Marcy Kaptur

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, the dedication of the World War II Memorial in 2004 on our National Mall culminated a 17-year effort in Congress to construct the first national memorial dedicated to the 16 million Americans who served in the Armed Forces during World War II and the more than 400,000 who gave their lives. It honors the 20th century's greatest accomplishment, the victory of liberty over tyranny. As the Representative who introduced the original legislation to construct the memorial, I rise tonight in support of the National World War II Commemorative Coin Act. This bipartisan piece of legislation, which I am honored to introduce alongside my friend and colleague Representative Peter King from New York, authorizes the U.S. Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. The coin will serve as an important emblem of the spirit, sacrifice, and commitment of the brave Americans who fought to defend our great Nation and its democratic allies and to advance peace and freedom throughout the world. I ask all of my colleagues to look at our bill, and I urge them to support this legislation.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, I rise to pay respectful tribute to the gifted, compassionate, and persevering life of American diplomat William Green Miller, our nation's second Ambassador to Ukraine following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. A highly trusted advisor and valued friend to Members of Congress, and the diplomatic and intelligence communities, Ambassador Miller's distinguished service to our nation elevated the possibilities and promise of liberty to people living in nations that had never known freedom. He dedicated his life at liberty's edge with great humility. His steady, unselfish, and tenacious nature allowed him to tackle infinitely complex situations-- Iran, the Soviet Union, Ukraine--and advise ways forward. He never really retired and remained engaged and insightful during his golden years. A renaissance man, Ambassador Miller's career spanned assignment in Iran, staff director of the Senate Intelligence Committee, senior Administrator and professor at Tufts University, chairman of the board of the Kyiv Mohyla Foundation, and president of the American Committee on U.S.-Soviet Relations. Upon leaving Congress, the U.S. Senate recognized his leadership by passing a special resolution commending him for ``contributions and for his dedication, loyalty, integrity, and service.'' Simply, he was exceptional. It is with deepest condolences that I offer sympathy to his beautiful wife Suzanne, their two sons, and extended family at this difficult time. May the life he has lived continue to inspire a new generation of Americans to embrace his calling to scholarship, service, and patriotic commitment to liberty's cause at home and abroad. [From the Kyiv Post Sept. 24, 2019] William Green Miller, Second US Ambassador to Independent Ukraine, Dies at Age 88 William Green Miller, who served as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine in the 1990s as the euphoria of national independence gave way to the misery of economic destitution for many Ukrainians. died in his home in northern Virginia on Sept. 23, according to friends. He was 88. He served as America's second ambassador in Kyiv, from 1993-1998, and is the first of nine American ambassadors to independent Ukraine to have died. His death was confirmed by friends, including Marta Farion, a Ukrainian-American in Chicago who worked with Miller on the Kyiv Mohyla Foundation of America, raising money to support the university with 5,000 students in Kyiv. Farion spoke to Miller's wife, Suzanne Lisle Miller, and said that the ambassador died in his home ``one minute before noon'' on Sept. 23, in the company of their two sons, William and Christopher, and grandchildren. ``He was surrounded by his leather-bound books, in front of the beautiful garden that he and Suzanne cultivated and loved all their lives, with the blooming flowers and many butterflies that bid him farewell,'' Farion told the Kyiv Post. Miller's tenure as ambassador coincided with momentous events under Ukraine's first president, Leonid Kravchuk, who served from 1991-1994, and then Leonid Kuchma, who ruled from 1994-2005. During Millers era, Ukraine adopted a Constitution, launched the national currency, the hryvnia, and signed the Budapest Memorandum in which Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States offered security assurances to Ukraine for surrendering its Soviet-era nuclear arsenal. The agreement now is derided by many in Ukraine as a worthless piece of paper, considering Russia's dismemberment of Ukraine--including seizing Crimea and parts of the eastern Donbas--as the Kremlin prosecutes a war in its sixth year that has killed 13,000 people. His term also witnessed Ukrainian lawlessness and the rise of the oligarchy, which still plagues the nation today. But his friends say that Miller always found the beauty in Ukraine, despite its hardships. Farion described Miller as ``a writer and poet, a Renaissance man in every respect and Suzanne was his muse, his adviser, and his protector to the very end. They loved Ukraine since the days when he was ambassador there. To the end, he wanted to know what is taking place in Ukraine.'' She said that ``Bill and Suzanne were responsible for the establishment and renovation of the historic building in the Podil neighborhood that became the residence of the American ambassador, and they paid special attention to the garden, restoring the original plants, trees, and flowers that were cultivated there when the building was first built. They paid attention to the historical artifacts that were recovered while rebuilding the residence, and they hosted many Ukrainian artists, historians, musicians, and writers there.'' Said Farion: ``Bill embraced his role as chairman of the board of the Kyiv Mohyla Foundation with all his vigor and believed in the power of education and the role of Kyiv- Mohyla Academy in building Ukraine as a democratic country, where rule of law and human rights were priorities. He was honored by Kyiv-Mohyla Academy with an honorary doctorate and spoke on the stage of the university to students on many occasions. He inspired me to push forward, to never give up, to stand up for the truth. He was my mentor in many respects and taught me not to be afraid. He loved the principles upon which the United States was established and he truly believed in those principles. He was an admirer of Thomas Jefferson. He was a scholar. He left a book of poetry and many writings. I will miss him and his guidance.'' Monica Eppinger served as the second secretary to Miller in the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine and recalled her work with him as ``the best time.'' To the end, she said ``he wanted to be a good friend of Ukraine.'' ``I was part of that small early team during Ambassador Millers tenure in Ukraine. He had headed the Washington side of a late' Soviet human rights organization, and through it was thoroughly acquainted with the cases of the major human rights heroes of the last decade of the U.S.S.R. When he got to Ukraine, he already had made common cause with some--Mustafa Dzhemilev, Vyacheslav Chornovil, Semen Gluzman. Anyone who'd done Soviet prison time for advocating human rights was a part of his `team.' He was a fervent Jeffersonian democrat. He also worked very closely with Voldoymyr Horbulin (former secretary of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council). especially on denuclearization, and to the best of my knowledge respected him and appreciated him as a pragmatic strategic thinker who cared about Ukrainian independence.'' During Miller's ambassadorial tenure, Eppinger said, he took a keen interest in people working on human rights and advocating freedom of speech, religion and the press. ``He was just really interested in the project of independent Ukraine and really interested in Ukrainians,'' said Eppinger, a professor at St. Louis University School of Law and director of its Center for International and Comparative Law. He'd meet with anybody practically who wanted to meet with him.'' She said Miller was also interested in archaeology and remembers him stopping frequently to visit the excavation site of what is now the rebuilt Mikhailovsky Cathedral in Kyiv. ``All the archaeologists at the site knew him.'' she said. Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine William Green Miller delivers remarks at the observance of the 60th anniversary of the Voice of America's Ukrainian Service on Dec. 11, 2009, at VOA headquarters in Washington, D.C. Farion said that she traveled with him and a team of archaeology students ``to the magnificent Chersonesus in Crimea. He promoted the site to be protected by UNESCO. The occupation of Crimea by Russia stung him personally, not only because of the loss of the strategic territory but because he realized that Russian authorities would raid the archaeological site. He was deeply concerned for the fate of the Crimean Tatars after Russia's invasion and occupation.'' Eppinger called him a big fan of ballet, especially Swan Lake. ``He also loved the Philharmonic and actively supported the rehabilitation of the Philharmonic building near the Friendship Arch'' on the right bank of the Dnipro River in central Kyiv. She said he even vacationed in Ukraine, taking driving tours to explore ancient wooden churches of the Carpathian Mountains in western Ukraine. ``He just loved Ukraine and his interest in Ukraine and support for Ukraine knew no bounds.'' she said. Eppinger recalled his experiment in taking up the Ukrainian tradition of beekeeping. He installed beehives in the backyard of the ambassador's residence. At a traditional Fourth of July reception, she recalled that a colleague with the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs ``got stung right on the nose'' by a bee. Miller joined the Foreign Service in 1959 and served a five-year assignment in Iran, where he immersed himself in Persian culture. Farion said he never lost interest in Iran. ``He was instrumental in many informal talks between the US and Iran, trying to find peace,'' she said. After his Iran assignment, Eppinger said he returned to Washington, D.C., and quit the Foreign Service over the Vietnam War and got a job as a staff director of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee. ``He was part of the team that put together the hearings on the U.S. intelligence services attempted assassinations in the post-World War II/Cold War era,'' Eppinger said. ``It was thanks to those hearings and the report that resulted that we got a revision to the executive order that sets the parameters to the intelligence community . . . that resulted in the ban on assassinations by the U.S. intelligence committee. He was sometimes criticized as a romantic or idealist, but--as I think the intelligence committee work shows--he also had a canniness to thinking about where a threat to democracy could come from. and how to thwart it. I think there was a hard practical streak in there that often got overlooked.'' According to a Eurasia Foundation biography, Miller was educated at Williams College, Oxford, and Harvard. After leaving his Iran assignment in 1964, he returned to Washington, D.C., as a line officer for U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk. Miller then went to work in the U.S. Senate in 1967, where he served as foreign policy and defense adviser to U.S. Senator John Sherman Cooper, a Republican who served Kentucky. In 1981 the U.S. Senate passed a special resolution commending Miller ``for exceptional contributions and for his dedication, loyalty, integrity, and service.'' Miller was associate dean and professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Massachusetts from 1981 to 1983. In 1986, Miller returned to Washington as president of the American Committee on U.S.-Soviet Relations, traveling frequently to the U.S.S.R. and living in Moscow from 1988 to 1993. In retirement years, Miller was a senior policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the International Institute of Strategic Studies and the Middle East Institute. He was also co-chairman of the Kyiv Mohyla Foundation of America and a director of the Andrei Sakharov Foundation as well as a consultant for the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Farion said a memorial service is being planned at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 12 or 13, but that arrangements are still being finalized.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to remember Patricia B. ``Trish'' Andre of Wauseon, Ohio, who left this world for a higher grace-filled existence on Friday, August 2, 2019. As we remember Trish, we are reminded of a life dedicated to our earth's fabric in agriculture. A graduate of Purdue University, her academic studies were based in science where she received a degree in Agronomy. Serving as a Certified Crop Advisor, a 4-H Advisor, a member of the Ohio Jersey Breeder's Association, and a member of the Farm Bureau, Trish led an extraordinary life dedicated to agriculture. I can still see her stooping in the fields picking off tiny creatures on plants, studying their meaning, marveling at nature and its infinite connection to a higher cosmos. Her work raising the next generation of her own family and the larger 4-H youth family is legendary. She was a prophetess in her own time. Trish's deep dedication to agriculture was shared with her loving husband of 34 years, Nathan (Nate) L. Andre who survives her. Nate and Trish formed a strong bond in marriage and as agricultural stewards. He is a proud organic and fanning consultant for Andre Farms, a family- owned business that has served Ohio and Michigan communities for over 60 years. I know Nate will honor his wife's memory by upholding the Andre Farms' mission of integrity driven land stewardship. As a parishioner of the North Clinton Church in Wauseon, Ohio, Trish was a devout woman of faith. As a member of Gideon International Auxiliary, a Christian nonprofit, and a Bible Quiz Coach, her service to community was firmly rooted in faith. Trish will be profoundly missed by her friends, family, and the community she served. My thoughts and prayers are with Nate, their children Perry, Kira, and Ross, and her granddaughter Esther. Although their beloved Trish was taken well before her time, may they find peace in knowing she is peacefully at rest in the earth she faithfully tended. Now her power for betterment of life on earth assumes new dimension and one that is eternal. May God provide her angelic spirit soft clouds and rising suns so her goodness showers upon humankind in unending waves.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize a century of service of the Laborers' Local 500 union in Toledo, Ohio. Next week members will come together to celebrate this significant milestone, both reminiscing and looking toward the future. The International Hod Carriers' and Building Laborers' Union (which would become today's Laborers' International Union of North America, or LIUNA) Local No. 500 was chartered on October 20, 1919 to represent laborers who were in demand to build roads, bridges and other infrastructure in Toledo and Northwest Ohio. The union has since provided skills training to thousands of laborers and secured living wages, health insurance and retirement pension benefits for thousands of its members who live and work in Northwest Ohio, allowing them to live decent, productive lives; provide for their families; and retire with dignity and security. Local 500 has produced many community leaders and has been a beacon in our community. Local 500 helped protect its hundreds of members during the Great Depression of the 1930s while working to build landmark Toledo structures under the federal New Deal program, including University Stadium at the University of Toledo and the Toledo Main Public Library. Members also contributed mightily on the home front during World War II, helping to build many of the Northwest Ohio factories that supplied and eventually helped win the war effort. Over the years, Local 500 members have helped build many of the vital highways, roads, bridges and infrastructure of Northwest Ohio, including the Toledo Municipal Airport, the Ohio Turnpike, the Davis Besse Nuclear Power Station, Veterans' Glass City Skyway, Interstate 280 and Interstate 475. Members have helped build and rebuild downtown Toledo, including the Fiberglas Tower, Promenade Park, One Seagate Tower, Owens Corning World Headquarters and the Fifth Third Field baseball stadium. At the same time as the members of Local 500 helped to build and shape our region, they have remained eager and important contributors to our community. The union participates in charitable initiatives such as repairing the City of Toledo's Wilson and Farr pools and sponsoring the Kings Kids Academy and Family House Homeless Shelter. Today, as Local 500 turns 100 years old, it continues to serve and protect its membership and its six-county jurisdiction of Lucas, Wood, Fulton, Henry, Defiance, and Williams counties while providing the region with a skilled workforce involved in the placement and removal of concrete, demolition, asbestos removal, grade checking, flagging, carpenters tenders, brick mason tenders, hazardous waste removal, tunneling and more. President Barack Obama noted, ``Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.'' As the membership of LIUNA Local 500 looks back on a century of progress and changing both lives and community for the better, we pause to remember those on whose shoulders we stand. We look forward to the next century with promise. Onward.