Marcy Kaptur

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, importantly, pre-health students in the pilot will gain a deeper understanding of veterans' specific health needs and experiences, which is critical for health professionals who treat veterans, many of whom have complex conditions, as the chair and ranking member know. One of our top responsibilities as a Congress is to ensure that our veterans, those who have sacrificed so much for our country and for liberty's cause, receive high-quality healthcare from highly trained health professionals. This bill furthers that effort, and I am pleased it will get a vote this evening. I thank my colleagues: Mr. Takano, for his diligent work on this bill; Ranking Member Walz; and Chairman Roe, for bringing this bill to the floor so expeditiously. On behalf of our health professionals, our veterans, myself, and all the cosponsors, I can't thank you enough.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, like a bull in a china shop, President Trump bulldozed his way through the NATO summit, offending our allies, and then in Helsinki was shamefully servile to Russia's autocratic ruler, Vladimir Putin. Autocrat Putin boasts a long list of brutal and violent threats to liberty here at home and abroad. In early 2014, Russian forces illegally invaded Ukraine's Crimea and the Donbass region. Thousands have been killed and millions of Ukrainians displaced. On February 27, 2015, Russian freedom fighter, Boris Nemtsov, was gunned down outside the Kremlin's crimson walls. In the 2016 election, Russian intelligence services used social media and cyber attacks to target our democratic elections and those of several of our allies. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 58 Russian journalists have been brutally murdered since 1992. Mr. Speaker, Russia is ``Murder Incorporated'' under Putin's abhorrent rule. I include in the Record a long list of some of Russia's brutal, murderous actions. Brutal and Undemocratic Actions of Dictator Vladimir Putin's Russia 2000--Putin was supposed to face a second-round runoff in the 2000 presidential election, had it not been for widespread fraud. Biased coverage by large media outlets controlled by the Russian state and Kremlin supporters can be accredited for this. (Freedom House) 2003--Mikhail Khodorkovsky is arrested by Russian authorities and charged with fraud. The trial was criticized for lack of due process. Charges against him were grounded in reasonable suspicion. 2003--Russia ranked 86 out of 133 countries in Transparency International's 2003 Corruption Perceptions Index. 2003--Russia saw a significant deterioration of fundamental rights and the emergence of an increasingly aggressive foreign policy, reflecting the consolidation of power by former security and military officers. Russia's constitutional court struck down key provisions of the law that banned journalists from making positive or negative observations about candidates or parties. 2006 October 7--Anna Politkovskaya, a journalist who exposed the corruption of the Russian army and its conduct in Chechnya, was shot and killed in the lobby of her apartment. 2006--Alexander Litvinenko is poisoned. Litvinenko was a former officer of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) and KGB, who fled from court prosecution in Russia and received political asylum in the United Kingdom. 2008--Russia wages a war against Georgia. Today, thousands of Russian troops occupy Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region, which constitutes about 20% of Georgia's internationally recognized territory. Russia has never fulfilled its obligations under the Six-Point Cease-Fire Agreement (also known as the Sarkozy Plan) that ended the fighting. 2010: Polish Air Force Tu-154 Crash over Smolensk, Russia. Antoni Macierewicz (Poland's defense minister) claims the fatal crash which killed Poland's President Lech Kaczynski, the First Lady and 94 others in 2010 in Russia was preceded by two explosions on board. A previous Polish government concluded that pilot error was to blame for the crash, but Law and Justice ordered a new investigation which concluded this year that the plane was brought down by explosions on board. No international analysis was allowed by Russia. 2013--Putin signs law banning gay publications. ``It officially declares that gays and lesbians are inferior beings,'' says Elena Klimova, a gay rights activist in Russia who was convicted under the law in 2014. 2014--Putin illegally invades Ukraine. More than 10,000 have been killed, and millions of Ukrainians have been displaced. 2014--Russia occupies Crimean Peninsula and nearly ten thousand Crimean Tatars are displaced from their homes. Russia under the Putin regime has violated UN human rights, and infringements of the Geneva Convention. 2014--Russian forces shoot down Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over occupied Ukrainian territory, killing 298 innocent passengers. Russia attempts to use disinformation and propaganda to cover up obfuscate the truth of its brutality. 2014--Human rights abuses in Russia are more prevalent than ever. The LGBTQ+ community is targeted. Independent media report that 31 civilians were killed in the first nine months of 2014. Abduction-style detentions, torture, and enforced disappearances persisted in the North Caucasus, as did attacks against government critics, the report says, adding that the situation is particularly bad in Dagestan. 2014--Oleg Sentsov, Ukrainian filmmaker, is arrested under charges of running ``terrorist organizations'' in Crimea. 