Steve Cohen

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Compassionate Access, Research Expansion and Respect States Act, also known as the CARERS Act. This bipartisan, bicameral bill would allow states to set their own policies on medical marijuana, allow states to import Cannabidiol to treat patients with seizures, give the Veterans Administration physicians the ability to recommend medical marijuana to patients and improve opportunities for research on marijuana. The consensus on medical marijuana is already overwhelming and continues to build. According to a Quinnipiac University poll, 93 percent of Americans believe people should be allowed to use medically prescribed marijuana. 93 percent of Americans rarely agree on anything. In November, North Dakota, Montana, Florida and Arkansas joined a growing majority of states that have legalized medical marijuana. Twenty-nine states plus the District of Columbia have approved medical marijuana. Even CNN's Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who was once skeptical of medical marijuana, has publicly endorsed it. Yet, our federal laws continue to treat patients and the doctors and families who care for them like criminals. It is long overdue for our federal law to reflect the common sense views of 93 percent of Americans and stop adding to the suffering of those with horrible illnesses. One such patient was my constituent, Chloe Grauer. At 3 years old, Chloe suffered from a rare neurological disease that caused her to have 100 to 200 seizures a day. She tried dozens of medications and underwent surgical procedures but nothing stopped the seizures. Her family tried desperately to treat her with Cannabidiol--also known as ``Charlotte's Web'' or ``CBD'' for short--which has been shown to treat certain diseases that cause seizures, such as the disease from which Chloe suffered. CBD is derived from cannabis plants, and even though it contains just trace amounts of the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana--nowhere near enough to produce a high--but it is currently illegal under federal law. Even this tiny amount of the ingredient, THC, was enough for the federal government to keep a potentially life- saving drug away from Chloe. Chloe died without receiving CBD. This should never have happened. We must ensure that this never happens again. Just as our children deserve to be treated compassionately, so, too, do our veterans. Federal law currently prohibits VA doctors from prescribing medical marijuana when they feel it is medically beneficial. Our veterans deserve the best medical advice from their doctors, not arbitrary limits on what their doctors can do to help them. Veterans are tough. They can handle frank advice from their doctors. I want to thank my colleague Don Young of Alaska for his partnership on this bill as well as Senators Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand, Rand Paul, Mike Lee, Al Franken and Lisa Murkowski for their leadership on this legislation. I urge both the House and Senate to pass this swiftly.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, tomorrow morning James Comey will address the Senate Intelligence Committee. I read his testimony today. It is obvious to me that the President leaned on James Comey to try to get him to take actions in the Michael Flynn situation that were contrary to what Mr. Comey and I think justice would require, and that is an open investigation for the benefit of the American people and for the independence of the American Government in dealing with its relations with Russia. I commend James Comey for being strong after being looked down on and at by the President, trying to get him to ask for his job or pledge loyalty or commit to derail that investigation. I thank him for his integrity. I thank him for his service to the FBI. And I certainly hope that no one will try to disparage his integrity or his honesty tomorrow.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, today, Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions spoke in Memphis, Tennessee. I felt like I was listening to something out of the fifties or sixties. He put out all the platitudes about being tough on crime and locking people up and thinking that was going to help solve the crime problem. He didn't talk at all about the cost of crime and the Bernie Madoff- like budget that we have been presented by the Trump administration, cutting minority business centers, cutting SNAP funding, cutting LIHEAP funding, and cutting opportunities for Medicaid, healthcare, and education. There are causes to crime that should be attacked. There is a smart way to attack crime, and there is a dumb way to attack crime. The dumb way is to return to the era where we failed because we locked up so many people at $30,000 a year that the only people who are happy about his approach are the private prison industry who make money out of people's misery and crime.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 99th anniversary of the Republic Day of Azerbaijan, and to extend my best wishes to all Azerbaijanis as they celebrate Republic Day. May 28th marks the founding of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan, when the people ofAzerbaijan first gained their independence from the Russian Empire in 1918. Although Azerbaijan's independence was ended by Soviet forces in 1920, it is noteworthy that the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan was the world's first secular parliamentary democratic republic in a predominantly Muslim nation--earning diplomatic recognition from the United States during the administration of President Woodrow Wilson. We also recall, with admiration, that the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan granted universal suffrage to its citizens in 1918, making it the first Muslim country to give women the right to vote. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan restored its independence on October 18, 1991, when its Parliament adopted the Constitution Act on the Restoration of the State of Independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan. For the people of Azerbaijan, these last two decades of independence have not been without challenges. At the top of the list would be the ongoing conflict with Armenia. Although a cease fire was signed in 1994 more than 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory--including Nagorno- Karabakh and seven surrounding districts--remains under Armenian occupation and more than 1 million Azerbaijanis remain refugees unable to return to their home villages. In 1993, the U.N. Security Council adopted four resolutions demanding complete, unconditional and immediate withdrawal of Armenian forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. I am happy that Azerbaijan is committed to a peaceful resolution of the conflict with Anemia, and I support a swift and peaceful resolution to this conflict as well. Azerbaijan is a key global security partner for the United States. As an active member of NATO's Partnership for Peace program, Azerbaijan cooperates with the United States in countering terrorism, nuclear proliferation, and narcotics trafficking. Azerbaijani troops serve shoulder to shoulder with U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan, as they previously did in Kosovo and Iraq. In support of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan has extended important over-flight clearances for U.S. and NATO flights as well as regularly providing landing and refueling operations at its airports for U.S. and NATO forces. Azerbaijan also plays an important role in the Northern Distribution Network, a supply route to Afghanistan, by making available its ground and Caspian naval transportation facilities. Azerbaijan has emerged as a key player for enhancing global energy security. