gave 83 percent of the dollars to the upper 1 percent of the economic strata in this country. They showed their values in giving real estate developers special tax breaks, like President Trump and others, and gave people who are extremely wealthy the opportunity to will more money to their children or whoever they choose than they can today, an $11 million break. It has been sad sitting on the Judiciary Committee and watching the Republicans be aiders and abetters of the President in trying to demean the reputation of one of the finest Americans and public servants I have ever had the opportunity to know, Bob Mueller, and probably with the intention of firing him, something that should wake Republicans up to the fact that our country is in jeopardy. We shouldn't be doing things that help the Russians get away with efforts to change our elections and interfere with our country's values. America first, Russia last. Protect Bob Mueller.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that I may hereafter be considered as the first sponsor of H.R. 3771, a bill originally introduced by Representative Conyers of Michigan, for the purposes of adding cosponsors and requesting reprintings pursuant to clause 7 of rule XII.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I am a little late and I don't know exactly what has been discussed. I serve on the Judiciary Committee with the gentleman, and what we have seen in the Judiciary Committee is scary. I am honored to be a Member of the United States Congress. I am honored to be an American citizen. I see a threat to the independence of the United States Congress in upholding its oath and looking out for the best interests of its people and to our country. I have Republican friends, as the gentleman does, on the other side of the aisle, and I know that they, in representing their constituents, are not fond of the totalitarian Russian Government and philosophy that threatens NATO countries like Lithuania, and Estonia, and Latvia, and Ukraine, and Georgia, with the power of the Russian military. They do not like democracy. They do not like America, and they do not like what we represent. They don't like freedom of the press. They don't like freedom of religion. They don't like freedoms of elections. They don't have really free elections. They say they do, but they kill their opponents or they put them in jail on trumped-up charges, and they count the votes. There is nothing good about Russia in regards of democracy, and even within their constitution after they formed a country after the Soviet Union fell apart. Our Republican colleagues are like sheep, following the President in attacking the FBI; in attacking the Justice Department; in attacking heroic Americans who have risked their lives in the FBI, and heroic Americans like Robert Mueller, who served in Vietnam and risked his life and was wounded there, I believe. And they threaten them and talk to them as if they are complicit with the Clinton campaign and trying to do something to harm President Trump. Mr. Mueller is a Republican, appointed first by a Republican, Bush, and then later by a Democrat, Obama. He is as fine a human being as I have come in contact with in my 11 years in Congress, and maybe as fine a human being as I have come in contact with in my 68 years on Earth. Mr. Rosenstein said glowing things about him yesterday and how heroic he is and how strong he is, how dedicated he is, how patriotic he is, and how honest he is. For the Republicans to be trying to take this man down and to take down others who serve in the FBI, the only reason they are doing this is because they are finding information in their charge that implicates the President of the United States in activities that are questionable as far as his oath of office and border on treason. Because of that, they attack the FBI, which is the top layer or the cream of the crop of law enforcement. And the President goes out and talks about our wonderful first responders, but the top of the line he is against because they question him. That is when your country no longer exists, when it is all about the leader, not about institutions, and not about other individuals who are doing their jobs in a proper manner. FBI Director Wray said nothing but good things about Robert Mueller. I think Robert Mueller's job is in jeopardy from this President, who likes to fire people, which is what he did on television, and he still thinks he is on television. It is a big performance art. It is all about performance art, and the star is Donald Trump. He acts and he is the show; and the show goes on, and there is nothing else. To fire Mueller is part of the show, to question what he has done in arresting Manafort and Gates, guilty pleas, I think, from one of the gentlemen he arrested--was it Papadopoulos?