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, as co-chair of the House Congressional Ukrainian Caucus, I rise to provide some background on why the conversations between President Donald Trump and the newly elected President of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky, are so vitally important to liberty and our Nation's national security. There is no more important strategic alliance for liberty and with our military than America's membership with European allies in NATO, our dependable transatlantic allies who stood at our side through so many battles for the values we share. The blood lands of Europe directly influence the very founding of our Republic, our fundamental ideals of democracy. NATO, today, stands ready every hour of every day to defend our liberty. Ukraine, today, is the scrimmage line for liberty for its defense on the European Continent. Thus, when a U.S. President holds back military assistance to Ukraine through NATO and other instrumentalities, Congress must insist on transparency on any conversations that relate to our cooperation with the nation of Ukraine. Please let me remind, after the collapse of communist Russia in 1991, officially known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Ukraine became a free nation. At least it had a chance to be. Ukraine had been occupied for all of modern history by Russia and began its jagged path forward to the free world, a path that has been tortuous and fraught with danger and setbacks. It will be a permanent blot on American history that certain Americans, including President Trump's campaign manager, Paul Manafort, and several other Trump operatives were actually involved in supporting the corrupt pro-Russian political operatives in Ukraine and doing it to earn money, millions and millions of dollars from Kremlin allies. What an abomination to liberty. Since Ukraine's Euromaidan Revolution of Dignity 5 years ago, the Ukrainian people have bravely demonstrated their resolute commitment to their nation's democratic future. The latest example is the recent historic Presidential and parliamentary elections in Ukraine, which international observers lauded as free and fair. What progress. Ukraine has managed to make critical reforms, despite the immense pressure of Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine in which 13,000 poorly equipped Ukrainian troops and many civilians who were in the pathway lost their lives; 30,000 have been injured; and 1.5 million Ukrainians have been dispossessed of their properties and are displaced. Tragically, Ukraine is at war and must fight a two-front war: one against Russia and one against the enemy from within, the scourge of corruption aided by Kremlin allies every minute of every day. While Ukraine has sought to shake off the vestiges of Soviet repression, Ukraine's oligarch class has subverted this progress in order to steal and plunder from the people of that nation to advance their own sick, insatiable, and corrupt moneyed interests. In fact, it might surprise people to hear that, in the State of Ohio, the Ukrainian oligarch who owned the television station that made the current President of Ukraine famous is the largest commercial real estate owner in Cleveland, Ohio. With a net worth of over $1.2 billion, Ihor Kolomoisky is one of the richest oligarchs in Ukraine. But he travels between Ukraine, Cyprus, Israel, and here. His own son was on the basketball team at Cleveland State University. But this oligarch ran the show, servant of the people, who propelled President Zelensky to stardom. And so the question for history is: Will President Zelensky be his own man, or will he be beholden to oligarchs? Will he stand for liberty, and will the people of this country and this House, who are the Representatives, stand for liberty against repression? Madam Speaker, I include in the Record material related to my remarks this morning. [From Clevescene, June 11, 2019] How Ukrainian Oligarchs Secretly Became the Largest Real Estate Owners in Downtown Cleveland (By Sam Allard) In an explosive legal complaint filed last month in Delaware, attorneys for a major Ukrainian bank alleged that two oligarchs who founded the bank and controlled it from 2006 to 2016 laundered hundreds of millions of dollars in fraudulent corporate loans to purchase assets in the United States and unjustly enrich themselves and their associates. Dubbed the ``Optima Schemes'' in the 104-page document, these ``brazen fraudulent schemes'' were successful, among other things, in making the oligarchs and their co-defendants the largest commercial real estate holders in Cleveland. With money siphoned from public bonds and 20 million private Ukrainian citizens who'd opened accounts with PrivatBank, the oligarchs Igor Kolomoisky and Gennadiy Bogolyubov doled out corporate loans to shell companies that they controlled. They used PrivatBank ``as their own personal piggy bank,'' in the words of the complaint. Those loans were then laundered in multiple digital transactions, sent through dozens of other shell companies that had been created exclusively for the purpose of laundering. These accounts were managed by coconspirators at PrivatBank's branch in Cyprus. The true origin of the money thus concealed, funds were then shipped to LLCs in Delaware (hence the legal filing there). Those LLCs--``One Cleveland Center, LLC,'' to take just one example--were used to acquire properties and metalworking facilities in the U.S. Kolomoisky and Bogolyubov are mineral magnates and own mining factories and metalworking plants in Ukraine. The men on the ground in the United States, according to the complaint, were a Miami-based trio: Mordechai ``Motti'' Korf, his brother-in-law Chaim Schochet, and Uriel Laber. These three men managed the ``Optima'' companies: Optima International, Optima Ventures and Optima Acquisitions, all of which were created and ultimately controlled by Kolomoisky and Bogolyubov. ``Optima Ventures'' should be a familiar local name. It was the company, launched in 2007, used to acquire properties in the U.S. for Kolomoisky and Bogolyubov. The majority of these properties were in Cleveland. Chaim Schochet was Optima's ``front man'' in Northeast Ohio. He told the Plain Dealer in 2012 that his local goals were twofold: ``making money for investors betting on the upside of a Midwestern city, and contributing to the betterment of a downtown that more high-profile buyers ha[d] passed by.'' But his investors' funds were ill-gotten, according to the complaint, proceeds from ``massive, systematic and fraudulent loan misappropriation and recycling schemes. (In the 2012 PD piece referenced above, Schochet was reportedly ``circumspect about discussing how [Optima Ventures] is structured or who the major investors are.'') The loan recycling schemes were functionally identical to a ponzi scheme, except instead of paying purported profits to early investors with funds from more recent investors, the Ukrainian oligarchs and their cronies within PrivatBank paid off early fraudulent corporate loans with money from new fraudulent corporate loans. ``On paper, this appeared to be a repayment,'' the complaint explains. ``But in reality, it was a sham and fraud, as PrivatBank was repaying itself and increasing its outstanding liabilities in the process. This process was carried out over and over again, over a period of many years.'' In December 2016, the Ukrainian state was forced to nationalize PrivatBank as a result of the oligarchs' conduct. The state injected more than $5.5 billion into the bank to prevent its collapse, and ``preserve the stability of the [Ukrainian] financial system.'' In 2018, the bank reverted to private ownership. The complaint alleges that Korf, Schochet and Laber were in on the racket, aware of the systematic corruption because they were under direct supervision from Kolomoisky and Bogolyubov (or their trusted lieutenant inside PrivatBank, Timur Novikov), and because they were enriched in the process. Korf, Schochet and Laber received ``substantial financial remuneration,'' according to the complaint, which they used to acquire millions of dollars worth of property in Florida. Using the laundered loan proceeds, Optima acquired the following Cleveland buildings: One Cleveland Center: 1375 E. 9th St. Acquired for $86.3 million in May, 2008. 55 Public Square. Acquired for $34 million in July, 2008. Huntington Building: 925 Euclid Ave. Acquired for $18.5 million in June, 2010. AECOM/Penton Media Building: 1300 E. 9th St. Acquired for $46.5 million in August, 2010. Crowne Plaza Building: 777 St. Clair Ave. Acquired in a joint venture with Denver-based Sage Hospitality Group. Here's an example of exactly how the properties were acquired, via the complaint: On April 29 and 30, 2008 . . . two Ukrainian [metal plants] owned or controlled by [Kolomoisky and Bogolyubov] drew down $2.7 million and $4.3 million in loan proceeds from PrivatBank Ukraine. The purpose of the loans was ``financing of current business activities of the entity.'' On April 30, 2008, Bocatoro Enterprises Ltd. (``Bocatoro Enterprises''), a Cypriot entity owned or controlled by [Kolomoisky and Bogolyubov] drew down $40 million in loan proceeds from PrivatBank Cyprus for ``replenishment of floating assets for payments according to contracts, including purchase of shares.'' However, the loan proceeds were not used for their stated purposes. Instead, the loan proceeds were combined with funds from other sources linked to [Kolomoisky and Bogolyubov] and laundered in forty-two transactions through fifteen Laundering Accounts, including the accounts of Defendant Kolomoisky's Divot Enterprises, Ralkon Commercial, and Pavanti Enterprises, as well as Defendant Bogolyubov's Bonique, and [K&B's] Blisont Capital and Brotstone accounts. On information and belief, [K&B] and their co-conspirators used Pavanti Enterprises to misappropriate and transfer a combined $36.1 million into the U.S. to the Multi-State Title Agency Ltd. to fund the acquisition of One Cleveland [Center] through Optima One Cleveland Center LLC for Optima Ventures. At its height, Optima Ventures controlled 2.8 million square feet of downtown Cleveland commercial real estate. This was a larger footprint than even Forest City Enterprises at the time. In recent years, Optima has been selling off its Cleveland properties, most of which have fallen into disrepair and suffer from high vacancy rates. The AECOM building, for example, which Optima acquired in $46.5 million in 2010, was sold to New-Jersey based Rugy Realty last summer for $38 million. When Optima bought AECOM (the former Penton Media Building), it was 90-percent occupied. But when Rugby purchased it last year, it had dropped to only 57-percent