2015--Natalya Sharina, the director of the Ukrainian Literature Library in Moscow, was put under house arrest in 2015 under the charges of inciting ethnic hatred and spreading ``anti-Russian propaganda.'' 2015--Journalist Boris Nemstov is shot and killed. Nemstov was planning on leading a rally to protest the war in Ukraine days before his killing. 2016--Russian authorities arrested Roman Sushchenko, a Ukrainian journalist with the state news service, Ukrinform, on dubious espionage charges. 2016--Russia attacks U.S. election. Wisconsin, Ohio, California and 10 other states said they were among 21 states that Russian government hackers targeted in an effort to sway the 2016 presidential election in favor of Donald Trump though no votes were changed. Federal and congressional intelligence groups that have stated that Russia interfered in the election: CIA, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, FBI, NSA, Justice Department, House Intelligence Committee, Senate Intelligence Committee. 2017: In December, the Central Election Commission banned opposition leader Aleksey Navalny from challenging Putin in the 2018 presidential election, removing from the contest the only credible opposition to have announced a campaign. 2017--Russian authorities banned the activities of the Jehovah's Witnesses, which was deemed an extremist group. 2017: Investigative journalist and Novy Peterburg cofounder Nikolay Andrushchenko died in April, weeks after he was severely beaten, and Dmitriy Popkov, editor of the investigative online outlet Ton-M, was shot to death in May. 2017--Workers on stadiums built for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and 2018 World Cup reported exploitation, including non-provision of contracts, non-payment of wages, and retaliation for reporting abuses. The Building and Woodworkers International trade union reported at least 17 deaths on stadiums since construction began. 2017--By February 2017, the number of people imprisoned for extremist speech spiked to 94, from 54 in 2015. 2017--In the first six months of 2017 alone, the number of people administratively punished by Russian authorities for supposedly violating the country's regulations on public gatherings was two-and-a-half times higher than throughout 2016. 2017--Denis Voronenkov, a onetime Communist member of Russia's lower house of parliament, dies after being shot outside a hotel in Kyiv. President Poroshenko calls the shooting a ``Russian state terrorist act.'' Voronenkov, who fled to Ukraine in 2016, is the latest in a string of Putin and Russia's critics who were killed or injured under mysterious circumstances. 2017--Russia interferes in the French election between opponents Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen. The Macron presidential campaign accused the Kremlin of election meddling, saying that servers belonging to the team were hacked by a group likely to be associated with Russia. 2018--Father and daughter Sergei and Yulia Skripal are poisoned. British foreign secretary Boris Johnson said on 16 March that it was ``overwhelmingly likely'' that the poisoning had been ordered directly by Russian president Putin, which marked the first time the British government accused Vladimir Putin of personally ordering the poisoning. 2018: Donald Trump accepts Putin's lies on Russian interference in U.S. elections over statement from U.S. Intelligence Community: ``My people came to me, Dan Coats came to me and some others, they think it's Russia. I have President Putin, he just said it's not Russia. I will say this; I don't see any reason why it would be. I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today.'' --Trump, Helsinki Conference 2018

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I urge our President to see Putin for what he is: an enemy of liberty, not a competitor.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, control of energy equals national security. I rise to warn how Russia through hybrid warfare seeks to destabilize and divide our closest European Allies through control of their energy supply. As Americans well know, whoever controls the energy spigot, controls the function of a nation. Russia uses its growing dominance of energy in Europe as its primary pressure point to destabilize the West and our alliances. That is why I was floored that President Trump inserted himself so haphazardly into Europe's energy debate. Nord Stream II poses new, troubling dependency threats by Russia on Europe's energy security. It boosts undemocratic Russia's claw hold on the European continent. Russia is weaponizing energy in countries across Europe, including Germany and Ukraine, creating a dangerous new dependency by recipient nations. The fight for Ukraine's liberty depends on its energy independence in the future. The free world must help Europe and Ukraine to reduce their economic reliance on Russian gas. Risking alienation of nations that share freedom's values is counterproductive. It aids and abets our enemies. I include in the Record President Trump's and Putin's comments. Excerpt of President Trump's and President Putin's Press Conference Following Their Summit in Helsinki, July 2018 Responses to a question about energy in Europe and the Nordstream II pipeline project Trump: Well, actually I called him a competitor. And a good competitor he is. And I think the word ``competitor'' is a compliment. I think that we will be completing when you talk about the pipeline. I'm not sure, necessarily, that it's in the best interests of Germany or not, but that was a decision that they made. We'll be competing--as you know, the United States is now--or soon will be, but