Marcy Kaptur

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Waters for her constant leadership to restore prudent banking to this country and rein in reckless speculation. When six megabanks in our country control over 75 percent of the wealth, that is too much power in too few hands. It has become increasingly clear that the Republican Party is focusing its efforts in this Congress on the only issue in which the GOP can seem to collect a consensus: handing out massive giveaways to the fat cats on Wall Street and their 1 percent buddies. The number of Dodd-Frank rollbacks we have seen this year alone is a blizzard. Now, this bill, the Volcker rule repeal, is just that, another Dodd-Frank rollback wrapped and tied with a big bow for giants Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan and their like. The bill rolls back key prudent banking protections put into place to prevent another financial meltdown and protect hardworking Americans from losing their wealth. You know, not one of those buzzards went to jail. The bill allows for a blanket exemption for the Volcker rule for banks with less than $10 billion in assets. Oh, I feel so sorry for them. They only have $10 billion. There is no logic behind allowing banks of a certain size to engage in the exact type of speculative-- risky speculation that contributed to the financial crisis that we are still digging our way out of. Don't we remember Countrywide? It wasn't so long ago. You know, my unflagging dedication to leveling the playing field and building up our prudent lenders, community banks, and credit unions is the reason I stand to object to this legislation today. We can't allow such foundational building blocks of our communities to be wrecked again into the mangled progeny of the big six, and that is just what my colleagues on the Republican side are about.

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, on top of this blanket exemption, the bill also hands complete rulemaking power to the Fed rather than having checks and balances inside the executive branch, paving the way to completely gut the Volcker rule. You know, Fed Chair, formerly Paul Volcker, had said: ``I know from my long experience in banking and savings and loan regulation that plausibly small loopholes can be `gamed' and exploited with unfortunate consequences.'' Again I say: Remember Countrywide? African Americans lost half their accumulated wealth since the founding of the Republic, Latinos a third, and everybody else a fifth. You know what, it is time to keep prudent banking elevated and curb the speculators.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding. This phony balanced budget amendment is an old, sad Republican rerun. The only real answer to deficits is responsible budgets. America doesn't need this phony constitutional amendment meant to cover up Presidents' and congressional Republicans' failure to produce a balanced budget, even for 1 year when they hold all the reins of power. If Republicans actually cared about the national debt, they wouldn't have passed their tax giveaway last year that will add more than $1.8 trillion to the deficit over the next decade. Whoa, $1.8 trillion more debt held by the public will approach 100 percent of gross domestic product by 2028. That is economic roulette. The deficit just rises. It kind of reminds me of President Trump being in the casino business and bankrupting them. Our country hasn't seen this level of debt since just after World War II, when the debt-to-GDP ratio hit an all-time high. That is 1946; this is 2018. Couple that with the ballooning U.S. trade deficit, which represents the gap between foreign imports versus U.S. exports, now reaching over half a trillion dollars every year in the red, half of that coming from unfair trade with China. If this corrosive pattern of financial abandon and foreign borrowing continues, at some point in the near future, foreign interests will view America's financial subservience to them as a strategic victory. Sadly, the Republican pattern of tax giveaways to the rich while racking up huge Federal deficits is not new. Republican Donald Trump's mammoth deficits remind me of Republican Ronald Reagan's gaping deficits, which Democrat Bill Clinton had to rein in during the 1990s. Then-Republican President George W. Bush, post-September 11, pulled America into unending wars and never paid those bills. When the terrible financial crash of 2008 hit from that Republican abandon, Americans paid an enormous price for that, and our economy was finally pulled out with the rigor of President Obama and Democrats in this Congress. Mr. Speaker, the balanced budget amendment is a ridiculous sham. It is a transparent attempt and a very thin cover for Republicans to protect themselves during the coming midterm elections. The Republican Party is the party of red ink. I can guarantee you, the American people deserve better, and that change is coming.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of nearly 50 million baby boomers ready for retirement. This week is National Retirement Planning Week. Let me emphasize two earned benefits that have done more to grant security and peace in retirement than any other: Medicare and Social Security. If future generations are to reap their retirement security, our generation must ensure their solvency. And if we only talk retirement with seniors, we fall seriously short. Although nearly half of all baby boomers say they have $100,000 or less saved, and their Social Security is critical to their survival, half of Generation Xers have less than $10,000 saved. Given the financial pressures on millennials, they could end up in precarious situations. Congress must show real leadership on this issue; and the somber reality is more Americans than ever are shouldering the burden of financing retirement alone. As a society, Congress also must prioritize financial literacy and education, beginning with young students in schools. We must equip everyone to start small nest eggs that can grow over the decades into what I call Social Security Plus. Thank you to the National Retirement Planning Coalition, whose fantastic online resources are available to Americans free of charge. That is the National Retirement Planning Coalition, free of charge, to all Americans. Let's get to work for security for our retirees, not just this generation, but those to come.