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi- Erzurum gas pipeline are the main arteries delivering Caspian Sea energy resources to global markets, and completion of the Southern Gas Corridor--which will run from the Caspian Sea through Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Greece, and Albania into Italy--will increase the energy security of key American allies by increasing the amount of natural gas from the Caspian Sea to European markets. Notably, Azerbaijan also provides roughly 40 percent of Israel's oil consumption. What may be more surprising to some is that Azerbaijan--a predominantly Muslim country--enjoys friendly ties with Israel beyond oil sales. Jews have resided in Azerbaijan for 2,500 years without persecution and today, the Jewish community in Azerbaijan numbers over 12,000. Azerbaijan is also home to Christian communities and has been praised for its religious tolerance by the European Parliament. As co-chair of the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus, I congratulate the people of Azerbaijan on the monumental occasion of Republic Day in their national history. May the partnership between the United States and Azerbaijan progress and continue to benefit both of our nations.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. 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 which would restore fairness in student lending by treating privately issued student loans in bankruptcy the same as other types of private debt. Graduation season is a time for joy, but increasingly that joy is tempered with worry about student debt. It is sad enough that our children are increasingly burdened by a crushing weight of student debt. But the fact that students under the weight of this debt are treated so unfairly in bankruptcy is unconscionable. 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. The harmful features of many private student loans have resulted in a substantial rise in the number of delinquencies. 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.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Raskin for his kind words and his work on this. I particularly thank Mr. Sensenbrenner for his work. He has been the sponsor of this since it was introduced. I was an original sponsor since it was introduced as well. It makes a lot of sense for us to do this and get DNA evidence and use science to the advantage of the American people, and particularly in law enforcement where we have problems in identifying suspects and proving guilt on occasion, and also exonerating the innocent. DNA is a perfect tool as it exonerates the wrongfully accused and gets the person who has committed the crime. I am honored to be a part of this. This bill, while a small part in the big picture, shows that Democrats and Republicans can work together to get some things done. I appreciate the honor to be able to sponsor, and I appreciate Mr. Sensenbrenner's work.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, in 2010, I was here and voted for the Affordable Care Act. It passed. It was one of the most proudest moments I have had in Congress. My father was a doctor who provided health care. I know what health care is like. I suffered from polio at age 5, and have been a constant recipient of health care. Every American should have had that right. What happened today was cruel, mean, and heartless. It gave $1 billion in tax breaks to the richest people in this country. It took health care from 24 million people. It made the insurance policies that will be available to people less fulsome if they can waive essential benefits, and that includes parts of insurance that were essential under the Affordable Care Act. The policies will be nearly worthless. They will have high deductibles, and they will cost people more and more because the credits are not as much as the subsidies. The poor were hurt, the middle class were hurt, and seniors were hurt. It is a sad day when that was cheered, and a day that will go down as one of the worst days in the history of this House. We are not going forward and providing people with the care they need in health care; we are going backwards. I rue this day.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of legislation I introduced earlier today with Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen to commission a statue or bust of Elie Wiesel to be installed in the Capitol. This legislation is especially timely as we commemorate Yom Ha'Shoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, this week. If enacted, this legislation would direct the Joint Committee on the Library to obtain a statue or bust of Elie Wiesel for placement in the United States Capitol. Elie Wiesel was born in Romania in 1928. In 1944, at the age of fifteen, Wiesel was deported to Auschwitz, and later to Buchenwald where he was released in April 1945. Following the war, Wiesel became a journalist and wrote about his experiences during the Holocaust. His memoir, Night, has been translated into over 30 languages. Throughout his life, he fought vocally against indifference, intolerance, and injustice. Wiesel received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. Elie Wiesel was one of the greatest moral forces in the world. He was in the same class as Nelson Mandela, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Mahatma Gandhi. Wiesel was brilliant, pure, honest, and courageous. I met Elie Wiesel when I was a Tennessee State Senator and he was honored at Vanderbilt. It was particularly special for me to meet Elie Wiesel as he was the inspiration for my passing legislation to create the Tennessee Holocaust Commission in 1984. Elie Wiesel made it his life's work to remind and educate others on the horrors of the Holocaust. He spent his life encouraging others to learn from this tragic chapter in the history of humanity. He continually told people to never forget. This addition to the Capitol would be a continuous reminder to ``never forget.'' His voice was strong and is sorely missed. He was one of my heroes. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. And I am an art critic.