I think it actually is right now the largest in the oil and gas world. So we're going to be selling LNG, and we'll have to be competing with the pipeline and I think we'll compete successfully, although there is a little advantage locationally. So I just wish them luck. I mean, I did. I discussed with Angela Merkel in pretty strong tones. But I also know where they're all coming from and they have a very close source. So we'll see how that all works out. Putin: We are aware of the stance of President Trump, and I think that we, as a major oil and gas power, and the United States as a major oil and gas power as well, we could work together on regulation of international markets, because neither of us is actually interested in the plummeting of the prices. And the consumers will suffer as well, and the consumers in the United States will suffer as well. And the shale gas production will suffer. Because beyond a sudden price breakup (ph), it's no longer profitable to--to produce gas. But nor we are interested in driving prices up, because it will drain just as--just as from all other sectors of the economy, from (inaudible) building (ph), et cetera. So we do have space for cooperation here. That's the first thing. Then about the Nord Stream 2, Mr. President voiced his concerns about the possibility of disappearance of transit through Ukraine. And I reassured Mr. President that Russia stands ready to maintain this transit. Moreover, we stand ready to extend this transit contract that's about to expire next year in case--if the dispute between the economic entitles--dispute will be settled in the Stockholm arbitration court.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, control of energy equals national security. I rise to warn how Russia, through hybrid warfare, seeks to destabilize and divide our closest European allies through control of their energy supply. As Americans well know, whoever controls the energy spigot controls the function of a nation. Russia uses its growing dominance of energy in Europe as its primary pressure point to destabilize the West and our allies. That is why I was floored that President Trump inserted himself so haphazardly into Europe's energy debate. Nord Stream II poses new, troubling dependency threats by Russia on Europe's energy security and boosts undemocratic Russia's claw hold on the European continent. Russia is weaponizing energy in countries across Europe, including Germany and Ukraine, creating a dangerous new dependency by those recipient nations. The fight for Ukraine's liberty depends on its energy independence in the future, and the free world must help Europe and Ukraine reduce their economic reliance on Russian gas. Risking alienation of nations that share freedom's values is counterproductive and aids and abets our enemies. Mr. Speaker, I will include in the Record President Trump's and President Putin's comments on this topic.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chair, I claim time in opposition to the amendment.

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chair, sadly, the provisions contained in this amendment would block the Postal Service from running a pilot program designed to improve operations and save taxpayers money, like allowing travelers to submit passport applications at post offices across the country. It would severely limit the potential of one of our most essential, constitutionally mandated government agencies, and hurt our communities and our citizens in the process. I represent not only countless letter carriers, but thousands of Ohioans who rely on the Postal Service for timely delivery of their Social Security checks, electric bills, and birthday cards from loved ones. Expanding the services provided at our Nation's post offices would achieve two ends: supporting a great Federal job provider, and helping our communities and citizens at the same time. At a time when banks and other institutions are abandoning inner cities and rural communities, in my district alone, post offices present a perfect medium to collocate, including with traditional banks or credit unions. For example, in my home State, 18.6 percent of Cleveland households have no checking or savings account, and 24.1 percent of households are under-banked, forced to use costly payday and auto title firms or currency exchange stores to cash paychecks or make consumer loans. More than 35 percent of Cleveland's 389,000 residents live below the Federal poverty line. Many post offices are located in bank deserts. Fifty-nine percent of post offices are in ZIP Codes with either zero banks or only one bank branch. By giving the Postal Service the opportunity to serve our communities in a more expansive capacity, we could also put the Postal Service back on the right track financially, bring back hundreds of American jobs, and, in so doing, restore faith in one of our most fundamental government services. The Postal Service is already providing an impressive, expansive, and affordable service to all the American people--and by the American people, by the way. I am fighting in Congress to support the hardworking employees of the Postal Service and our citizens, especially in underserved communities across not just my district, but our country. It is really horrendous to go into communities that have no financial services, where people are being ripped off every day. Mr. Chair, I hope my colleagues will join me in this effort and oppose this misguided amendment. Mr. Chair, I yield my remaining time to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Connolly), a very able and intelligent Congressman.