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, at this spring season of new life, please let us pay tribute to the spirited life of a visionary woman dedicated to high learning and civic improvement, Mary Regula from Ohio, who tragically passed this last week. As an educator first, her love of history drew her to national causes. Mary had a style and a spirit all her own. I vividly recall her dressing as Mary Todd Lincoln at the dedication of the First Ladies Museum in Canton, Ohio, which she had spearheaded, as she dutifully and lovingly put in place fascinating historical truth about a long- neglected dimension of American political life. A soulmate to her beloved husband, the very honorable Ohio Congressman Ralph Regula, Mary was a beautiful and engaging force for good and for progress on many levels. On countless late nights here in the Capitol, she would work into the evening with her husband. Then, when votes were complete, they would drive home together, usually in Ralph's red pickup truck. Their service was a patriotic love of America. May Mary Regula's family and friends, and the people of greater Canton, Ohio, which Mary and her husband served for 36 years, know our abiding gratitude for their service and for electing such an extraordinary Congressman, a seasoned appropriator, and his awesome life partner, beloved Mary.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, across our country, following West Virginia's lead, teachers in Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Arizona are demanding change and showing the power of unified action. Teachers and school support staff have a simple request: a fair wage, funding to replace decades-old textbooks, and updating the buildings in which our children are educated. For decades, Republican-led States made dramatic cuts to schools, harming students, and undervaluing our teachers, while doling out huge tax breaks for the rich and big corporations. Yet, as we see these teachers take a stand, Republicans keep trying to sell their trickle- down tax scam. Remember, the latest GOP tax scam gave away 83 percent to the top 1 percent. From 1996 to 2015, teacher pay, adjusted for inflation, fell by $30 per week. And reports state that some Oklahoma teachers work three, four, five, and even six jobs to pay the bills. Cutting taxes for the rich doesn't give teachers and hardworking people a leg up; it deprives already cash-strapped communities of much- needed resources. We can't short education. Liberty depends on it. I stand in solidarity with these teachers and many in Ohio and across our country who are fighting to ensure workers get a fair shake. Change is on the horizon, and lawmakers better take heed.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding me time and for her incredible work on this bill, and also the chairman of the full committee, Chairman Frelinghuysen. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bipartisan agreement before us and want to thank, again, Chairman Frelinghuysen and Ranking Member Lowey and our able committee staff on both sides for their tireless effort to slog this across the finish line after five false starts. It is utterly ridiculous that nearly halfway into the fiscal year that began last October 2017 we finally arrived at the brink of completion of our top priority: funding the operations of the Government of the United States from the Defense Department to children's health. Republicans control both Chambers of Congress as well as the White House, yet the delays and dysfunction have been worse than ever. Americans around our country can't extend deadline after deadline after deadline after deadline after deadline in their jobs. We should live up to those same standards. In my title, the Energy and Water Development bill, we make progress by bringing forward America's backlogged construction projects, which number into the billions of dollars, making many important investments for our Nation's infrastructure, including: a 13 percent increase for the Army Corps of Engineers over 2017, which will allow for more critical waterways projects to drive our economy and job creation; and an 11 percent increase to the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to finally move toward complete energy independence for our country, including through the weatherization program, which has increased, as well as an additional 15 percent to invent our energy future through our most advanced energy technology programs, ARPA-E. Additionally, we removed a harmful rider on the waters of the U.S. rule, which, along with others, would have seriously hindered overall passage. This deal busts through budget caps set in 2011 by $143 billion, or 13 percent. And although I support investment in our military, the balance between defense and our domestic priorities is skewed in the wrong direction. In Ohio, we are at the epicenter of the opioid epidemic, with more than 5,000 drug estimated overdose deaths in the last 12 months alone. We rank second in the Nation for deaths per capita.