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I, indeed, also enjoyed the remarks that just preceded me and that Mr. Conyers made and Mr. Clay made concerning this issue. I rise today in support of art, freedom of expression, freedom of speech, but also Black Lives Matter and police officers who follow the rules, which 98 percent or more do, who treat citizens appropriately and risk their lives to keep us safe. And I mourn each officer that loses their life or is injured in protecting us and having ordered liberty. But I rise in opposition to censorship, which is anathema to me, and police officers who go beyond the law--that percentage that do--and soil the badge they wear and use deadly force inappropriately, which has occurred too many times sometimes because they just don't react properly in the heat of battle, sometimes for other reasons, too often upon Black people, which does tend to indicate a prejudice that exists in certain people's minds. Black lives do matter, and people haven't recognized that, and we need to. The removal of David Pulphus' painting from the Cannon tunnel is troubling on many levels. It raises serious questions about Congress' commitment to the First Amendment, which guarantees the freedom of expression. We take an oath to support the Constitution and should do so in our actions as well as our words, as well as in our oath. Benjamin Franklin warned us that freedom of speech is a principal pillar of a free government. When this support is taken away, the constitution of a free society is dissolved. Secondly, it raises serious questions about censorship. Unfortunately, in my hometown of Memphis, we have a history that is sometimes not so good on particular cases of race and free expression. That long history of artistic censorship oftentimes related to race as well as sex, and for nearly 3 decades, in the early part of the 20th century, Memphis had a censor, a public censor, appointed by the government named Lloyd T. Binford. He served as the chairman of the Memphis Board of Censors. They banned movies. They banned movies like ``Curley'' in the 1940s because it showed White and Black children in school together. He prevented Memphians from seeing major celebrities like Lena Horne, Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole, Cab Calloway in our local movie theaters. He was a racist. ``Binfordizing'' became a word. Artistic words that were wrong and Congress must be ever mindful of the slippery slope of censorship. Thirdly, and perhaps most important, this painting raises serious questions about public policy. Congress should be debating questions of public policy, not banning expressions of them. The events that took place in Ferguson, Missouri, which are well expressed by this painting, were a wake-up call to many in our Nation about police use of deadly force, injustice in our inner cities, and turmoil rising in our inner cities. Sobering questions about the fairness of our criminal justice system and about race were raised. And a painting such as this that reflects those issues is most appropriate for display in the hallway where these paintings and artworks are shown because it is representative of a major slice of America in that year. That, more than most other paintings and artworks there, show something that is relevant to what is happening today and has occupied the news in a major way. For too long, justice has seemed too lacking, and we saw it in Ferguson. Mr. Clay and I have worked together for display of this artwork. I questioned some professors on another issue, lawyers that specialize in First Amendment issues, speech issues in the Judiciary Committee, and to a one they said it appeared to be censorship and was wrong and was violative. Of course there is some talk that, well, it is government speech and maybe that is different. But you know some of the same people that have opposed this painting are the same people that say the rules should apply to Congress. Whatever laws we pass should apply to Congressmen the same as they apply to other people, and we shouldn't have special privileges. But those people decided on their own to exempt a painting they found distasteful which wouldn't have been prohibited anyplace else because of free speech. They violated their own precepts; the same precepts they may be violating today in other rooms where they are discussing a health bill that will exempt them from the health bill sanctions or requirements and not require them, if they live in a State, to not have the essential benefits of the Affordable Care Act. So I rise today to commend Congressman Clay for his work, to thank him for his work with me and Senator Duckworth on the Police Training and Independent Review Act, which the need for is expressed here in this artwork. That is why it is so important. This communicates a story. Beauty is wonderful, and a lot of the artwork is photographs and beauty. Nice. Fine. Places, fine. Content and ideas are more important. It is always more important to have artwork that challenges your mind and makes you think: What is this about? As I look at this painting and I think about it, sure, there are a couple of police officers--two police officers in particular--in a certain manner of being displayed. But there is a third police officer on the right that is not shown this same way. And if you look at this painting, you can see this painting says: not all police officers are the same. Some are questionable, some aren't. It revolved around a major incident in our city, St. Louis, Ferguson, but the arch is in there and expresses that well. This painting should not have been removed. Congressman Clay is right to stand up for the First Amendment and for his constituent. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to help restore this painting to its rightful place in the Cannon tunnel and to allow people to see it and make their own decisions. Mr. Speaker, I thank you and appreciate being a part of this.