occupancy and was in need of significant renovations. ``We'll fully renovate the lobby so it fits the 21st century and doesn't look like the 1980s,'' Rugby principal Robert Ades said at the time of purchase. Rugby's plans also included updating the elevators, the mechanical components of which reportedly dated back to 1972. The Huntington Building (The 925 Building) was sold to Frank Sinito's Millennia Companies last year for $40 million. A full overhaul of the building was projected to cost $300 million. The property was characterized by the PD at the time of sale as a ``gaping hole in the heart of a revitalizing downtown.'' A situation of disrepair and vacancy can also be found at 55 Public Square, the only building other than One Cleveland Center that remains in Optima's local ownership portfolio. A sale was in the works with K&D development last year, but K&D pulled out, calling the project ``unworkable.'' Though Optima had purchased it for $34 million in 2008, it was appraised for only about $20 million last year. The Plain Dealer reported that the building was ``in dire need of a makeover'' and that ``only a smattering'' of businesses occupied the 2nd through 11th floors of the 22-story structure. The John Q Steakhouse space on the ground floor has been vacant for years. Optima retains a management stake in what is now the downtown Westin Hotel (formerly the Crowne Plaza) and owns One Cleveland Center, which it refinanced in 2010. Optima Management Group, the management company affiliated with Optima Ventures, also works out of One Cleveland Center. Scene spoke with a representative there by phone, who asked that questions for Chaim Schochet about the so-called ``Optima Schemes'' be submitted via email. Shochet provided the following via Optima Management Group late Tuesday afternoon: The allegations in this lawsuit--part of an orchestrated political attack by a Ukrainian bank against investors in our thriving businesses--are false, defamatory and utterly without merit. We intend not only to contest but to disprove these reckless allegations, and to demonstrate that they are part of a smear campaign driven by a Ukrainian political agenda that we have nothing to do with. We are immensely proud of our extensive track record building a vibrant real estate portfolio in Cleveland, and we will not let a frivolous lawsuit tarnish our hard-earned reputation or distract us from our mission to continue to serve the interests of the Cleveland community. Filed on behalf of the current PrivatBank shareholders, the Delaware complaint seeks damages which could include all of Optima's U.S. assets. Those include properties in Dallas and Louisville and metallurgical assets in addition to the Cleveland portfolio. Among the metallurgical assets that Optima Acquisitions acquired was a steelmaking plant in Warren, Ohio, called Warren Steel Holdings LLC. Warren Steel shuttered permanently in 2016 and laid off 162 workers due to ``unforeseeable business circumstances.'' Kolomoisky and Bogolyubov are now back in Ukraine after having fled from their residences in Switzerland to Israel in 2018. Both oligarchs reportedly have Ukrainian, Israeli and Cypriot citizenship. The Daily Beast reported in April that Kolomoisky is under FBI investigation and that the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Northern District of Ohio was involved in a wide-ranging probe. Kolomoisky's lawyer said that his client ``categorically denied'' laundering any money into the United States. Kolomoisky has reportedly returned to Ukraine, however, with the tacit protection of new president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, a comedian who played the Ukrainian President on the TV show Servant of the People (now streaming on Netflix). That show, immensely popular in Ukraine, aired on a network owned by Kolomoisky.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, it is with grave concern for our country, our longstanding Western security alliances, and liberty itself that I rise today. I have the distinct privilege of serving on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense and co-chair the Congressional Ukraine Caucus. As the Congresswoman from a district with a strong Ukrainian heritage and tens of thousands of citizens who understand what liberty demands, I hold a unique perspective and, dare say, deep knowledge to speak on the events of the past several days to provide some additional context on why the conversation between President Donald Trump and the newly elected President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, is so distressing to our national security. The American public has looked on in horror as America's President, President Trump, has willfully neglected his oath of office and sacred duty to defend the best interests of our Nation in favor of his own and, in effect, promote the interests of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. This week, we learned of yet another instance in which our President has put national security at risk in favor of advancing his own personal, partisan, political objectives. According to a highly redacted White House memo released this morning, new Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was quoted as saying he was ``ready to buy more U.S. antitank missiles to defend his nation against Russia's invasion.'' And President Trump, without skipping a beat, responded: ``I would like you to do us a favor, though.'' A favor to receive the funds that this Congress passed and appropriated? A favor to disburse the funds already slated for Ukraine until President Trump held them back to ask a favor? That is illegal. It is unconstitutional. And it is dead wrong. This exchange is not only a clear violation of the law; it is an unprecedented abuse of power that undermines our national security, violates our Constitution, and compromises the struggle for liberty on the continent of Europe that includes America's most trusted allies through instrumentalities like NATO. Article I of the Constitution clearly states that all legislative power shall be vested in the Congress of the United States and that Congress holds the awesome power of the purse. On July 18, President Trump purposefully directed his administration to withhold nearly $400 million in defense assistance for Ukraine from the State and Defense Departments' budgets. These funds were voted by Members of the House and Senate. And, frankly, at one point this year, we did not know that the President was holding the funds back. When we learned that he was, I joined my fellow Ukraine Caucus co-chair, Congressman Mike Quigley of Chicago, in issuing a statement demanding that the money we had voted for be released. Members of Congress wrote the President letters and sent them to the White House and were told by the administration that, well, you know, it was ``an interagency delay'' that caused the funds not to be released to a nation at war with Russia. Russia invaded Ukraine, not the reverse. And the scrimmage line for liberty on the continent of Europe now is at the Russian-Ukrainian border, and our President delayed the release of those funds. The President sought to make the release of national security funds passed and appropriated by this Congress contingent on asking a new foreign leader for a favor--a favor--prior to release of those funds. Congress must compel the release of the full conversation that occurred between President Trump and the new President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as the full whistleblower complaint as was originally submitted to the Office of Inspector General. We do not have the full release. I will say more about that in a moment. The document we were provided today was not a complete transcript of the conversation that our President had with President Zelensky. We only got about 11 minutes of a conversation that lasted upwards of 30 minutes. Congress must demand the full transcript and hold the executive branch officials in contempt if they refuse to give us the full documents. Like so many Americans, I am disgusted by President Trump's repeated betrayal of American interests in favor of Vladimir Putin's. This President's efforts to coerce Ukrainian President Zelensky, an allied leader, into helping him win reelection by urging congressionally supported military aid as leverage is not only a dramatic betrayal of the President's constitutional duty; it is also the latest example of Trump doing Putin's bidding. I am certain that our President's relationship with Vladimir Putin didn't start with his veiled support for Putin's election meddling or inviting the Russians to hack the Democratic National Committee or even lobbying, most recently, for Russia to be readmitted to the G7, our most trusted allies, when Russia has invaded Ukraine, for heaven's sake. Who benefits when Ukraine loses military assistance? It is an easy question. Russia, the country that is waging a bloody war in Ukraine for over 5 years. Who is to say Putin wasn't listening in when Trump blackmailed Zelensky? Madam Speaker, no Member of Congress has traveled to Ukraine as many times as I, beginning long before I was in Congress and long before the Berlin wall fell. I can say with confidence that Ukraine, today, is the scrimmage line for liberty's defense on the continent of Europe. And that is why President Trump's decision to withhold this money is so troubling. There is no more important strategic military alliance for liberty than America's membership