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, although I support the inclusion of a $2.7 billion increase for opioid prevention, treatment, and recovery, this funding only nibbles at the edge of the problem. This is a national crisis. It must be reflected in a real plan to meet the crisis, including funding priorities. No matter how many fighters or tanks we have, America will not be strong abroad if vast segments of our own population are dying here at home--more than in traffic accidents, more than from major diseases--from opioid and drug abuse. This bill is a fair compromise, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes,'' despite some of the major provisions that are not in there that break our hearts. The American people are counting on us to run our Nation's ship of State. Let's do that today. General Leave

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman, the ranking member, for yielding me this precious minute. I want to augment my remarks of earlier this afternoon and thank Jaime Shimek of our own staff who worked so very, very hard on the Energy and Water Subcommittee, allowing this bill to move to the floor. And then I feel compelled to rise to thank our chairman of the full committee, Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen, with whom I have had the opportunity to work now for many decades and to say to him he is an exemplary model of public service to the people of our country, a true patriot, and someone who devoted so many hours to moving a bill to the floor that could achieve bipartisan consensus in a very loaded political environment. I shall never forget, at the beginning of the Iraq war, our trip to the Middle East, to many of the countries involved, the manner in which he comported himself, the great counsel he gave to so many of us as a military man himself, and the great leadership that he has provided as chair of our Defense Subcommittee at one point and now of the full committee. The people of New Jersey can truly celebrate his service to our Nation as we move this bill to a final vote later today.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the life of Tom Spiess, of Fayette, Ohio. Tom passed from this life on Friday, March 16, 2018 and today his family, friends and community gather to celebrate his homegoing. Tom Spiess was an outstanding community leader. His life's work was as an art teacher at Gorham Fayette Schools, where he founded the art club and the golf team. After thirty years as teacher and mentor, Tom retired from teaching in 2000. He then began a new career in ``retirement'' as the Village of Fayette Administrator, a position he held for six years. A local history buff, Tom also found time to host Civil War reenactments in his backyard. All the while, Tom was involved in many civic activities. He served on the Ohio Arts Council; was a founding member and executive director of the Fayette Community Fine Arts Council; was integrally involved in the acquisition and restoration of the Fayette Opera House; served as chairman of Fulton County United Way; was president of the Gorham Fayette Teachers Association; president of the Fulton County Improvement Corporation; and was a member of the Fayette Chamber of Commerce. A true servant leader, Tom was an elder and board president at his Disciples of Christ Church, where he also taught Sunday school. Turning his grief into community help, Tom founded the Jon P. Spiess Memorial Golf Tournament in memory of his son. Tom was feted by his community as Fayette Citizen of the Year. He also received a Defiance College Alumni Achievement Award. These recognitions by his community were most deserved and well earned. Born to George and Marjorie Spiess in Wauseon, Ohio, Tom was a graduate of Delta High School. He went on to earn his undergraduate degree from Defiance College and his Master's degree from Sienna Heights College. Tom and his wife Cherrie were married on December 28, 1968 and together raised four children. In addition to their son, Jon, their children include Matthew, Mark and Elizabeth. We offer our sincere condolences to his wife and children, grandchildren, brother, in-laws and friends. May they find some small comfort in their memories of this remarkable man and the gift of his life. Surely he will be greeted as in Matthew 25:23 ``Well done, good and faithful servant.'' Tom's generous, life giving spirit embraced his family, his community, and our nation. He was always building others. He cherished learning as fundamental to liberty and devoted himself to building an educated, engaged citizenry. His creativity and genius will continue to flower in all his good works. Truly, he has endowed a legacy to his family, community and country.