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, Rotary International recognized champions who have worked to eradicate polio around the world. Rotary International has done a great job, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has, too. But as one of two congressional Members who were purple hearts of the polio years, I wish to thank them, but also say how dreadful it is--and awful--that the budget that is being proposed will reduce funding by almost 20 percent to the National Institutes of Health and also to the CDC. The CDC and the National Institutes of Health protect us from health scourges and look for cures and treatments that can protect people in the future. The National Institutes of Health needs to have more funding, not less, and so does the CDC.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of a bipartisan resolution I introduced earlier today with my colleague John Shimkus expressing strong support for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). This resolution reaffirms the importance of harmony and stability rather than war and conflict and acknowledges the NATO's pivotal role in achieving such goals. NATO remains the most important and critical security link between the United States and Europe. The incorporation of Eastern European countries into NATO has contributed towards a vision of a stable and united Europe. NATO allies and partners in both Central and Eastern Europe have stood alongside the United States in joint peace operations in the Western Balkans, Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere. Our resolution emphasizes the United States' strong commitment to the independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and democratic development of the countries that have emerged from the former Soviet Union, including Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova. During the past three decades, many of these countries have undertaken considerable political and economic reforms necessary to achieve aspirations for European integration and Euro-Atlantic cooperation. I want to thank Congressman Shimkus for his partnership on this resolution and urge my colleagues to pass it swiftly to reaffirm the United States' commitment to our NATO allies.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of The Police Training and Independent Review Act, a bill I introduced earlier today with colleague Lacy Clay of Missouri, and with Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois. If enacted, the Police Training and Independent Review Act would help ensure the independent investigation and prosecution of law enforcement officers in cases involving their use of deadly force. It would also help ensure that law enforcement officers receive appropriate training. America received a wakeup call in Ferguson, Missouri. We received another in Staten Island, New York. We received yet another in Ohio, South Carolina, Illinois, Minnesota, Louisiana and Oklahoma. Our nation faces sobering questions about the basic fairness of our criminal justice system. And we face sobering questions about race. These questions simply cannot be ignored. For too many, for too long, justice has seemed too lacking. Nearly 2 years ago, President Obama's Commission on 21st Century Policing suggested several common sense reforms, including the use of independent prosecutors for police-involved civilian deaths, as well as additional training for law enforcement officers. Unfortunately, Congress has not yet acted on these recommendations. We need to stop asking local prosecutors to investigate the same law enforcement officers with whom they work so closely, and whose relationships they rely upon to perform their daily responsibilities. Prosecutors also often seek the support of their local police when they run for reelection. This is an inherent conflict of interest, and if we are serious about restoring a sense of fairness and justice, we must remove this conflict immediately. To be sure, the vast majority of prosecutors and law enforcement officers are well meaning, dedicated public servants, and we depend upon them to keep us safe from criminals. And they have dangerous jobs, as we have seen all too frequently. But the fact remains that some officers go beyond the law in a callous disregard for due process. When it comes to investigating, and potentially prosecuting, these actions, there is often a perception of unfairness, and that perception poisons the public trust. That is bad for law enforcement as well as citizens, making their work more dangerous. The Police Training and Independent Review Act would give states an incentive to use independent prosecutors when police use of deadly force results in a civilian death. It would also give states and incentive to provide training to police to help them better understand the racial and ethnic diversity of the communities they serve, as well as how best to work with individuals who are disabled or mentally ill. If states refuse to use independent prosecutors or provide appropriate training, they would begin to lose a portion of their federal funding. I urge my colleagues to help pass this legislation quickly, and help restore some much needed faith in our criminal justice system. I want to thank my colleague Lacy Clay for his partnership on this bill. He is a tireless advocate on these issues, and I am honored to work with him. I also want to thank Senator Duckworth for her leadership on this bill in the Senate.