with European nations in NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Every minute of every day, NATO stands united to defend against dictatorships and protect our liberties. Russia has always hated this organization and will do anything to disrupt the Western alliance, and she is hard and fast at work doing that as we stand here this evening. We know the battlefields of Europe directly influenced the founding of our own Republic and our fundamental ideals of democracy. NATO stands ready, as we stand here tonight, to defend our liberty. In return, we keep our word--our word--for our NATO allies, a promise that should never be contingent on a single President's political objectives back home. After the collapse of communist Russia in 1991, Ukraine became a free nation. Ukraine had been occupied for all of its modern history but began its jagged path forward to the free world, a path that has been torturous and fraught with danger and setbacks and, yes, bloody murder. To this day, there exists an insidious network of corrupt Ukrainian and Russian oligarchs whose tentacles reach far across Ukraine and the rest of the world, seeking to undermine the Western alliance while protecting the selfish, corrupt financial looting that continues to this day in that part of the world and, frankly, even reaching our shores. It will be a permanent blot on American history that certain Americans, including President Trump's campaign manager and several other Trump operatives, were actually involved in supporting these oligarchs and the undemocratic forces that are trying to undermine the Government of Ukraine every time they try to right themselves. And these oligarchs steal and plunder billions of dollars with their Kremlin allies. Despite these setbacks, since Ukraine's Euromaidan Revolution of Dignity 5 years ago, Ukrainian people have bravely demonstrated their resolute commitment to their nation's democratic future. The latest example is their historic Presidential and parliamentary elections, which international observers lauded as free and fair. Meanwhile, Russia's devastating invasion of Ukraine has resulted in more than 13,000 Ukrainian deaths, including civilians who have been targeted by Russian missiles, 30,000 injured, and more than 2 million displaced internally. It is sad that Ukraine must fight a war on two fronts: a hot war against Russia, for which she is completely underarmed, and one against the enemy from within, the scourge of corruption, both perpetuated by Russian influence. In fact, when Boris Nemtsov, a brave Russian, was prepared to lead a demonstration for Ukrainian independence, he was killed on the steps near the Kremlin--how about that?--in Moscow. That is how Russia plays. Ukraine's new President, Volodymyr Zelensky, and his party in the Rada won a significant majority because he promised, finally, to root out this corruption. While the ink is fresh on the Zelensky Presidency, we have high hopes for him and his ability to live up to the expectations of his people. It would be tragic if President Trump compromised him with his recent missteps. In order to make good on his promise to root out corruption, President Zelensky must make clear his independence from every oligarch. A prime example is his benefactor, the infamous Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky. Kolomoisky serves as an example of corrupt influence on Ukraine's fragile political system. With a net worth of over $1.2 billion--and I am sure that is a lowball number--Kolomoisky is one of the richest and most corrupt oligarchs in Ukraine. He also owns the television channel that ran the show ``Servant of the People'' that propelled Zelensky to stardom and popular acclaim. The question for history will be: Will Ukraine's new President be able to rise to the highest aspirations of those who voted for him? Or will he be mired in corruption at home and by entrapment by foreign leaders like President Trump? Kolomoisky, like other oligarchs, did not become rich due to their acumen. Rather, they used lies, intimidation, cheating, stealing, money laundering, and killing--yes, killing. These are their stock in trade. Kolomoisky used his company, PrivatBank, as a personal piggy bank by issuing endless loans to himself and, frankly, laundering billions of dollars--billions of dollars--including in this country, mainly in real estate. In one instance, Kolomoisky hired hundreds of thugs--think about this--with iron rods, rubber bullet pistols, chainsaws, and baseball bats to raid a plant in order to take it over. He didn't buy it. He stole it--surely, a macabre definition of a hostile takeover. Due to Kolomoisky's corruption and looting of the PrivatBank, the bank had lost $5.5 billion, putting Ukraine's economy at risk. That is why the head of Ukraine's National Bank, Valeria Gontareva, nationalized it. This was a critical step urged by the United States, the European Union, the International Monetary Fund, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Now, Ms. Gontareva's life is under threat. She was hit by a car in London, leaving her hospitalized. Her son's car was burned. Her house in Kiev was burned down, her apartment raided by police. Fear, crime, murder, and destruction are the paths of repressive regimes. Freedom-lovers simply do not accept that way of life for ourselves or for the future of Ukraine. For these reasons, I have invited Valeria to come to Capitol Hill to share her courageous story in the face of such brutal intimidation. Corrupt oligarchs, with their ill-gotten gains, launder money to the West, where they know our laws will keep their ill-gotten money safe. How ironic it is that the Kremlin mouthpieces mock our values of openness and our strong tradition of rule of law while Putin's cronies safely store and invest their dirty money here. I can tell you that, in our country, recent reports have noted that Kolomoisky and his business partner, Gennadiy Bogolyubov, have funneled vast funds through various Delaware-based shell companies into properties and businesses around our Nation, even in my district of Cleveland, Ohio, where Kolomoisky has become downtown Cleveland's largest commercial real estate owner. How about that? It is not just in my State. It is in Florida. It is across this country. This is what is going on with the kind of corruption that spreads across our world, and it is why we have to pay attention to what is happening in Ukraine because, next to Ukraine, behind the Iron Curtain of Russian leadership, they have a plan to disrupt the West, certainly using every tool they have to disrupt the NATO alliance, but even here in our country, trying to disrupt our way of life. The newly reconstituted PrivatBank, which was taken over by the nation of Ukraine, has brought forth a case on behalf of its shareholders in Delaware against Kolomoisky. According to court documents--and get this--Kolomoisky laundered $470 billion through a Cyprus-based shell company between 2006 and 2016, potentially the largest money laundering case in history. It is now reported that the FBI is currently investigating these international financial crimes. I fully support their investigation to get to the bottom of these corrupt dealings across the world but, certainly, in the region that I live. The United States and our allies must send a message that such malign behavior will not be tolerated. We cannot be complicit in empowering foreign money laundering and the enrichment of corrupt oligarchs. We cannot encourage the kind of complicity that the President inferred in his remarks to President Zelensky in his recent conversation. The United States and our allies can take steps to combat the illicit flows of money that empower the oligarch economy of money laundering, blackmail, murder, and extortion. Congress must enact beneficial ownership transparency legislation to prevent malign actors from easily opening shell companies here. We must continue to support investigative journalism, not just in Ukraine, but here in order to maintain our own liberty and remain the bastion of liberty for the free world. President Zelensky and the newly elected Rada must now make good on their campaign promises to serve the people of Ukraine, not the oligarchs. Ukraine's new President must fully support the work of anticorruption that has been promoted by even many Members of our own Congress, including Representative Brian Fitzpatrick from Pennsylvania, who has worked so hard to establish that effort even prior to his service here in the Congress. Critical organizations to perform the tasks include the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, the National Agency on Corruption Prevention, as well as the Anti-Corruption Court. The judicial system must be given true independence to root out corruption free from any kind of outside political influence. Madam Speaker, the Ukrainian people have our full support in their efforts to shake off the rapacious grip of corrupt oligarchs supported by Russia. Democracy shines in the sunlight, and we want that sunlight to shine here. Any conversation between our President and the new President of Ukraine that can reveal any attempt to threaten security of our longstanding allied relationships and continue to threaten liberty demands the undivided attention of this Congress. I reiterate my call for transparency, accountability, and strong, unencumbered congressional investigations. If President Trump and his administration fail to comply with legitimate congressional inquiries, then there is no other option than for this House to stand with our American allies and move forward with impeachment. We appreciate those who work late into the evening this night to make sure that these words get placed in the Record. Madam Speaker, I include in the Record the following material: Kaptur Press Release on Whistleblower Complaint, September 20, 2019 Washington.