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the life of Frank J. Piasecki, of Toledo, Ohio. Mr. Piasecki passed from this life at the age of 91 years on March 5, 2018. He was a lifelong neighbor and constructive force across our community. Born to parents Casper and Emily, Frank graduated from Woodward High School. Following his graduation he was a proud member of the United States Marine Corps and served as a gunner during World War II. After the war, on September 14, 1946, Frank and his wife Donna were married and together raised four children. Frank and Donna shared their lives together for a remarkable 71 years. Frank Piasecki loved to repair cars, and he opened Piasecki's Service Inc, which has become a fixture in the Reynolds Corners neighborhood. A compassionate businessman dedicated to his community, Frank also served on the Reynolds Corners Adams Township Fire Department for many years. The business remains an anchor in the neighborhood, even as the next generation continues to grow it. The family's honesty and integrity are well-known. Even while operating a business and raising a family, Frank Piasecki was a motorcycle enthusiast and enjoyed shooting, leading to his lifelong membership in the NRA and the American Motorcycle Association. In fact, during his racing days he was the 1952 winner of the Jack Pine Enduro. Frank also was involved in the Adams Conservation Club, where he coached the Junior Program. A proud veteran, Frank was long a member of American Legion Post 553. An avid bowler, Frank finally bowled a perfect game at the age of 71. Frank Piasecki leaves a legacy through his honorable service to our nation in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II, his respected records in the highly competitive world of racing, his lifetime of community minded business practices in building forward the Reynolds Corners community, and his exemplary life as a husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. Truly, his lasting legacy is that of his family. He leaves to cherish his memory his wife and children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and many friends. We offer our sincere condolences, and hope they find comfort in the gift of Frank's life.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, our law enforcement and intelligence community--most notably, the FBI--is sustaining an unprecedented, coordinated attack led by the President of the United States. No one is above the law in our country, including the President. FBI Director Andrew McCabe, a 20-year veteran of the FBI, is the latest to fall to this concentrated effort to undermine Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into the Trump campaign's entanglements with Russia during the 2016 Presidential election. Incidentally, former FBI Director Mueller has served our Nation for 36 years: as a soldier in the U.S. Navy with a Purple Heart; as a U.S. attorney; and also as FBI Director, including after 9/11 when he oversaw the transformation of the FBI from a domestic law enforcement agency into a global counterterrorism and counterintelligence agency. Wow. This administration is making every effort to degrade our Federal law enforcement institutions and, even more insidiously, by a negative media campaign to erode public faith in these institutions. Let truth will out.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I must say, I was not expecting what just happened. I want to thank the gentlewoman from California, my beloved friend of almost over three decades--in having the deep respect I have for her in her own life before she came to Congress and now as the ranking member on the Financial Services Committee; a very difficult position to hold--for taking this opportunity so late in the evening to commemorate my tenure here in our magnificent U.S. House of Representatives. Mr. Speaker, I thank every single Member who has come down. Obviously this is Women's History Month, and we had this announcement today, and I happened to be the victim of it. Mr. Speaker, I thank the people of Ohio's Ninth Congressional District for believing in me throughout my political career, for teaching me, for helping me to learn more and to understand the travails and the possibilities that were in their minds and hearts. I thank them so very much for that. As with anyone, we all have our faults and human limitations, but, to the best of our ability, we have tried to uphold the Constitution and to help the American people. I think back to my very first term in Congress, beginning in 1983. There was a great Congressman from Florida, Claude Pepper. I can still see him down in the well. Probably the most important vote I cast in my first few months in Congress was the refinancing of Social Security. What a great leader he was. Probably not originally from the liberal wing of our party, yet liberals and conservatives came together to do what was right in resecuring Social Security for the next generation. Congressman Levin came to the floor with a spark plug. Our fight has always been to define where our jobs went, and we began to track places where we saw production move beyond our ability to restrain. Places such as I represent became hollowed out in many corners of our community. Since the early 1980s until today, this country has not been able to balance its trade accounts or to write trade agreements that were truly fair, as Congressman Levin has referenced. So we hemorrhage at the rate of over half a trillion dollars a year, almost $600 billion annually, because we can't get other markets open, and they take it out of the hides of our people and our communities here in this country. So if we go back to the 1980s. If you really look at when the numbers began to change, it is not hard to understand why the American people are unsettled and frustrated because of what has happened with the economy. As I said in remarks earlier today, I was taught by a very great professor of economics at the University of Wisconsin many years ago that economics is not