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, this is the 49th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King, Jr., was, sadly, struck down in Memphis, Tennessee, by an aberrant individual who wanted to kill him and chased him all over the country. It so happened that Memphis was the spot that he had that final opportunity. In Memphis, there will be activities today celebrating the life of Dr. King and commitments to community service in his spirit. Ironically, today, while it is the 49th anniversary of his assassination, it is also the 50th anniversary of his greatest speech, in my opinion. Not the ``I've Been to the Mountaintop'' speech that he made the night before in Memphis, the great speech where he said: I have been to the mountaintop, and I may not get there with you; but I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. His greatest speech, in my opinion, was the speech at the Riverside Church in New York, in Manhattan, on April 4 of 1967, when he spoke of the three isms that bother this country and are the enemies of this country: militarism, materialism, and racism. The speech was called ``Beyond Vietnam.'' A prescient Dr. King saw the need to get out of Vietnam, to make a unilateral step, cease the bombing, save lives. He was indeed right about that. We should have gotten out of Vietnam then, but we didn't. It was months later that Richard Nixon interfered with the peace process for political reasons and got word to Vietnam not to participate; that they might get a better deal from Nixon; and that stopped President Johnson from possibly concluding the war in 1968. The racism, the militarism, and the materialism are still pervasive. Dr. King wouldn't like what he sees today. We have a budget giving 56 or $57 billion extra to the military and cutting away from diplomacy efforts, foreign aid efforts that militate against war. And it takes away from funding for people, African Americans and poor people in America, who need government assistance. That is part of what Dr. King was concerned about in this ``Beyond Vietnam'' speech. And here it is 50 years later and we still suffer with the same tight budget and the same misguided priorities. We have an Attorney General who is looking at ending consent decrees on police violence against African Americans in Baltimore, Maryland, and also in Ferguson, a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. We are going the wrong direction, and it is sad that one of our greatest prophets and one of our greatest leaders told us about it 50 years ago. Have we learned. The disparity in wealth is greater than ever in this country. The rich are getting richer and richer and richer. It is incomprehensible that there are billionaires--and there are lots of them out there--and that the tax breaks that we offer in the Tax Code are going to give millionaires and billionaires hundreds of thousands and millions of dollars of tax breaks at the expense of government programs for people who don't have enough. There is no consideration of a minimum wage. And Dr. King was strong on believing that if people worked a full-time job, they shouldn't be paid a part-time wage. We need to go a lot further. We need to reflect on Dr. King's Riverside speech and understand that it is still a guide for us, and we need to look at a more understanding budget that cares about people first and not the military industrial complex that President Eisenhower warned us about; that we try to avoid wars through diplomacy and foreign aid and goodwill; and that we support our people with WIC programs and LIHEAP programs and Meals on Wheels and health care and public education; and that we try to give tax breaks to the middle class--large tax breaks, and not tax breaks to those who already have enough. Thank you, Dr. King. You served us well. We mourn your loss. We remember your words.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I awakened today to the news of a gentleman from South Africa, who was a man of historic proportion, an anti- apartheid activist and a blessed man, Ahmed Kathrada, known as Kathy, passed away. I had the privilege to meet this great man on two occasions, once in August 2009 and again in June 2016 while on a Congressional Delegation honoring the 50th Anniversary of Robert F. Kennedy's famous June 6, 1966 ``Ripples of Hope'' human rights speech. I was totally awed by his life and his peaceful nature. Kathy Kathrada spent decades in jail with Nelson Mandela, then spent the first years of democracy helping to shape South Africa's government after the fall of apartheid. Kathy was an Indian gentleman and when he was eight years old his family moved from Schweizer-Reneke two hundred miles away to Johannesburg because there were no schools for Indians. Not only were there no schools for Indians, but when he was sent to prison there were no cells for Indians either. He became, at a very early age, an activist for social reform and against apartheid, first for Indian rights and then against apartheid and for South African rights. He became a political activist at 12 years old and at 17 years old, he was arrested for the first time after he left school to join the Transvaal Passive Resistance Council. Kathy came into prominence in July 1963, when he was arrested with other anti-apartheid activists in Rivonia. That October, he was indicted on charges of trying to overthrow the government, start a guerrilla war, and open the door to invasion by foreign powers. On April 1964, he was sentenced to life in prison, at hard labor, along with Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Denis Golberg, Govan Mbeki, Raymond Mhlaba, Elias Motsoaledi, and Andrew Mlangeni. The Rivonia trial became a signature moment in the struggle against apartheid. Mr. Kathrada spent 26 years and 3 months behind bars, 18 of them on Robben Island, the apartheid regime's most notorious prison. When he was in prison, he was sent to work in a limestone quarry for more than a decade. At one point, Mr. Kathrada, Mr. Mandela, and Mr. Sisulu were put on a meager ration of rice gruel as punishment for supposedly not working hard enough. Because Kathy was a mixed-race convict, he was given long trousers while black convicts had to wear shorts without socks and even rations were distributed by race. Mr. Kathadra refused to accept his privileges unless they were also extended to his black comrades. He and other African National Congress (ANC) leaders helped Nelson Mandela draft his memoirs in prison and smuggle them out. While in prison, Mr. Kathrada obtained four university degrees, two in history and two in African politics. When he was released from prison, he wasn't bitter, he practiced only peace and was committed to resolving race relations in South Africa. He was elected Parliament as a member