--Today, Co-Chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus Representatives Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), released the following statement after reports of a whistleblower complaint filed by a member of the Intelligence Community, which is being withheld from Congress in violation of federal law, is said to involve Ukraine: ``Today. press reports indicate that a U.S. intelligence officers whistleblower complaint regarding President Trump's possible breach of national security may involve the nation of Ukraine.'' said Rep. Kaptur. As co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Ukraine Caucus. I fully support the efforts by Chairman Adam Schiff and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence to seek a detailed accounting of the complaint and transcript of the incident(s), and call upon the Speaker and Minority Leader to take all courses of action for appropriate Congressional oversight to obtain the relevant documents and necessary testimony to establish confirmation of fact and circumstance.'' ``Following Ukraine's historic elections and continued democratic struggles, the Ukrainian people deserve our full support. We must know to what extent the President and his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani. are using the weight of U.S. foreign policy, including holding critical security assistance, to advance their own narrow personal interests.'' ``The American people deserve a government free of malign foreign influence. The American people deserve to know the full truth.''

Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, today, our nation celebrates the 60th Anniversary of the opening of the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation. On this anniversary, I am introducing legislation to add ``Great Lakes'' to the name of the Seaway. This new name, the ``Great Lakes'' Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation will now reflect the Seaway's enormous role for connecting commerce, promoting economic development, and protecting national security across the nation. In 1959, Great Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and U.S. President Eisenhower presided over festivities that marked the opening of the modern Great Lakes Saint Lawrence Seaway. Sixty years later, the role of the seaway is just as crucial. A 2018 analysis by the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation found that commercial navigation that transits the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario sustains 92,661 jobs in the US, Canada, and supports almost $13 billion in economic activity. It is imperative that the United States continues to support the mission of the Seaway and ensure that it receives the recognition it deserves.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, I rise today as co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus. Like so many Americans, I am alarmed by President Trump's repeated betrayal of American national security interests in favor of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. This President, President Trump, has put efforts forward to coerce Ukraine's new President Zelensky, an allied leader, into helping Trump win reelection by using congressionally supported military aid as leverage. That is not only a dramatic betrayal of the President's oath of office; it is also the latest example of Trump doing Putin's bidding. I am certain this President's relationship with Vladimir Putin didn't start with his veiled support for Putin's election meddling, inviting the Russians to hack the DNC, or even lobbying for inviting Russia to be readmitted to the G7, for heaven's sake. So, who benefits when Ukraine loses military assistance and Zelensky is humiliated? Russia: the country that has waged a bloody war in Ukraine for over 5 years, leaving over 13,000 dead, 30,000 injured, and over 1.5 million people displaced. Who is to say Putin wasn't listening in when Trump blackmailed Zelensky? Let's have the full truth. It is a great cleanser.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the accomplishments of Dr. Nina McClelland, a resident of Toledo and a champion of ensuring safe water starting with her work at the Toledo water treatment plant and being the first woman in Ohio to earn a Class A operator license for wastewater treatment over 50 years ago. On Thursday, September 19, 2019, The University of Toledo honors Dr. McClelland, former President and CEO of NSF (National Sanitation Foundation) International, Chair of the Board of Directors of the American Chemical Society and Dean Emeritus of The University of Toledo, by announcing the creation of the Dr. Nina McClelland Laboratory for Water Chemistry and Environmental Analysis. The laboratory is an important initiative for The University of Toledo's efforts to be a leader in solving existing and emerging environmental problems in the region and for the world. To continue Dr. McClelland's legacy and life-long passion for ensuring safe water, this state-of-the-art analytical laboratory will focus on the development of innovative scientific methodology to address concerns related to our water resources, especially issues important for public health. Together with other scientists on campus the laboratory will complement their activities and strive to create a hub for new scientific discoveries and research breakthroughs to address the most pressing environmental issues. Another mission of the laboratory is to provide outstanding training for our students with state-of-the-art instrumentation and facilities to ensure they learn in the best environment possible. The goal is to provide a new generation of researchers to be the new leaders and stewards for our environment. Dr. McClelland has been active in various governance roles in the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific organization, and has served The University of Toledo as Dean and Professor Emerita, College of Arts and Sciences, and Executive-In- Residence, College of Business and Innovation. Dr. McClelland has served as a Consultant and Principal with The Bartech Group, T.C. AirTech, LLC, and James Cavnar, Founder and President of Cross International of the International Clean Water Program. Serving on several major committees throughout her career, Dr. McClelland has been a member of U.S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; National Science Foundation; National Academy of Sciences/ National Research Council; Centers for Disease Control; State of Michigan, Governor's Council on Environmental Quality; and American National Standards Institute. The work that Dr. McClelland has done in her groundbreaking career is inspirational, and her dedication to public health is laudable. We congratulate her on all her accomplishments and wish nothing but the best for the researchers that will work in the newly created Dr. Nina McClelland Laboratory for Water Chemistry and Environmental Analysis at The University of Toledo. Onward to Dr. McClelland, and her legacy to the future.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairwoman Lowey for her great leadership. It is with, actually, great reluctance that I rise in support of today's short-term continuing resolution, and I urge my colleagues to do so as well. While this continuing resolution will keep the lights on for the government of the United States, surely, this isn't the most responsible course of action we could follow. This extension of current funding means Federal agencies are effectively forced to operate on autopilot. They can't begin any new programs or respond to shifting priorities. To force our Nation's government to once again operate on a continuing resolution has been railed against by our Republican friends as particularly problematic for the Pentagon. And they are right. But it is the lack of action from our Senate Republican colleagues who deep-sixed their fiscal responsibility and their leadership that brought us here today. I commend Chairwoman Lowey's real leadership, and Speaker Pelosi, and Majority Leader Hoyer for their prioritization and passage in the House of 10 of the 12 annual appropriation spending bills. But what has the Senate achieved? Very little. Despite Democratic warnings for months about the need for a bipartisan budget agreement, it took until July to settle on top-line numbers. Only this very month were our Senate colleagues willing to advance their first bills. Why you might ask? Because they are beholden to the White House. But this White House has consistently demonstrated its lack of regard for the Federal budget process itself, for Congress' constitutional power of the purse, and for the constitutional separation of powers when it comes to Federal funding decisions. So I suppose there is a bit of time to right this ship of state. But it will take real courage from congressional Republicans to separate themselves from the irresponsible campaign promises of the President. It will take serious commitment in the Senate to produce bills that can be conferenced with our House versions that are just waiting for conference.