destiny, but it is 85 percent of it. If you really think about that, what we have endured over the last period of my service, three decades--going on four decades almost, we have seen this transformation in production platforms. Unfortunately, with NAFTA on this continent, as we struggle to find a solution to the immigration issue, the reciprocal of NAFTA in Mexico was the upending of millions of small farmers, millions and millions of people who lived at the poverty level, but they had some way to eke out a living. And when their corn market was destroyed after NAFTA's passage in 1993, it took about a decade; but every year, hundreds of thousands of people lost their livelihood. They were desperate, desperate people. What are they going to do? Our grandparents fled to this country from what was greater Poland at the turn of the 20th century because they couldn't feed themselves. It is the same reason the Irish came, right? We look at what happened in Mexico as the flip side of NAFTA. We have never been able to fix that as a continent. Are our leaders that stupid that we really can't face the music and develop adjustment provisions, as Europe did when it brought in Spain and Portugal? So we look back to the basis, the root of why things have happened and hurt the American people, and we can understand their frustration. So I think I have been a voice for that. It is a problem we haven't fixed yet, but it is one that we need to attend to very carefully, because the American people have paid the price of, really, policies that went awry. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Congresswoman Waters for surprising me. She and I have fought so hard on prudent lending, prudent banking, and we have served here long enough to see when it wasn't, and when greed took over a gambling mentality rather than a prudent banking mentality, what it did to this country and how hard it was to pick up the pieces. African Americans lost half of their accumulated wealth after 2008, half, since the founding of the Republic. The pain in those communities is not over. Maybe somebody from Wall Street might tune us in and hear that, but I want to tell them that it isn't fixed yet. What has happened in many places such as I represent, predatory lenders have moved in, auto title loan companies, scam artists, who are making terrible, terrible exploitative deals with these individuals who simply don't know what those agreements they are signing mean. That is wrong. If we look at the Latino community, they lost one-third of their accumulated wealth in the financial crash of 2008. And then for those who were the remaining Caucasians and other parts of our population, they lost about one-fifth of their wealth. It was extraordinary loss of capital, of money, of property value that belonged to them. So sometimes, though, we try, but we can't always fix what is wrong. As we look to the future, our primary responsibility here is to defend liberty, as Congressmen Takano and Levin and Congresswoman Speier and so many others who came down here this evening talked about. I feel very privileged to work with my colleagues in defending liberty and making sure we have the strongest defense in the world, and try to help those countries that are now being invaded by the Russian Federation, whose citizens simply want to be free and to have a decent life. Mr. Speaker, I note that one of our colleagues has come to the floor, and I don't want to deny him any ability to speak. Congressman Soto and I have worked so much on issues of concern to Florida and Puerto Rico and, obviously, trying to fix the bad gerrymandering that happened around the country, so I want to acknowledge his presence here this evening. I thank all of my beloved colleagues for this great honor. Mr. Speaker, I thank my family; my brother, Steven, who is doing extremely well after a very serious illness and coming back to us. It means so very much to me. I am hoping he is listening tonight. In memory of all of our family members and my godchildren, some of whom were here today, and all of the people who helped me along the way, there is just no way to properly thank them except to keep trying to do a very good job and to meet the unaddressed needs of this great, great Nation. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Waters so very much for this great surprise and for being my friend.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleague, Representative Jackie Walorski, as co-chairs of the Polish Caucus. This year, we commemorate the 100th anniversary of Poland's reemergence as a European nation in 1918. As grateful Polish Americans, we join together on a bipartisan basis to acknowledge this historic achievement of freedom's advance. The reality is history has been brutal to Poland. In the late 1700s, Poland was erased from the map of Europe for 123 years by three adjacent predatory empires because it passed a constitution inspired by ours, which included a separation of powers. Poland became the first nation in Europe to abolish serfdom by the Polaniec Manifesto on May 7, 1794. Then, in 1918, following World War I, with the support of President Woodrow Wilson, Poland was restored to the map of Europe and resumed its torturous climb to freedom. But then, in 1939, World War II began. As Poland was invaded, first by Nazi Germany, and then 3 weeks later by Communist Russia, Poland