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chair, as the designee of Ranking Member Lowey, I move to strike the last word.

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chair, I would just like to respond to the gentleman. The offer of this amendment should never be on an appropriation bill. This is one of these extraneous riders that belongs in other bills, and it is very damaging to the future of communities across this country, thousands of which lack banking services and financial services of any kind. What we are talking about here is something simple. It is something very simple: a pilot program. We are not saying this is going to happen all over the United States. This gentleman wants to deny the ability of communities to have any kind of normal financial service where they have been redlined by the very letters that the gentleman just asked to be placed in the Record. Those very institutions abandoned the communities that we are seeking to serve. I am really disappointed that the gentleman would want people to be subjected to usurious interest rates or to a lack of any kind of financial service, even paying your electric bill, for heaven's sake. So, for two reasons, I ask my colleagues to vote against the gentleman's amendment: number one, it doesn't belong in this bill; and number two, it does a great disservice to the people of this country. They have a right to better service. The Postal Service is coast to coast. It is audited, it is properly staffed, and it is universal. Whether you are poor or whether you are rich in this country, you have a right. You have a right to be treated fairly by the institutions that this Nation manages. Mr. Chair, I want to congratulate those who work for our great Postal Service. I ask that the gentleman's amendment be defeated, and let us support what is in the Constitution of the United States, which is respect for the Postal Service, coast to coast to every citizen. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chairman.

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chairman, you know, if they would operate these microphones for the Democrats as well as they operate them for the Republicans, maybe we could be heard on this floor, and especially for the women Democrats, I might add.

Ms. KAPTUR. Thank you.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, last week in Columbus, Ohio, thousands of American retirees gathered to demand Congress act. Pension plans for more than 1 million retirees and union workers are in danger of collapse if something is not done soon. More than 60,000 Ohio workers alone could be impacted, and millions across our Nation face cuts in their earned retirement benefits. Retirees traveled from as far as Utah to Columbus as the Select Committee on Solvency of Multiemployer Pension Plans held a field hearing to hear from retirees and employers. Their jobs ranged from coal miners to truck drivers to candymakers. As Perry Rapier from Pennsylvania said at the rally: ``We've worked and sweat and toiled into this position, and we've earned that pension; and now to know that somebody that's sitting behind a desk is willing to take that from us, we're going to stand up and fight for that.'' Retirement security is an American value. Workers' pensions must be protected. Congress must find a solution to their earned pensions and give security to the retirement years of millions of hardworking Americans. Mr. Speaker, I urge this Congress to act before this Congress ends.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Chairwoman, I thank Ranking Member Lowey for yielding me this time. Unfortunately, I must rise in strong opposition to this bill and its litany of hollow choices and some dangerous choices. First, on election security, a day after President Trump told the whole world he believes Russian President Putin over our intelligence community, while claiming Russia didn't hack our 2016 election, this Republican bill provides zero election security grants to help our States prepare against likely cyber interference. Congress, as the first branch of government, must live up to our constitutional obligation. Just months away from our 2018 elections, President Trump essentially green-lit Putin's ongoing attacks. Does this body wish to be complicit as we head toward 2018 and 2020? This bill surely suggests so. Further, this bill attacks clean water access by repealing the waters of the United States rule without any public input regarding a replacement. It puts America's waters and the health and well-being of the American people at even greater risk, and it is a disservice to our constituents. I strongly oppose the rider that would block the Environmental Protection Agency from addressing waste from animal feeding operations under the Solid Waste Disposal Act. In my watershed, which drains the tristate, binational region of North America into the western end of Lake Erie, the equivalent of 42,500 boxcar loads of animal manure are locally generated every year. That is trainloads of feces over 400 miles long every year seeping into the tributaries to the lake system every year. Additionally, the majority is far too eager to authorize massive corporate giveaways in this appropriations bill.

Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Chairwoman, their so-called CHOICE Act guts essential safeguards that require banks to plan and prevent the kind of financial catastrophe we saw in 2008. The only people who haven't been brought to justice are the scoundrels on Wall Street who created the mess. I hope our colleagues will join me in opposing this bill. And let me thank Chairmen Frelinghuysen, Graves, and Calvert, as well as Ranking Members Lowey, McCollum, and Quigley for their efforts on this bill. I know how hard it is to bring an appropriations bill to the floor, and I am sorry I cannot support this one.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise to condemn President Trump's unpatriotic performance and feckless groveling to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin at today's summit in Helsinki. President Trump, no, no, no. Putin's Russia is not a competitor of the United States. His Russia is a fierce enemy of liberty in the United States and globally. Putin seeks every chance to undermine democratic institutions. He illegally invaded Ukraine and gunned down and poisoned freedom fighters like Boris Nemtsov. Our European allies are not our foes, Mr. President. They are our trusted friends. How can President Trump ignore the piercing sacrifice of bloodshed for liberty by thousands, hundreds of thousands of our countrymen and millions of our allies? As one of America's rich sons, he chose to dodge the draft when his number came up, and I haven't been able to find any veteran from his family. So I remind my colleagues of Patrick Henry's admonition: Give me liberty or give me death. With our Constitution as our anchor, this legislative branch, Article I, must rise to meet its constitutional obligations to preserve liberty at all costs, placing country over party.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, President Trump, along with his Republican choir here in Congress, is sabotaging your healthcare. First, his administration put hurdles to enrollment by slashing outreach for insurance signup efforts, and then he just announced he was slashing navigator funding. Now the administration cut off key payments to insurers that helped stabilize insurance markets. This Republican Congress repealed the requirement that everyone have insurance, which puts further strains on costs in the healthcare system. Meanwhile, Republicans in States across our Union are urging Federal courts to rule health protections for 130 million people with preexisting conditions unconstitutional. Ohioans are staring down an 8 percent increase in premiums for 2019, and what is the Trump administration doing? Sabotaging people's healthcare. His Supreme Court nominee has now questioned the constitutionality of key elements of coverage in the Affordable Care Act. There are bipartisan solutions to help Americans facing the daunting task of paying rising healthcare costs. This Congress must choose people over the profits of big pharmaceutical insurance companies. Human lives hang in the balance.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, this week, America's closest allies have come together to discuss issues critical to our common security at the 2018 NATO Summit. In these challenging times, with serious global threats, we must affirm our commitment to NATO. Liberty's defense requires strong bonds with proven allies. Sadly and needlessly, our President's wishy-washy statements regarding the transatlantic alliance have already led to uncertainty and discomfort among our allies. How counterproductive. Instead of strengthening bridges among freedom-loving nations, our President has derided our closest allies. He has cozied up to Vladimir Putin and North Korea's dictator, even inviting Russia back into the G7 Group. Putin's murderous regime is waging an illegal war in Ukraine, killing over 10,000 Ukrainians already, displacing millions, and actively seeks to undermine our democratic institutions and alliances. This President's dangerous behavior is weakening U.S. leadership and global security. NATO has brought peace and security to liberty-loving nations. We must be clearly resolute in our defense of liberty, and to that end, NATO.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleague and fellow co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Ukraine Caucus, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, to honor the dignified and illustrious life of Ukrainian democratic leader, Ivan Drach. A poet, author, politician, and lover of liberty for Ukraine, Ivan was a true leader who brought forward the edge of freedom for his nation. On June 19, Ivan passed away in Kyiv at the age of 81. He first gained prominence with his poem, ``Knife in the Sun,'' and then later in 1988 helped found and led the ``Popular Movement for Ukraine,'' popularly known as Rukh. After his election to the Ukrainian Parliament, the Verkhovna Rada in 1990, he worked tirelessly to shine a light on wicked crimes of Russian- imposed communism, as well as to find commonality between all of Ukraine's ethnicities. It is during these times that we look to his example of humble, yet powerful leadership. May we remember his sacrifice, and find inspiration in his unflagging commitment to a free and open Ukraine, and his pursuit for liberty. Ivan Drach--Giant of Ukraine's Independence Ivan Drach, a giant in Ukraine's movement to independence, died June 19 in a Kyiv hospital at the age of 81. Drach, a long-time member of the Writer's Union of Ukraine, was a respected and award-winning poet and screenwriter. With his poem ``Knife in the Sun,'' he first came into national prominence during ``The Thaw''--a brief period of political and cultural liberalization under then Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. Twenty years later, Drach again came to national and international prominence as a political activist during the Soviet Union's Perestroika period in the late 1980s and then during the early years of Ukraine's independence. The numbers of young men from Ukraine lost in the Soviet Union's war in Afghanistan and the handling of the Chornobyl explosion led to Ukraine's civil society becoming restless with directives from what was euphemistically known as ``the center'' (Moscow) and were increasingly distrustful of leaders in the Kremlin. In what began in late 1988 as an initiative of the Writer's Union of Ukraine, a year later had become a national movement. In September 1989, at the founding congress of the ``Popular Movement of Ukraine'' (Narodniy Rukh Ukrainy), a grassroots opposition movement known worldwide simply as ``Rukh,'' Drach was elected chairman and an Mykhailo Horyn, a political dissident who had survived the Soviet Gulag, was elected head of Rukh's secretariat. The pair combined focused vision with determined leadership and guided the organization, and civil society, through a tumultuous period in history. As Rukh's membership grew throughout Ukraine other prominent dissidents, as well as representatives of major ethnic and religious groups in Ukraine assumed leadership roles. However, Drach, although often understated in his actions, was the recognized leader. With the sensibility of a writer, Drach was eloquent in his expression of Rukh's goals and ideals, particularly emphasizing the inclusivity of Rukh. He always spoke in terms of ``people of Ukraine,'' and not ``the Ukrainian people.'' A recognized tool in the USSR's system of authoritarian governance was routinely to create friction between nationalities in order to weaken opposition. In contrast, Drach and Rukh recognized and spoke to the common interests of all citizens of Ukraine--Ukrainians, Russians, Poles, Jews, Tatars, and others. At the founding congress of Rukh, reflecting upon the principles of Rukh, Drach underscored the importance of multi-ethnic respect within Ukraine stating, ``Jews should live better and feel more comfortable in Ukraine than in Moscow, Leningrad, New York, Tel-Aviv, and Jerusalem.'' While at the helm of Rukh, he actively supported the decision by Rukh's Council of Nationalities to help fund the gathering of the Crimean Tatar Mejlis, the first to be held in Crimea since the group's mass deportation by Stalin in 1944. In March 4, 1990, in the first politically contested elections in Soviet Ukraine, 111 candidates, including Drach and others from the Democratic Bloc, a political coalition that included the Helsinki Watch Group, and the Green Party, as well as Rukh, were elected to the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament), breaking the Communist Party's monopoly on political power. The day after the election, March 5, Drach and other leaders of Rukh, a number of whom, like Drach, were members of the Communist Party, drafted and signed a statement calling for Ukrainian independence, denouncing the Communist Party and calling on the Communist Party to take responsibility for the 1932-33 genocidal famine (the Holodomor), deportations, repressions, the policy of Russification, economic decline and ecological disasters. In early August, 1991, Drach received international attention at the time President George H.W. Bush came to Kyiv to deliver a speech to the Verkhovna Rada in which he cautioned Ukraine against ``suicidal nationalism.'' (Later named the ``Chicken Kiev'' speech by the late New York Times columnist Bill Satire). Before President Bush arrived in Ukraine from Moscow, at a Rukh rally in central Kyiv, Drach surprised the crowd and the media by anticipating Bush's message and repudiating it in advance. ``I am afraid that Bush has come here as a messenger for the center . . . We are not a sample of Soviet culture . . . . Our culture is the culture of Ukraine, the culture of Ukrainians, Russians who live in Ukraine, Jews, Poles. Ukraine will become independent despite the center. Like the United States that cast off the British Empire, Ukraine will cast off Moscow's Soviet Empire.'' One of Drach's most important contributions was his role during the week between August 19, 1991, and August 24, 1991. In response to a coup in Moscow during the early morning hours of August 19, under the direction of Drach, Rukh immediately issued a statement condemning the leaders of the coup and the effort to return the USSR to hardline Communism, away from glasnost and perestroika. Rukh feared a reverse in the course of freedom that had been advanced. Rukh called for a special session of the Verkhovna Rada to be held immediately in order that a strategy be developed to distance Ukraine from the coup in Moscow. Behind the scenes, the leaders of Rukh pressured the members of the Communist majority in parliament to agree to a vote for Ukraine's independence on August 24, the date of the special session. Then, by an almost unanimous vote, parliamentarians passed Ukraine's Declaration of Independence conditioning the declaration upon the vote of the people of Ukraine in a national referendum that was held on December 1, 1991. Ukraine was the only republic of the Soviet Union to condition its independence on a vote of the people. Drach continued to lead Rukh until the autumn of 1992, and continued to serve in the Verkhovna Rada through several more election cycles. Born on October 17, 1936, in Enlightens, Kyiv Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, Ivan