Ms. KAPTUR. And by November 21, it will take bipartisan responsibility to support this body's highest priority to fund the entire Federal Government for the remaining fiscal year 2020. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this short-term resolution and demand our Republican colleagues get serious about reasonable expectations in a divided government. Let us compromise and let us govern as the people of the United States expect.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, I rise today in response to two crises facing America's young adults: the student debt crisis and the homeownership crisis. Since World War II, America's middle class experienced unprecedented growth in homeownership and wealth accumulation. Tragically, today, due to exploding levels of student debt, which, cumulatively, total over $1.5 trillion, the option of homeownership for far too many young, aspiring Americans remains out of reach. The homeownership rate for those under 35 is just 36 percent, 10 percentage points lower than 2006. These dismal numbers have exacerbated the racial wealth gap as well. During the financial crash of 2008, African Americans lost half of their accumulated wealth since the founding of the Republic. In 2017, African American homeownership fell to 43 percent, effectively negating any progress since the Fair Housing Act. That is why I have introduced H.R. 3511, the Transform Student Debt to Home Equity Act. My bill directs HUD and the Federal Housing Finance Agency to establish a pilot program to renegotiate creditworthy Federal student debt holders with eligible homes. I thank the Financial Services Committee for considering it this week, and I ask my colleagues to consider cosponsoring this important legislation.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, the original NAFTA has been one of the most destructive economic forces to jobs in America. There hasn't been a single year of trade balance since its passage. I fought NAFTA tooth and nail when it was considered back in the 1990s. And as the Representative for working class communities from Toledo to Cleveland, I have since joined every one of my constituents in bearing witness to the devastating effects of what some call ``free trade.'' On the campaign trail, President Trump repeatedly boasted he would scrap NAFTA and renegotiate a better deal. But his proposal lacks commonsense labor enforcement provisions, falls short of pressuring companies to reshore American jobs, and it provides massive carveouts for Big Pharma that will cause the price of prescription drugs to skyrocket even more. I have always been an advocate for fair trade among free people, but NAFTA crashed the largest economy in the world--the United States--into that of a developing nation--Mexico--without any plan to deal with the human and economic consequences. Madam Speaker, as currently written, the USMCA, NAFTA 2.0, continues this failed legacy of NAFTA 1.0, and remains a failure for the American worker. The USMCA is just NAFTA 2.0. It should be defeated.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the service and achievements of an esteemed and valued member of our Armed Forces, Vice Admiral C. Forrest Faison, III, United States Navy, on his retirement after 39 years of honorable and dedicated service to our country. His unwavering commitment to those entrusted in his care will remain his legacy long after his departure. For the past two years, I had the opportunity to work directly with Vice Admiral Faison in his position as the Navy Surgeon General. Throughout his tenure, he provided invaluable support to Congress, particularly its Members and committee staff as he presented the mission, vision, and execution of Navy Medicine for our country' s sailors, marines, and their families. As a fellow Northern Ohioan, I would like to share with you some highlights of his distinguished career. For 39 years, Vice Admiral Faison excelled in his leadership and the training of medical professionals in America's Navy at home, sea, and abroad. He served as the Deputy Surgeon General of the Navy and Deputy Chief, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, from 2013 to 2015, and as our 38th Surgeon General of the Navy. As Commander of Navy Medicine West and Naval Medical Center San Diego, he was responsible for medical care and support to over 850,000 eligible beneficiaries with a staff of 16,000 at 10 hospitals and over 30 clinics from the West Coast to the Indian Ocean. He served as Deputy Chief, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery for Current and Future Health- care Operations; Commanding Officer, Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton; Commanding Officer, U.S. Expeditionary Medical Facility; and U.S. Medical Task Force, Kuwait, where he led a tri-service task force of subordinate commands and was responsible for all healthcare operations in Kuwait, Qatar, and Southern Iraq, including all medical logistics support throughout U.S. Central Command. Additional assignments included Deputy Commander, Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, Portsmouth, Virginia; Group Surgeon, 3d Force Service Support Group, Fleet Marine Forces, Pacific; Director of Department of Defense Telemedicine, Washington, D.C.; Chief Information Officer, Navy Medicine; Director, Clinical Services, U.S. Naval Hospital Yokosuka, Japan; Naval Hospital Lemoore; USS Texas (CGN 39); and Amphibious Group 3. As Vice Admiral Faison closes this chapter of his life to embark on new adventures, I urge my colleagues to join me in extending our congratulations to him on his retirement. We wish him, his wife Michelle, and family, ``Fair Winds and Following Seas.''

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I thank you so very much, Chairman Yarmuth, for yielding time to speak and rise to support this 2-year budget caps and debt ceiling agreement that is before us and urge all of our colleagues to do the same. This agreement is not perfect. Frankly, it is a difficult vote, given the hard work that our Appropriations Committee has undertaken to diligently write, debate, mark up and pass 10 of our 12 fiscal year 2020 annual spending bills through this Chamber. The other two were written and reported out of committee. We will have to make hard choices as we work with the Senate to allocate these funds among the 12 subcommittee bills, but as an appropriator, I intimately understand Congress' top responsibility is to keep the ship of state running, ensuring an open, funded, and fully functional government of the United States. I also know from experience that the full faith and credit of our government can never be questioned. Every one of our constituents deserves this recognition from their elected Member, and this agreement moves Congress past the devastating threats imposed under the Budget Control Act of 2011. Thank goodness. It avoids deep, automatic cuts that would devastate government's ability to help the American people and meet our obligations to them, including the most vulnerable. This agreement rejects the devastating cuts the President's fiscal year 2020 budget proposed and maintains significant funding levels for domestic priorities and defense priorities alike. Most importantly, this agreement moves us a step closer to finalizing appropriate allocation of all our Federal dollars responsibly. Mr. Speaker, I commend our leadership efforts on both sides of the aisle to reach a final consensus and bring this bipartisan agreement to the floor. This agreement reflects give-and-take from all sides of Congress and the White House, and it is deserving of a strong bipartisan showing of support from this body. Let's govern.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure today that I rise in support of strong bipartisan passage of the Butch Lewis Act and this rule. I thank Congresswoman Torres for yielding me this time and Chairman Richard Neal of the Ways and Means Committee for moving this legislation expeditiously. The Butch Lewis Act will provide the economic security this body ripped out from under millions of hardworking Americans in past Congresses. Across our country, 1.3 million workers--truck drivers, candymakers, coal miners--and retirees face serious and significant threats of cuts to their hard-earned multiemployer pension plans through no fault of their own. Several of these plans are large enough to take down the entire Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, threatening the security of another 10 million hardworking Americans. I have heard the message time and again from retirees in our district and across this Nation: They worked for decades to earn these pensions, and they cannot sustain massive cuts. Now, they are too old or their health too unstable to return to the workforce. The stress and anxiety are sapping their will, and some have even taken their own lives. The Butch Lewis Act will ensure they receive their much-needed and long-overdue pensions, again, which they earned. The Butch Lewis Act keeps the promises made to retirees, guaranteeing their pensions into the future, and does so by allowing impacted pension plans to borrow the money needed to remain solvent over a 30- year period of time, with low-interest loans that they must pay back.