suffered an unimaginable loss of 20 percent of its population that perished during World War II, the most of any nation in that war. Of the 14 million civilians killed by Nazi Germany and Communist Russia, over 6 million were killed in Poland; 3 million Jews and 3 million Christians, as well as Roma and Sinti, the disabled, homosexuals, and other innocents. Poland never surrendered. There never was a collaborationist Polish Government. Establishing a free government in exile, Polish armies fought on every front in Europe, including alongside American soldiers at Normandy. Despite the Nazi and Soviet campaign to wipe out Poland's most educated and accomplished and, indeed, Poland's history, Poland resisted at home with the largest underground resistance movement in Europe. Poland never surrendered, nor did it ever surrender to Nazi nor Communist, murderous ideology. At Katyn, Communist Russia, with bullets to the back of their heads, killed over 12,000 Polish leaders from its military, civil society, their educational community, and their religious leadership. 1945 brought allied liberation to a war-torn Europe, but not to Poland, which fell under the Soviet yoke, repressed, and blocked from its own identity, indeed, even denied a true representation of its wartime history of heroism, tragedy, and terror. But in 1989, after 43 years of increasing resistance to occupation inside Poland, its fierce love of liberty spilled over into successful resistance and massive electoral victory won by Solidarnosc, the labor movement that yielded ultimate liberty for Poland. This was the first wave of major popular and anti-Communist opposition across the Soviet bloc that resulted in the Berlin Wall's collapse in 1989, the wall that divided liberty from tyranny and, ultimately, communism's demise. Poland has accomplished much in the generation of freedom that followed. She has achieved a steady economic growth in each year since its return to freedom, the most robust of any nation in Europe. Yet, the millions of souls who perished in Poland across every faith, confession, and ethnic origin, most remain unknown to history. Our globe is still weighed down with the collective sense of unresolved grief and the lack of historical truth that humanity must address. For the millions who perished, this anniversary year of Poland's rebirth should be an occasion to uplift that historical truth to heal, not divide. As we speak, vicious Russian aggression aims to destabilize Europe and our precious transatlantic and NATO alliance, essential to liberty. Free nations, including Poland and her critics, should use this moment to recommit to liberty and rule of law, setting aside language and gestures that inflame divisions across Europe. Now is a time for unity, not division. Now is a time for restraint, not antagonism. Now is the time for reasoned dialogue, not media taunts. And let me commend the Polish-Israeli Reconciliation Commission for its reasoned progress and recent statement. Now is the time for diplomatic excellence and military readiness, not provocative gestures, legislative or otherwise. Now is the time for robust archival restoration so the full truth of millions who perished can be known and recorded forever. Now is the time to strengthen freedom's umbrella, not weaken it. May I extend all congratulations and blessings to Poland on its 100th anniversary of reborn nationhood.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, there are few Americans who dedicate their lives completely to rebuilding an inner-city community. Imagine a person who seeks no personal recognition but is imbued with deep faith and a future they help guide. Imagine their drive arising from their mission to serve others. One of these rare souls is Monsignor William Linder of Newark, New Jersey, the founder of the New Community Corporation, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Monsignor Linder's adult life is a powerful and pioneering example of a modern wise man who planted a church in the public square to transform America. As a young priest in the 1960s, he was assigned to Newark's Central Ward amidst riots and racial tension. This was a divisive and uncertain time, yet he took it upon himself to walk hand in hand with the people of Newark who desperately needed someone to believe in them and inspire a better way forward. Linder listened to the people, and together they organized for affordable housing, civil rights, and a better way of life for all. His determination and boundless faith helped New Community achieve major revitalization. Without question, New Community provides a reliable blueprint for rebuilding America's most neglected spaces. America is blessed, indeed, humbled, and filled with gratitude for Linder's life of service. Thank you, Monsignor Linder. You are a good and faithful servant and living example of the commitment real progress requires.