--and then a guilty plea from Flynn. They don't plead guilty unless they are guilty. Mueller is doing his job. He is trying to protect America. I think he is the man of the year and will be the man of the year next year. He is the one person between us and a kleptocracy and group of oligarchs, but kleptocrats who are using their positions in government to benefit themselves financially and to build up their wealth. This tax bill we are talking about is part of the same thing. It is oligarchs. No inheritance tax, meaning they get hundreds of millions of dollars--hundreds of millions of dollars--and the President goes and says to a middle class family earning $75,000: You will have $2,000 that you can spend any way you want, or you can even save it. $2,000 is tip change at Orange Julius to those people, the big money, hundreds of millions and hundreds of thousands and millions of dollars as the inheritance tax being repealed and the AMT being repealed and other changes. And then they said: Oh, well, we only reduced the tax on the wealthiest from 39 percent to 37 because they weren't going to get to deduct as much of their State and local taxes, and it was going to hurt them more. Well, there are people who aren't in the top bracket who aren't going to get to reduce their State and local taxes, and they gave them nada. They gave all of it to the wealthiest. And that is what this is about. This is about the wealthiest people taking this country over and an oligarchy, and Trump is representative of them. It is about him. It is not about institutions. It is not about the Constitution. It is not about people. It is not about the First Amendment. So many of the people who support him are good, hardworking, decent American people who don't want to be in bed with Russia and don't want to give up our democracy and don't want to give up our free elections to hacking and to internet social media games, and that is what we have had. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for having this Special Order. Mr. Speaker, I have a bill I took over for Mr. Conyers with Mr. Walter Jones, a Republican, that says you can't fire Mr. Mueller without cause and gives a redress in court. Sheila Jackson Lee has another. We have to be aware and alert. And if this happens, the people have to let their Representatives know, and particularly the Republican Representatives know, that they won't stand for it and they won't have another Saturday Night Massacre, because Rosenstein said Mr. Mueller has done nothing to be fired. He probably would not fire him, which means Rosenstein will be fired, and that is the end of the rule of law, and that is what makes us different from other countries, makes us different from dictators and autocrats.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay a special tribute and recognize the career of hall of fame magazine editor Graydon Carter. Graydon Carter is one of the great journalists of our time and retires today after 25 years as editor of Vanity Fair. He co-founded Spy Magazine which he also edited, as well as The New York Observer. And at Vanity Fair, he gave writers like Michael Lewis and Dominick Dunne a venue, and Christopher Hitchens, one of the great journalists of our time. Graydon said about Christopher Hitchens upon his passing that he was ``a wit, a charmer and a troublemaker and to those who knew him well, he was a gift from--dare I say it?--God.'' I'm sure Hitch would have said the same about Graydon. From the beginning of Spy Magazine and through the days of The New York Observer and Vanity Fair, he pointed out the shortcomings of Donald Trump. And he gave him the appellation ``short-fingered vulgarian.'' For that and much more, Graydon Carter will be remembered--a great journalist, a great human being, a great raconteur, and a friend. Graydon Carter will also be remembered for publishing such great writers as David Halberstam, Walter Isaacson, David Kamp, Nicholas Lemann, Jeffrey E. Stern and William Langewiesche, and for printing the brilliant photographic images of such artists as Annie Leibovitz, Mark Selinger and Jonas Freedwall Karlson. With a showman's charisma, he brought glamor and politics together, throwing some of the best-remembered parties in New York, Los Angeles and Washington, including hosting the annual White House Correspondents Association Vanity Fair after-party, the most sought-after invitation in D.C. A gourmet, his signature restaurants The Waverly Inn in the West Village and Monkey Bar on the Upper East Side are destinations in good taste. Graydon Carter was also the producer of documentaries including ``Gonzo: The Life and Work of Hunter S. Thompson'' and ``The Kid Stays in the Picture,'' about legendary Hollywood producer Robert Evans and was a regular at both the Sundance and Cannes film festivals. Print journalism is tough and Graydon Carter will also be remembered for his successful navigation through the current age of media disruption. I wish him all the best in retirement.