Fedorovych Drach is survived by his wife Mariya and daughter Maryana, who is the Director of the Ukrainian Service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Prague. His son Maksym, who had worked as a member of a medical team during the aftermath of Chornobyl, and later suffered health consequences as a result, passed away in 2009 at the age of 44. Although offered a prominent state burial, Drach declined and was buried in his native village, next to his parents and his son. --Robert A. McConnell, Co-Founder of the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to reintroduce my bill, the Fairness in Political Advertising Act. It's time to level the playing field for viable candidates to compete against campaigns bankrolled by special interests. My bill would provide this access. It would require television stations to make available 2 hours of free advertising broadcast time during each even-numbered year, to each qualified political candidate in a statewide or national election. The direction we are headed, only millionaires or corporate interests will have a seat at the representative table. This is unacceptable in our democracy. Of the money raised in political campaigns, the largest expense for campaigns is advertising. Even today in this internet world, most dollars are still spent on television ads. In the 2014 midterms, $2.8 billion was spent on political television ads. In 2018, Cook Political Report estimates $2.4 billion will be spent on local broadcast and another $850 million for local cable. The math is clear: to be a viable candidate in America today, you need an incredible amount of capital. Our Fathers would be ashamed of this truth. We must return to an era of access for all. Mr. Speaker, I urge you to bring the Fairness in Political Advertising Act to the floor for a vote today and work to level the playing field for all candidates who want to participate in our democracy. Access should not require a campaign bankrolled by special interests. I urge all my colleagues to support this legislation.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Repelling Encroachment by Foreigners into U.S. Elections (REFUSE) Act. As the costs of campaigns rise exponentially, the question remains: how much inappropriate foreign influence has risen as well? Being a viable candidate in an American election requires an unprecedented amount of capital. Following Citizens United, which threw open the floodgates for billionaires and special interests to spend unlimited secret money on our elections, it's impossible to know exactly how much of that money comes from foreign nationals. This bill will stop the free flow of foreign money into our elections through dark channels and increase transparency around foreign election influence. It achieves this through two major reforms. First, the bill will prohibit election spending by foreign-influenced corporations and 501(c)(4) nonprofit organizations at two thresholds of foreign ownership interest/funding: 20 percent for foreign nationals and a more strict 5 percent if those foreign parties are directly connected to foreign governments. Second, the bill will modernize and tighten reporting requirements of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and expand the Department of Justice's FARA enforcement authority. Look no further than the pervasive impact of Russian-sponsored political ads on Facebook to see why we need to maximize transparency. We must close the loopholes within our broken campaign finance system. Until we repeal Citizens United, we need common-sense restraints to ensure foreign interests do not influence American democracy, especially from the shadows. Mr. Speaker, the REFUSE Act is a sharp tool crafted to combat the influence of money in politics and shine a spotlight in the deepest recesses of our election system. The American people consistently report campaign finance reform as one of their top concerns for Congressional action. It is time for this body to act seriously to illuminate the full reach of foreign and corporate special interests. This is the first step to restore the integrity of our democracy.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise to introduce a constitutional amendment to reverse the impact of the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. FEC. No other recent decision has more sweepingly impacted our elections than this decision which allowed corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money to support candidates and PACs. Citizens United inflated the influence of corporations, megadonors, and special interests in American elections and in effect drowned out American votes. Citizens United unleashed corporate campaign spending. But it also created a gaping hole in the barrier that once blocked foreign money in U.S. elections. Before 2010, all federal campaign spending was traceable back to an individual's contribution to a candidate or a PAC. But because of the combination of Citizens United and FEC v. Wisconsin Right to Life, ``social welfare'' nonprofits (501(c)(4) can now make political expenditures just like other super PACs. These 501(c)(4)s are even more attractive money funnels than traditional super PACs. They don't have to publicly disclose their donors. Almost all major corporations have some foreign ownership. The black hole of corporations' unlimited contributions to PACs and 501(c)(4)s should trouble all freedom lovers. This amendment nullifies the misguided decision in Citizens United and chips away at the influence of special interests in our elections. It restores the power of the American people to choose representatives who reflect their priorities. Mr. Speaker, I urge you to bring this bill to the floor for swift consideration.