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Pensions have afforded millions of middle-class Americans the opportunity to enjoy their golden years with economic peace of mind. Let us restore this peace to 1.3 million Americans and retirees who earned these benefits with the swift and, finally, just passage of the Butch Lewis Act.

Mr. KAPTUR

Mr. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure today that I rise in support of strong, bipartisan passage of the Butch Lewis Act. The Butch Lewis Act will provide the economic security this body ripped out from under millions of hardworking Americans. Across our country, 1.3 million workers and retirees face serious and significant threat of cuts to their hard earned multiemployer pension plans, through no fault of their own. Several of these plans are large enough to take down the entire Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation, threatening the guaranteed security of 10 million Americans. I have heard the message time and again from retirees in my district and across this nation: they worked for decades to earn these pensions. Now they are too old, or their health too unstable, to return to the workforce. The stress and anxiety are sapping their will. Some have taken their own lives. The Butch Lewis Act will provide much needed and long-overdue relief. The Butch Lewis Act keeps the promises made to retirees. It guarantees pension benefits they have earned into the future. It does so by allowing troubled pension plans to borrow the money needed to remain solvent in 30-year, low interest loans. The plan will repay. Pensions-have afforded millions of middle-class Americans the opportunity to enjoy their golden years with economic peace of mind. Let us restore this peace with swift and just passage of the Butch Lewis Act.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, this week marks a heroic milestone for millions of America's retirees as the House finally considers the Butch Lewis Act. This bill moves America one step closer to restoring its broken pension promises to 1,300,000 pensioners across our Nation. Today I met with another 50 retirees from trucking firms, candy manufacturers, miners, and others in Ohio whose futures are at risk in their golden years. Their top concern is economic security. I heard the stresses they have endured since receiving letters threatening pension cuts of up to 70 percent of their earned pensions. Worry between family members, increased suicides amongst pensioner friends, anxiety and growing health concerns. This isn't the retirement hardworking Americans earned. Valorie Shapler, a retired Roadway Express truck driver, is suffering from brain cancer. She is fighting for her life daily, and why should she have to worry about the pension cuts that she earned? Vicki Bailey, a widow of a trucker, raised their family but already struggles to survive on her spousal benefits that were cut in half with her husband's passing, and she has her own health issues to worry about. Jim Baumgartner asked for a prayer. How can Congress ignore the pleas of millions of hardworking Americans? Pensions have afforded millions of retired middle-class people some economic security in their retirement years. Please let our colleagues join us in broad bipartisan passage of the Butch Lewis Act tomorrow.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, I rise with my fellow co-chairs of the bipartisan Congressional Ukraine Caucus to introduce the SAILORS ACT, or the ``Stopping Aggressive Incursions on Liberty by Ordering Russian Sanctions Act.'' This bill would direct the Administration to sanction 24 senior officers of the Russian Federal Security Service and its border patrol until it releases all 24 Ukrainian sailors and the three vessels it illegally seized in the Kerch Strait on November 25, 2018. On that day, an unprovoked Russia brazenly fired upon and took hostage 24 Ukrainians sailors in international waters. The sailors now languish in Russian prisons in Moscow under dire conditions. Tragically, this is just the latest in a series of dangerous and malicious steps Russia has taken to undermine Ukraine's democratic progress and the international rules-based order. Since illegally invading Crimea in 2014, Russia now seeks to tighten the noose around Ukrainian coastal waters including building a barrier in the Kerch Strait to starve Ukraine of vital naval commerce. To date, Russia's illegal war in Eastern Ukraine has led to the death of over 10,000 innocents and the displacement of millions. The international community must not stand idly by as Russia increases its aggression in Europe and its efforts to undermine democracies globally--including in the United States. The United States and the free world must continue to raise the costs of Russian aggression to protect those at the edge of liberty. This bill sends a message to the Ukrainian sailors and their families that the American people have not forgotten their immense sacrifice and heroic struggle to protect their nation's democratic future. We call on Russia to immediately release the Ukrainian sailors and safely return them back to Ukraine. I urge my colleagues to join in this important effort and call for the bill's swift passage.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, pensions have afforded millions of middle- class Americans the opportunity to enjoy their golden years with economic peace of mind. Congress did not ensure that security for all retirees when it passed the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act in December 2014, attaching it to unrelated, must-pass legislation. For the past 5 years, I have listened to the anxiety of thousands of retirees from Ohio and across our Nation, and I have fought for a better solution for them. Next week, this body will consider the Rehabilitation for Multiemployer Pensions Act, better known as the Butch Lewis Act. This bill is long overdue and a great step toward restoring economic security for over 1,300,000 pensioners in our country. Congress can provide relief for these 1.3 million workers and retirees in plans running out of money through no fault of the workers. Many of these hardworking individuals worked 30 years or more but now, every day, they live with economic uncertainty, some facing drastic cuts, as much as 70 percent, to their earned pensions. Many of these individuals are too old to return to the workforce. This is criminal. Madam Speaker, this Congress should improve our constituents' lives. It is with great anticipation that next week we offer a glimmer of hope for millions of pensioners caught far out on the ledge of economic disaster. The Butch Lewis Act is overdue and a reasonable solution to address this multiemployer pension crisis and end the economic terror that affects these retirees' lives.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, America's economic history is rooted in the exploitation of labor. It is a lesson worth remembering, but its history is not one of yesteryears alone. Our existing trade deals impose an economic model built on cheap labor, where profits matter more than people. This system undermines the rule of law with a global race to the bottom. Trade is not just about goods. It is about people. It is about communities. It is about workers. In the agriculture sector alone, one can argue that our continent has gone from slavery to serfdom. That is why, today, I am introducing the Independent Labor Secretariat for Fair Trade Deals Act. We need a trade model that respects workers and holds employers and workers accountable, with strong mechanisms for labor enforcement. My bill would establish an independent labor secretariat to monitor and enforce transnational labor issues, with a wages and standards working group with expert wage panels to study the impacts on wages, benefits, labor rights, working conditions, and inequality. The bill also requires that any trade agreement eligible for expedited consideration include enforceable labor standards and protections. Mr. Speaker, let us dignify the workers who sustain us.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, corporate America and Wall Street are awash in profits and cash, but American workers haven't had the benefit of a Federal minimum wage increase in over a decade, while the prices of everything have gone up--medicine, housing, food, cars. A recent study found there isn't a single congressional district in our Nation where a full-time minimum wage worker can afford a two-bedroom apartment. While many States and cities have raised their own minimum wage requirements, millions of Americans are stuck at $7.25 an hour. What does this really mean? A person working full time for minimum wage takes home an annual salary of just a bit over $15,000 a year. With inflation, these workers have effectively had their wages cut by an astonishing 17 percent. That is why I rise today in support of the Raise the Wage Act, a bill that will gradually raise the minimum wage to $15 by 2025, lift 27 million American workers out of poverty, give roughly 40 million Americans a raise--nearly a third of our workforce--and stimulate local economies as Americans have more money to spend.