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the generous, path-breaking life of Mrs. Lovey Anna Leavell of Sandusky, Ohio. Lovey passed from this life on Saturday, January 22, 2018 after a short illness. She will be truly missed by her family and friends. Lovey was indefatigable. Lovey's involvement and commitment to her hometown of Sandusky was known by everyone in the area. Her life of service to her community started at the historic Second Baptist Church where she served as Church Secretary, Choir Director, teacher, and Sunday school superintendent. It is also here where she would meet her husband of 60 plus years, Daniel Leavell. Once her children became school age and began to attend Sandusky City Schools she became active in the school system as well. When her children were young she worked for the school district as a teacher's aide, bus driver, and served as the Treasurer for the Sandusky Band Parents Association. Her dedication to the Sandusky City schools continued always. Even after her children graduated, she continued her connection to the school by working as a substitute teacher. Civil rights was a cause that Lovey was committed to as well. As a lifetime member of the Sandusky NAACP, she worked on a number of committees for her local branch. She would help set up meetings at which local politicians would be able to talk about issues dealing not only with civil rights, but also other important issues that impacted the community. Her commitment to civil rights was one of the main reasons she decided to become a realtor. Throughout her life she saw the damage that was being done to minorities due to the effects of redlining. It was her commitment to civil rights that made her want to become a realtor in order to help people obtain the American dream of home ownership. Lovey Leavell was on a first name basis with every elected official that represented the city of Sandusky, from local up through the federal level. It was not uncommon for politicians and candidates to call her and her husband Dan for advice. She was a lifelong Democrat, her views on politics were perhaps best described by Sandusky Mayor Dennis Murray when he said this about Lovey, ``She was never about the games of partisanship. She believed totally in people and in the core things that Democrats stand for--equality, opportunity and good government.'' Later in life when most people would decide to relax and enjoy their retirement years, Lovey decided it was time for her to get a college degree. She received two degrees, associates and then bachelors, both from BGSU Firelands. Her time at Firelands was filled not only with classwork but also with trips to the United Nations in New York, involvement with student government, and several other groups. The students there would come to know her as ``Grandma Lovey''. During her time there she made such an impression on the students, staff, and faculty she was awarded the Links to Progress Award, the highest honor any person can receive from BGSU Firelands. During Lovey's final years she served on the Ohio 9th congressional military academy nomination committee in 2015 and 2016. She continued her service on the James McBride Arboretum at BGSU Firelands. She never stopped being a realtor or working for civil rights with the NAACP. Even with her impressive life accomplishments, there was one thing Lovey felt she was missing: a Sandusky High School diploma. It was something she had wanted for more than half a century. In September of 2017 the Sandusky School Board presented her with an honorary high school diploma for her life time commitment to education and her involvement in the community. Lovey is survived by her husband Dan, children Dan Jr., Doug and Deanna, a number of grandchildren, family, and friends. We offer them our prayers and hope that they comfort in the wonderful memories of this extraordinary woman, our dear friend Lovey. She will be remembered with affection and gratitude for a lifetime dedicated so affectionately to making our part of the world a fairer and more loving place in which to live.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, our law enforcement and intelligence community--most pointedly, the Federal Bureau of Investigation--is sustaining an unprecedented, coordinated attack. Like a cancer, the strikes are coming from deep in the marrow of our democratic Republic. Our own President and even some Members of Congress block the light of justice. In his State of the Union Address, President Trump bragged about the apprehension of violent criminals and gang members. The hypocrisy of this President taking credit for the dangerous work of our FBI and larger intelligence community while systematically and doggedly working to undermine public faith in these institutions is an outrage. Under Special Counsel Mueller's direction in 2012, the FBI made 25,000 arrests and 14,800 indictments. They located 1,100 missing children and seized $1.125 billion worth of criminal assets and drugs. The historic role of the FBI in bringing major criminals and foreign and domestic enemies of our state to justice cannot be overstated. The FBI has defended us in ways and measures well beyond general public awareness. If not out of patriotism and commitment to our democracy and its institution, then out of sheer necessity, Congress and the American people must defend the rule of law.