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise to call attention to the outright assault on working people in America by the Trump administration. When candidate Trump ran and carried States like Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin, he promised to renegotiate NAFTA to secure U.S. jobs and stop outsourcing. He said he would fight to raise people's paychecks. Well, wages aren't keeping up with the cost of living as workers backslide on hourly wages, while healthcare and prescription drug costs rise and retirement benefits are being cut. This week, Harley Davidson just announced it will outsource hundreds of jobs because of the Trump trade war. Meanwhile, the NAFTA trade deficit remains far too high under the Trump administration. That means more lost U.S. jobs and a diminished middle class. Now, why has President Trump delayed NAFTA renegotiations so critical to creating a level playing field both in our country and across our continent? Instead of renegotiating NAFTA to heal these gaping deficits and to prevent pitting one group of workers against another on this continent, he is targeting the lowest wage workers in the Americas and tearing them apart from their children, their families, and their communities. Most are agricultural workers who work in grueling jobs, for which U.S. citizens rarely apply. Let me bring you to Ohio. Just in the past 3 weeks, Ohio communities have faced six massive worker raids at two Corso Lawn and Garden centers and at four Fresh Mark animal slaughter facilities. America has a choice: We can either grow and process our food and floriculture inside this country; or, if we fail to tend it, we will outsource more and more of our production and be forced to import more food and cede more jobs that relate to agriculture. These worker raids create a climate of fear where workers are too afraid to stand up for their rights, to report wage theft, or to redress dangerous work conditions facing them. Working in a meat slaughterhouse is among the most dangerous jobs in the United States of America. NAFTA forces workers who work in these jobs to exist in a shadow economy and be treated as, yes, less than human. The raw truth is NAFTA was purposefully designed to create an exodus of millions of displaced small farmers in the Mexican countryside who have become an exploitable underclass of vast dimension across this continent. Millions and millions of small farmers were turned off their land, forming an endless pool of cheap, exploitable labor in the Americas. I call it the most significant continental sacrilege in my lifetime. Voila. There it is, the cold, hard truth of NAFTA's underbelly, still left unaddressed after a quarter century. Their lives are viewed as cheap, those human lives given no value in this continent's enormous economy. Yet we wouldn't eat without them. We wouldn't recreate without them. Where is President Trump? Instead of fixing this NAFTA problem, he has sidelined NAFTA renegotiation. Instead of fixing this problem, congressional Republicans passed a GOP tax scam that gives away trillions to the ultrawealthy--the top 1 percent got 83 percent of the benefits--while adding trillions to our deficit. Meanwhile, workers are facing increased health costs, cutbacks in retirement benefits, unaffordable medicine and healthcare, and rising education costs for their children. How about that? Instead of carefully targeted trade relief and going after closed global markets, the Trump administration starts a trade war with most of our allies. It isn't productive that this President of the United States is offending the President of Mexico and the Prime Minister of Canada. Really? Our closest neighbors. Young people are expressing workplace frustration as well with the jobs in the so-called gig economy with Uber or elsewhere, where a 20- year-old, sure, can work, but with far fewer benefits and much less security and stability. Mr. Speaker, it is time for a better deal for workers across this continent, starting with an enforceable NAFTA trade pact that has strong labor provisions and a labor secretariat on both the agriculture and industrial side. I am one of the Democrats willing to work with Republicans and roll up my sleeves to reach that compromise, as difficult as I know it will be.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, the 2016 election and its fallout highlighted what many Americans already knew, that special interests bankroll candidates in exchange for expected favors down the road and loopholes allow foreign governments to influence our elections. Look no further than the pervasive impact of Russian-sponsored political ads on Facebook in 2016. My bill, the REFUSE Act, Repelling Encroachment by Foreigners into U.S. Elections, tightens campaign finance laws and lobbyist disclosure rules to protect our democracy from foreign influence. First, to stem the bleed of special interest money into our elections, our bill sets a reasonable limit on foreign ownership within corporate PACs and 501(c)(4) nonprofits that spend on our elections. Second, the bill tightens reporting requirements for foreign agents and gives the Justice Department real enforcement authority to go after the bad guys. Until we repeal Citizens United, which threw open the floodgates for billionaires and special interests to spend unlimited secret money on our elections, we need commonsense legislation like the REFUSE Act. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in fortifying our democratic Republic against foreign influence.