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, today I recognize the career of Hall of Fame Magazine Editor Graydon Carter. Graydon Carter is one of the great journalists of our time. He retires today after 25 years as the editor at Vanity Fair. He cofounded and was editor of Spy magazine, as well as the New York Observer. At Vanity Fair, he gave a venue to writers like Michael Lewis; Dominick Dunne; and Christopher Hitchens, one of the great journalists of our time. Upon Christopher Hitchens' passing, Graydon said he was a wit, a charmer, and a troublemaker; and to those who knew him well, he was a gift from--dare I say it--God. From his beginnings at Spy magazine and through his days at the New York Observer and Vanity Fair, he pointed out the shortcomings of Donald Trump. He gave him the epithet: short-fingered vulgarian. For that and much more, Graydon Carter will be remembered as a great journalist, a great human being, a great raconteur, and a great friend.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Stop Underrides Act, a bipartisan, bicameral bill I introduced earlier today along with my colleague on the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, Rep. DeSaulnier from California, and in the Senate, Senators Gillibrand and Rubio, to prevent deadly truck underride crashes. An underride crash is when a car slides under the body of a large truck, such as a semi-trailer, during an accident. In these instances, the safety features of passenger vehicles are not able to prevent passenger compartment intrusion and often result in severe or fatal injuries even at low speeds. Too many lives have been lost or forever altered by these preventable crashes and the time has come for Congress to act. The Stop Underrides Act does just that--lays out a path to bring an end to these terrible and all too often fatal accidents by requiring all large truck trailers to have front, side, and rear underride guards. These guards, if installed would have likely prevented the death of Michael Higginbotham, who was killed in an underride crash in Memphis and whose parents, Randy and Laurie Higginbotham, have inspired me to take action on this long overdue issue. It's simple. This legislation will save lives, it's the right thing to do, and that is the bottom line. This is common sense legislation and I urge my colleagues to support the passage of the Stop Underrides Act.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, firstly, the NRA put a bulletin out to urge people to vote for this. They said: ``We must ensure that antigun jurisdictions do not harass travelers.'' Mr. Speaker, that is the purpose of this bill from the NRA, that nine antigun jurisdictions, State legislatures that have restrictive gun laws, cannot harass travelers, cannot see that their State has the same laws that their citizens have from people out of State. When my friends on the other side talk about being concerned about the Second Amendment and dedicating their lives to it and seeing that irresponsible people don't get guns, when we tried to bring a no fly, no buy law, they weren't for it. They talked about due process. But have they brought a due process bill to the floor for people who are on the no-fly list? No. People who are on Social Security who can't manage their own affairs, they passed a law that said they should get guns when they couldn't before. That is not in keeping with what they are saying. This bill violates States' rights, puts guns in the hands of people that States don't want them to have. There are seven States that don't allow people under 21, unless they are in the military, to have a gun permit. This Federal law would override those seven States. Mr. Speaker, this is a bad law. It is the NRA's law. We should have had amendments considered in committee, but we didn't because the NRA didn't want them.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, today, in Federal district court in Washington, Michael Flynn pled guilty to lying to the FBI, a felony. It is a strong indication that he is cooperating with the Mueller investigation concerning Russia and its involvement with President Trump and his team and the election of the President of the United States. We are facing a crisis in our country with our Constitution, our form of government, and the rule of law. I have filed a bill to amend the Constitution to not allow pardons of people from any President's campaign team or family. I am also the sponsor of a bill that says you can't fire a special counsel without cause. The special counsel would have the right to seek redress in court. We must be ready to protect Bob Mueller and the integrity of the rule of law in this country, for I foresee this President firing him, as Nixon did in the Saturday Night Massacre. We are repeating the horrors of Watergate and the shredding of our Constitution, common sense, and decency.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, Franklin Roosevelt was a great President of the United States. He said once: ``The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.'' That is still true today for people who follow morality and Judeo-Christian thought. Yesterday in Missouri, the President said that the tax bill, which is in the Senate now--and unfortunately passed this House--would not benefit him at all. He said: Believe me, it won't benefit me. You can't believe that. It benefits the billionaires, the millionaires, and the wealthy, and that is what it is about. The disparity in wealth in this country is growing and growing, and we can't continue to have that. The middle class needs major tax relief, and the wealthy don't. We could draw a bill to do that, and we could do it together. Our country is in danger. We need more help in the inner cities to fight crime. We need help all over to fight against natural disasters. People all over our country need help. As Paul Simon said: A nation turns its lonely eyes to you. Jeff Flake, Bob Corker, and John McCain, save America.