of the ANC in the first all- inclusive democratic South African elections in 1994 and was appointed to be a political advisor to President Nelson Mandela in the newly created post of Parliamentary Counsellor. He left parliamentary politics in 1999. After his release, Kathy preached forgiveness. He befriended the people who had been his guards and who had subjected him. He actually moved back to Robben Island in 1999--this time to a private house, where he lived for nearly five years as the president of the Robben Island Museum where he led tours of the museums. On my second trip to South Africa, where I met him for the second time, it was remarkable to see the prison guards hand the key to the prison to the former prisoner. Kathy remained dedicated to the ANC for the rest of his life and he was never afraid to speak his mind. He was a member of his neighborhood branch and attended national functions of the ANC. Last April, he called on President Zuma to resign, after South Africa's highest court found that the president violated his oath of office by refusing to pay back public money spent on renovations to his rural home. He was never afraid to criticize corruption and promote the values of love and peace. He lamented that South Africa remained so geographically divided and economically disparate. He always worked for a non-sexist, non- racial, democratic South Africa. He received four honorary degrees in his life including from the University of Kentucky, Michigan State, and the University of Missouri. He is rightly revered in South Africa and around the world. Kathy was a great human being and a humanitarian individual who served the Indian people, the South African nation, and humanity in a superb fashion. Kathy is survived by his longtime partner Barbara Hogan, a former political prisoners and government minister. His was a life well-lived. I was fortunate to have met him, and I am sorry for his loss.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I was awakened today to the news of a gentleman from South Africa, who was one of the great historic men I have experienced in my life, an antiapartheid activist and a blessed man, Ahmed Kathrada, known as Kathy, passed away. Kathy was an Indian gentleman who went to Johannesburg with his family as a young man and found that, at age 8, he had to move there because there were no Indian schools in South Africa. He became, at a very early age, an activist for social reform and against apartheid, first for Indian rights and then against apartheid and for South African rights. He was arrested, along with Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Mbeki, Goldberg, and other leaders of the ANC, tried in the famous Rivonia trial in 1963, and convicted as they all were. He spent 18 years in prison on Robben Island, with Nelson Mandela and others, and 8 additional years in prison. But when released from prison, he didn't see bitterness, he saw only peace and a period of commitment to resolving race relations in South Africa. He befriended the people who had been his guards and who had subjected him to minority rights. He was elected to the African National Congress party as a delegate to parliament and served as one of Nelson Mandela's aides. He received four honorary degrees in his life, one from the University of Kentucky, one from Michigan State, and one from the University of Missouri. He moved back to Robben Island, lived there, and gave tours of the museum. On my second trip to South Africa, where I met him on a second occasion, he led our group on our tour. It was remarkable to see the prison guards hand the key to the prison to the former prisoner. Kathy was a great human being and a humanitarian individual who served the Indian people, the South African nation, and humanity in a superb fashion. His was a life well-lived. I was fortunate to have met him, and I am sorry for his loss.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join you today in this 1-hour session. I am the co-chair of the Medical Research Caucus. As the co-chair, I am most aware of the need for research and how much it has helped our country and how much it has helped many cities and universities in their efforts to save us. For a long time, I have realized that my enemy--and I am not suggesting to anybody, or I don't want anybody to get the wrong impression that I don't think that we need a military, and a strong military, but I have known that the odds of me dying from something that happens initiated by North Korea or Iran or ISIS is about nil. But I also know that the odds of my dying from heart disease, stroke, diabetes, Alzheimer's, cancer is likely. So my enemy is disease. And who is working to protect me and be my defense department? The National Institutes of Health. That is my defense department. That is all of America's defense department, for we all have, as an enemy, disease. Cures and treatments will be found through grants and research coordinated through the National Institutes of Health. Francis Collins, the genius who is the Director of the NIH, is really our secretary of defense because he is fighting to find cures and treatments not just for us, but more so for the next generation and the next generation. So it is a perfect situation for us to act to protect our constituents against their most serious enemy, and that is disease, and to protect them no matter how we fund it. For the deficit hawks who might suggest that some of the expenses be paid for by future generations, that is who is going to get the treatments and the cures, and people not even born yet. In 1954, my father was a pediatrician, and he gave the Salk vaccine to second grade children for polio. He didn't give it to me in the fall of 1954 or the spring of 1954 because that wasn't his charge; it was to give it to second graders in a test of the Salk vaccine. I came down with polio in September of 1954. And but for medical research not being a year earlier when the Salk vaccine became available to everyone in the spring of 1955, I would not have had polio. It affected me as a young person. I spent 3 months in a hospital, lots of time with physical therapists, had surgeries, and today wear a brace because, without it, I wouldn't be standing here. My future, I am not sure what it will be, but it would have been a lot better if we had the Salk vaccine a year earlier. For every cure and treatment that comes a little later and a little later are that many more people that will suffer from it. So this nearly $6 billion cut is going to affect people's lives in a meaningful way. For that reason, I am proud to join Mr. Garamendi and my other colleagues here to oppose this $6 billion cut and also to advocate for increases in funding to the National Institutes of Health, our real defense department fighting for all Americans against the number one enemy we all have, which is catastrophic illnesses and diseases.