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate with my constituents and the entire music-loving world the 60th anniversary of Willie Mitchell's Royal Studios in my hometown of Memphis, Tennessee. Everyone knows a song mixed in the iconic South Memphis recording studio--whether it's last year's Grammy Award Record of the Year, Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars' ``Uptown Funk,'' Al Green's classic ``I'm Still in Love With You,'' Boz Skaggs' album full of tunes called ``Memphis,'' or Bobby ``Blue'' Bland's ``Touch of the Blues.'' Royal Studios, started in 1957 by the late Willie Mitchell, was the home of Hi and the Hi Rhythm Section and produced chart-topping hits throughout the 1960s and '70s. One of the oldest continuously operating recording studios, it remains a place of pilgrimage under a second generation of Mitchell leadership, hosting such stars as the Rolling Stones' Keith Richards and Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant, among many others. I recently attended the electrifying 60th anniversary celebration for Royal Studios at the historic Orpheum Theatre and heard Tony Joe White play ``A Rainy Night in Georgia,'' Syl Johnson's meditative version of Al Green's and the late Mabon ``Teenie'' Hodges' ``Take Me to the River,'' and Anthony Hamilton's soulful version of Green's signature ``Tired of Being Alone.'' Grammy Award winning saxophonist Kirk Whalum opened the show, which featured Ronnie Brooks doing Otis Clay's ``Trying to Live My Life Without You'' and Natalie Stovall's memorable version of ``I Can't Stand the Rain.'' Bluesman Robert Cray and Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics also charmed the crowd. The show, emceed by Willie's son Lawrence ``Boo'' Mitchell, who engineered ``Uptown Funk'' and saw it stay at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100 for 14 weeks, paid tribute to a Memphis institution still going strong into is seventh decade. I want to congratulate all the Royal family of musicians and technicians and encourage my friends to find the time this holiday season to sit and listen to Boz Skaggs' version of ``So Good to Be Here,'' or any of the hundreds of songs on the Royal Studios discography. We're so glad Royal Studios continues to bring Memphis music to the world and help it dance to a Memphis beat. I wish it many more years of success.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the accomplishments of Memphis Central High School Marching Band that, on November 5, 2017, won the 2017 National High School High Stepping Marching Championship. High Stepping Nationals was founded on the principles of promoting academic excellence through music education and the performing arts. The Memphis Central High School Warriors exemplify these laudable goals. Despite having to buy their uniforms from another school and having their instruments handed down from musicians before them, the Warriors' talent and dedication shines through. Because of the Central High School Warriors' devotion to music and the arts they practiced for several hours nearly every day to before the competition. Under the leadership of Band Director Ollie Liddell, the Central High School Warriors' commitment is remarkable. The Warriors competed against more than a dozen other finalists from across the country to win the National Championship. Memphis Central High School was one of the first high schools in Memphis, TN, built in 1909. Shortly after, Memphis High School was renamed Central High School. One of Central's most notable assets is the diversity of its student body which derives from representation of various ideas, talents, and cultural influences and which provides the fertile environment for educationally challenging and enriching experiences. Congratulations to the Central High School Warriors for their commitment, hard work and perseverance in winning the National High School High Stepping Marching Championship and to Director Liddell and Principal Gregory McCullough for their commendable leadership.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to country music's stellar singer-songwriter Mel Tillis, the Country Music Association's entertainer of the year in 1976, who overcame a lifetime of stuttering through song. Lonnie Melvin Tillis died earlier this month at 85. He had six No. 1 country singles as a singer, including ``Good Woman Blues'' in 1976 and ``Southern Rains'' in 1981 and wrote such memorable tunes as ``I'm Tired'' for Webb Pierce, ``The Snakes Crawl at Night'' for Charley Pride and, with Danny Dill and Carl Perkins, the Patsy Cline hit ``So Wrong.'' Mel's songs explored the dark caverns of deep emotion typified by his somber ballad ``Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town,'' about a cheating wife, which was a big hit for Kenny Rogers in 1969. Mel was also inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1976 and to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2007. I want to extend my condolences to his family, particularly my friend and Mel's singer- songwriter daughter Pam Tillis, who recorded a tribute disk for her father in 2002: ``It's All Relative: Tillis Sings Tillis.'' Although he was born and died in Florida, Tennesseans and all Americans will remember and cherish forever his lovely baritone and haunting lyrics. America has lost a true original

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, what happened today on this floor was a massive tax break for the wealthiest people in our country. Over half of the tax dollars will go to people in the upper 1 percent of the income strata. The big pot of gold at the end is eliminating the inheritance tax by the year 2024, so that the heirs of the richest will get millions and hundreds of millions and billions in tax relief. This bill should have been geared toward the middle class. The middle class is getting tip change from a cheap restaurant, while the millionaires and billionaires are getting away with no AMT tax, changed rates at the top, and inheritance tax changes. They get the money. The middle class gets shafted. It is a con job. It is a shame.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the legislation I introduced today that would require President Trump to immediately meet his obligation to release all documents that can and should be released pertaining to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Despite the 1992 passage of a Congressionally-mandated October 26, 2017 deadline requiring the President of the United States make a determination about what documents can and should be released to the public regarding President John F. Kennedy's assassination, the current President failed to comply. The President's failure to execute this requirement before the established deadline raises long-held concerns that the U.S. government continues to withhold critical information about the former President's assassination. As a result, it is now up to Congress to enforce this deadline and deliver to the American public the certainty it deserves. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to exert the authority of this body's intent when it passed the 1992 President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act and enact this important measure to enforce the required release of all appropriate documents concerning the assassination of the late, and Honorable, President John F. Kennedy.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Madam Speaker, on Tuesday, we had the holiday of Halloween, and a character came to my house with paint all over their face, and I thought they were the musical group KISS. Well, they weren't. They were the Trump administration, disguised as the Trump administration is, and with the simple logo of KISS: Keep it simple, stupid. That is what the Trump administration's attempts are to the American people. The previous speaker made some comments about regulations and said that the Obama administration wanted to stop Second Amendment advocates from getting guns, arbitrarily, for Social Security recipients. Well, that sounds good. It is simple. Keep it simple. Well, they weren't Social Security recipients. They were Social Security recipients who had been declared incompetent to manage their own affairs. That is who they said shouldn't get guns, not Social Security recipients. The previous speaker said something about abortion provider Planned Parenthood getting their funds cut off. Planned Parenthood does most of their work outside of the arena of abortion. Mostly, they do women's basic health services, and by cutting that off, they are hurting women, particularly in my community and other communities where poor people often get their healthcare, their women's care, from Planned Parenthood, and they are depriving them of that healthcare. Just yesterday, in the subcommittee of which I am the ranking member, we had a hearing on changing Roe v. Wade. They called it the Heartbeat bill. In reality, it is destruction of women's right to choose, a fundamental right established in Roe v. Wade, and an unconstitutional bill that could limit the right of a woman to have an abortion as early as 6 weeks, while right now it is 20 to 24 weeks, the period of viability. They brought a sonogram in and showed a sonogram on the monitor. What they didn't do when they talked about their ``culture of death'' was bring in any lifesaving equipment that will not be available when they cut $1 billion from Medicaid and $500 million from Medicare in their tax proposal, when they put 23 million people off of healthcare, the Affordable Care Act, which is what they tried to do but couldn't accomplish. It is difficult to sit here and watch what is happening to our country. Having the Trump administration tell the middle class they are going to get a tax cut on the one hand, but on the other hand, they are creating over a trillion dollars in debt, where is