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, this is not a healthcare bill. This is a wealth care bill. Unfortunately, President Trump, when he spoke in Louisville, said we had to pass this bill to get the big tax cuts. It is about wealth care. It is the Ebenezer Scrooge law of this Congress. The insurance you will get with the amendments made will be as worthless as the degree from Trump University. We do not need wealth care, but we need health care.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Yes, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Polis and Mr. Pascrell have made the point, and it is the same point I want to make. There is a shadow hanging over the United States of America, over our government, and over this House; and only we can lift it. The Trump campaign said that if Hillary Clinton was the President with a Federal investigation overlooking her, which it looked like there was with Mr. Comey's comments before the election, that it would be unheard of, unprecedented, and the Government couldn't go on. Well, there is a Federal investigation of the present President of the United States--something that has never happened before--and that has put a dark cloud that can only be lifted by showing in the light of day what the President's involvements were with his income taxes, whom he owes money to. And if he doesn't owe money to people that have a conflict, that is good for the government because it relieves the President of any suspicion. Like Caesar's wife, he should be beyond suspicion and beyond reproach, and, right now, there is a serious cloud. So I would ask the Chair to rule in favor of this motion so we can do our job to make the light shine on this government and on this House and give more respect for us. I thank the Speaker who is an honorable man and I am proud to say is my friend. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the following op-ed I recently wrote for the Memphis Commercial Appeal: Last year, then-candidate Donald Trump condescendingly said to African Americans, ``You live in your poverty, your schools are no good, you have no jobs . . . What the hell do you have to lose?'' We now know the answer: a lot. Changes at the Department of Justice (DOJ), alone, are alarming. Instead of serving its traditional role as guardian of civil rights, DOJ is in full retreat. It has reversed course on voting rights, abandoning opposition to a Texas voter ID law in which a federal court found 600,000 registered voters did not have IDs necessary to vote. Instead of protecting citizens from police who illegally discriminate against African Americans, Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III has stated he does not favor the type of consent decrees used in Baltimore and Chicago to remediate conditions. Sessions has also rolled back President Obama's efforts to phase out private prisons. African Americans not only make up a disproportionate share of the U.S. prison population, but appear more likely to be sent to private prisons, where the DOJ Inspector General has warned there are more security incidents than in public prisons. Sessions has threatened to thwart the will of voters in states that have legalized marijuana. African Americans are three times more likely than whites are to be arrested for marijuana, despite usage being virtually the same. The new Education Secretary thinks HBCUs, ``are the real pioneers when it comes to school choice.'' This is ignorant of segregation that necessitated the creation of HBCUs. Betsy DeVos has an education record that does not bode well for public schools, which have provided a path for African Americans to achieve the American Dream. The new HUD Secretary, Dr. Ben Carson, said within days of assuming office that slaves were ``immigrants,'' a comment that bewildered many, including the NAACP. The President's recently-released budget proposal cuts $6 billion from this agency that so many rely on. The outlook for a minimum wage increase under this Administration is nil. The President's first pick to head the Department of Labor opposed a raise, despite there not having been one since 2009. According to the Economic Policy Institute, 35 percent of African-American workers would benefit from a minimum wage increase. Critical programs that help the most vulnerable such as Meals on Wheels, heating and energy assistance, and nutrition aid to women and children (WIC) would be drastically cut or eliminated in the President's budget. In addition, the budget eliminates Community Development Block Grants and HOME programs that provide affordable housing for low-income residents. Legal Services Corporation, which helps those who cannot afford legal representation, and the Minority Business Development Agency, which helps promote minority-owned businesses, would be eliminated. Massive cuts to these vital programs would be devastating to Memphis. While these cuts would have a disproportional impact on African Americans, most cuts will affect all those who are economically disadvantaged and in need of government assistance. Republicans are also rushing a health care plan that takes from low and middle-income families and gives to the rich. According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, 24 million