that debt going to come from? It is going to come from programs that the middle class will have to give up, so they will be net losers. One of the main thrusts of their tax proposal is to eliminate the State tax, originally to do it immediately. Now they are talking about maybe phasing it out over 5 or 6 years. That will cost the Federal budget $290 billion. That will come from Pell grants that give people the opportunity to go to college and not have a terrible debt over their heads when they leave; from SNAP payments that give nutritional benefits to people that otherwise would go without, the families that would go without food and proper nutritional benefits; and even LIHEAP, which gives help with heating bills to people who can't afford it in difficult winter conditions. What they are proposing is not a middle class tax cut. It is a cut for the wealthiest in our country, and that is who will get the benefits. That is who they are about. Their whole program is KISS: Keep it simple, stupid. That is the only way they can try to sell their wealthy tax break, their aims to prevent women from getting proper healthcare, and their attacks on women in general. It is unfortunate what we see, what we saw earlier this week in the indictments handed out to Mr. Manafort, Mr. Gates, and the guilty plea of Mr. Papadopoulos. Individuals involved with the campaign and the administration have not been the best, as they were supposed to be. In fact, they are suspected of criminal behavior, and one has admitted to it. Our democracy is at risk, and I fear what could happen to it. That is why I introduced an amendment to the Constitution to limit the President's pardon power so he couldn't pardon himself, members of his family, members of his administration, or paid members of his campaign staff. He has already pardoned Joe Arpaio, and he has threatened to use that power in furtherance as he discussed the possibility of pardoning himself. If he does so, any of these pardons, it will be a test of our democracy, and it will be a test of my colleagues on the other side. We must protect democracy and protect America from unlawful activity. God bless America.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, today is the last day of baseball, but, more importantly, it is the first day of open enrollment for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. This year, enrollment only runs from November 1, today, through December 15. This is half the length of last year when open enrollment extended until January 30. It is 6 weeks shorter, so to sign up, get started today. You only have 45 days to do it. This is something the Trump administration is doing to make it more difficult and less likely people will sign up. Don't let them do this. Sign up for your healthcare. During this shortened enrollment period, there will also be 12-hour periods of scheduled maintenance when the website will be inaccessible. These periods will occur every Sunday morning, except one, during the open enrollment period. December 15 is the last chance for individuals to sign up for health insurance for 2018, unless you have a major event like getting married, having a child, or moving. In previous years, individuals were notified of autoenrollment with time to change their choice. This year, that happens on December 16, a day after open enrollment ends, so there is no reason to do it. It just tells you what you have got, and you don't have the opportunity to change. So individuals should not rely on autoenrollment. They should use healthcare.gov to find the best plan for them and their families. In many cases, there are affordable plans. In 2018, in Tennessee, 88 percent can find a bronze plan for under $75. In Memphis, many consumers earning $30,000 to $48,000 a year can find silver plans for under $100. This is particularly true for those in their late forties to age 64. You may qualify for premiums and cost-sharing reductions like in past years. In 2016, 88 percent of Tennesseans on the exchanges received premium assistance, and 58 percent received cost-sharing reduction subsidies. This is still true even as the President attempts to sabotage the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Marketing funding and funds for navigators to help people through the process have both been slashed. In spite of that fact, we are going to try to find some navigators still around and have a townhall in Memphis possibly Saturday, November 11. We are still in the process of scheduling that, but we want all of our people to get that chance. So we encourage all Americans to get that chance. Cost-sharing reduction subsidies will be available for individuals who qualify for silver plans despite Trump's decision to stop the government from reimbursing insurers. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is the law of the land. All current efforts to repeal and replace have failed because they have not come up with a better plan. Healthcare is difficult, and we came up with a plan that needs some tweaking but not repealing. Memphis has recently seen a decrease in the disparity of breast cancer mortality rates between Black and White women, a clear indication that access to affordable care saves lives. Memphis has done excellent work at expanding access to screenings and coverage. In addition to local efforts, the Affordable Care Act has helped to reduce or even eliminate copayments that women have to pay for preventive screenings, including mammograms. Access to affordable healthcare has saved lives in Memphis and throughout this country. The open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act starts today and runs through December 15. Avail yourselves of those opportunities.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Protect Our Students and Taxpayers (POST) Act. If enacted, this legislation would take steps towards eliminating an incentive for for-profit colleges to aggressively recruit and enroll veterans, service members and their families, who have sacrificed for this country and deserve the highest quality of education. Current law prohibits for-profit colleges and universities from deriving more than 90 percent of their revenue from the U.S. Department of Education's federal student aid programs. The other 10 percent is required to come from sources other than the federal government. However, because of the way the law was written, veterans' and active duty service members' federal student aid does not count towards the 90 percent. Instead, it may be included among a for-profit institution's calculation of its 10 percent non-federal revenue. As a result, for-profit colleges and universities are left with a powerful incentive to recruit veterans, service members and their families, offering them degrees that are often less valuable than those from not-for-profit institutions. The POST Act would strengthen the definition of ``federal aid'' to include G.I. bill funds, Department of Defense Tuition Assistance benefits, and all other federal funding sources. Furthermore, the POST Act would reinstate a 15 percent minimum on revenue that for-profit colleges must receive from sources other than the federal government. The requirement was lowered from 15 percent to 10 percent in 1998. The bill also takes steps towards eliminating accounting tricks used by for-profit educational institutions that inflate their declared amount of non-federal funding. Finally, the POST Act increases the penalty for rule-breakers by causing colleges to lose eligibility to participate in federal student aid programs after one year of noncompliance with the new 85-15 rule. Currently, they do not face penalties until they have been noncompliant for two years. I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and help get it passed.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of a constitutional amendment I have introduced today to prevent the President of the United States, or any future President of the United States, from pardoning himself or herself, members of their family, members of their administration, or members of their Presidential campaign. Monday's indictment of President Trump's campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, and guilty plea of another campaign staff member demonstrate how important it is for Congress to act. The pardon power is supposed to be a safety valve against injustice, a vestige from when we were part of Britain and the King had this power. We are no longer part of Britain, and that power should not be as complete as it is. It is not supposed to be a way for Presidents to put themselves, their families, and members of their administration and their campaign team above the law, to obstruct justice if there is an investigation of wrongdoing. Unless we change the Constitution, this is how it can be used and may be used. We should stop this conflict of interest from ever arising. There are already serious questions swirling around the current President, his family, and members of his administration and his campaign staff, including possible collusion with Russia during the 2016 Presidential election currently being investigated by special counsel Robert Mueller. To ensure that everyone is treated equally under the law, we need to amend the Constitution to narrow the scope of the pardon power. For some who may say this is only because of the current President, I would say: I objected to the pardon of the brother of a President in the past; in 1977, I proposed changing the pardon power in Tennessee through a constitutional convention item that would have said four Supreme Court Justices could disapprove of a gubernatorial pardon; and I also proposed in 2007, in this Congress, a change in the pardon power with the Supreme Court of our United States where a vote of six members could veto a pardon. The pardon power is a vestige of a day gone by. It is not something that we should have complete and total ability of the President to use to pardon whomever and whatever he pleases and to obstruct justice. I ask my fellow Members to join me in this amendment to protect America, to see that our Constitution is current and reflects our values, and to not be complicit in any activities that this President may use with the pardon power to free up wrongdoers.