more Americans would be uninsured by 2026 under this plan. Insurance costs for citizens over 50 years of age would increase dramatically, and financial assistance would be drastically cut for those in need. All while millionaires and billionaires receive massive tax breaks. During Black History Month, Trump showed his ignorance of the African American experience when he suggested Frederick Douglas was alive. His cabinet is on pace to have the fewest African Americans of any administration in recent memory. While some African Americans have enjoyed prosperity and acceptance, it is undeniable that African Americans still suffer from vestiges of slavery and Jim Crow. Discrimination and institutional racism have held so many back and left many in need of government relief. Over the last half century, much of America's progress has been measured by how it has dealt with its original sin of slavery. Civil rights, voting rights, advances in health care, public education, social justice and ladders of opportunity to enter the middle class have been markers by which we have judged presidential administrations. Sadly, this administration is failing on all counts.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and commemorate the remarkable life of James Cotton who passed away on March 16, 2017, at the age of 81. Mr. Cotton was a pioneering harmonica player who helped establish his instrument as an integral part of modern blues. James Henry Cotton was born on July 1, 1935 in Tunica, MS, the youngest of eight brothers and sisters. His parents, Hattie and Mose were sharecroppers who worked on a cotton plantation and his father was also the preacher at the local Baptist church. Mr. Cotton was inspired to take up the harmonica by his mother and by the time he was 7 years old, he was performing for small change on the streets of nearby towns in the Mississippi Delta. At age 9, he moved in with Sonny Boy Williamson II to learn the instrument and Sonny Boy remained his hero for the rest of his life. Around 1950, Mr. Cotton moved to West Memphis with Sonny Boy, which is where Howlin' Wolf heard him. Mr. Cotton played with Howlin' Wolf appearing in some of the recordings he made with Sam Phillips at Sun Records, in Memphis, in the early 1950s. In 1954, he also made four recordings under his own name for Sun. Mr. Cotton also played with Muddy Waters in Chicago where he contributed to classics like ``Got my Mojo Working'' and ``Rock Me.'' In 1966, Mr. Cotton embarked on a solo career when he formed the James Cotton Blues Band which performed with popular acts like Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin, B.B. King, Santana, and many others. In 1977, Mr. Cotton reunited with Muddy Waters for the album ``Hard Again,'' which won a Grammy Award for best ethnic or traditional recording. His work influenced several major blues-rock groups of the era such as the Allman Brothers, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, and the Electric Flag. He was much imitated but never duplicated. Mr. Cotton continued to play in concerts and on records well into his 70s and released some two dozen albums. Mr. Cotton moved from Chicago to Memphis in the 1990s, after the death of his first wife, Ceola and he settled in Austin in 2010. In 1997, his album ``Deep in the Blues'' won a Grammy for best traditional blues album and his 2013 album ``Cotton Mouth Man'' was nominated. Mr. Cotton also won several W.C. Handy International Blues Awards (known as the Blues Music Awards since 2006) long considered among the highest accolades for musicians working in Blues. Mr. Cotton was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2006. Mr. Cotton is survived by his wife and manager, Jacklyn Hairston Cotton; his two daughters, Teresa Hampton and Marshall Ann Cotton; a son, James Patrick Cotton; and numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren. His was a life well lived.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I am a proud member of the House of Representatives. Yet, at the same time, I am embarrassed that, in somewhat of a Felliniesque nature, we have followed down the rabbit's hole. Our current President suggests that President Obama wiretapped Trump Tower. Our President has the FBI and the intelligence agencies at his beck and call. He can easily make a phone call and know whether or not it is true; but, instead, he asks Congress to make an investigation, and Congress agrees. This is absurd. It didn't happen. In fact, his security adviser called the British to apologize for suggesting that the British were listening in at Trump Tower. Our Nation needs to be more like it was when George Washington was President. He was known to have said: ``I cannot tell a lie.'' We need to be straight with the American people. Microwaves cannot take pictures or surveil your house. The past President is an honorable man and committed no crime. He should not be accused of such. I hope this Fellini movie ends quickly.

Mr. COHEN

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, when President Trump was campaigning, he said that these were the worst of times for African Americans, conveniently or ignorantly forgetting slavery and Jim Crow. He said it couldn't get any worse. Well, it is getting worse with a Justice Department that has already retreated on voting rights and that has empowered private prisons to take advantage of people which are disparately proportionate to African Americans for prison incarceration; a HUD department where the Secretary has said slavery was akin to immigration and where $6 billion is to be cut from the budget; an education department that doesn't believe in public education that has given African Americans a chance for the American Dream; and a healthcare bill that takes away health care from the poorest and makes it to where many will not have health care, and Medicaid will be decimated and possibility eliminated. These are the worst of times and President Trump, Mr. Speaker, is showing African Americans things can get worse. They are getting worse, and they are on a daily basis.