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call attention to the bad deals President Trump continues to push onto the American people. As the administration continues to celebrate rewarding the top 1 percent with its bonanza, his administration is looking to slash programs like Social Security, Great Lakes water restoration, heating assistance for the elderly, and food for hungry people, just to name a few. The President's budget is as unrealistic as it is cruel. But Congress holds the power of the purse, and we intend to employ it. When you think about it, President Trump's hollow $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan actually only includes $200 billion in Federal investment and expects the States to come up with five times that much. I suppose some would call that a Ponzi scheme. His plan cedes Federal leadership and passes the buck to struggling State and local governments. Maybe some of my colleagues represent places that can afford all that. We certainly can't in Ohio. I can't figure out why the President, who claims to be a builder himself, shortchanges his real chance to invest in America. Whether it is the deficit-raising budget or his flawed infrastructure deal, we know the American people need real solutions, not more hollow, false promises.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Lowey and rise in opposition to this bill. Our Nation really needs to be on an even keel to produce steady economic growth in this country. This bill doesn't help that. I agree, America must have a strong defense, but a nation has to be strong at home to be strong abroad. You can't shortchange the home front. A nation at home must be secure, without wild stock market swings, to be strong abroad. A nation at home must be strong, without a massive drug epidemic here at home, to be strong abroad. This bill can't produce a steady economy with consistent job growth because it fails to dedicate sufficient resources here at home: to education, to healthcare, to employment and retraining, for Head Start, for energy independence, for law enforcement, and for localities savaged by the drug epidemic and shortchanged on treatment. Our ship of state needs to be on an even keel, not the wild fluctuations in this resolution. This bill tilts in the wind far, far starboard, and that is not a setting that can assure a steady ship of state to maintain a steady growth economy. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the resolution.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise with deep concern in the wake of President Trump's failure to levy economic sanctions on more of Russia's oligarchs, allowing Putin's repressive regime its continued illegal aggression on Ukraine. In his State of the Union, the President used the single word, ``Russia.'' That was it. And then he decided to call it ``a rival.'' A rival? How about enemy of liberty? How about that? In stark contrast to every other President going back to Ronald Reagan, read what wasn't said in this State of the Union. This raises serious questions as to why President Trump is letting Russia off the hook. Why would President Trump reject the advice of all U.S. intelligence offices, including that of his own CIA Director, especially when the United States intelligence agencies know Russia interfered massively in our elections and European elections, our most important alliance, and uses its military assets to undermine liberty? Thankfully, Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team seeks answers, but Trump's most troublesome financial connections with Russia-linked investors and intermediary banks remain questions that need to be answered. Speaking as co-chair of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus, I urge my colleagues to act in the national interest and in the absence of Presidential leadership on Russian aggression.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the bipartisan Ukraine Cybersecurity Cooperation Act of 2017. Let me first thank the hard work of Representative Brian Fitzpatrick, fellow Ukraine Caucus chair and Representative Brendan Boyle, as well as Chairman Ed Royce and the Ranking Member Eliot Engel for their support. As we know all too well, Russian aggression towards Ukraine is not a new threat. Russia's hostile behavior continues to threaten Ukraine's freedom and destabilize its critical infrastructure and institutions. Since Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, over 10,000 people have been killed and two million people have been uprooted, internally displaced. Ukraine finds herself on the front lines of hybrid war and an assault on her sovereignty--this time in the form of cyber warfare. We as Americans have also been attacked by this insidious form of hybrid warfare. It is our duty to help other nations resist threat to liberty. To this day, the fallout of Russian interference in our sacred electoral process continues to plague our political landscape. At least 21 states, including Ohio, reported Russian hacking attempts in the 2016 election. Experts in the intelligence and defense communities have all warned that this threat is not going away. In fact, cybersecurity threats tested in Ukraine will likely be turned on the U.S. in elections this year. By supporting this bill, we provide Ukraine with critical upgraded safeguards she needs to protect herself, her institutions, and her liberty. Upgrading Ukraine's current technological infrastructure grants her freedom from Russian technology. It gives her the ability to share sensitive information on an international level. And, we will strengthen our own cybersecurity through lessons learned from increased cooperation with Ukraine. Ukraine and her people have every right to sovereignty and self- determination as they seek a more democratic future. It is paramount that the United States uphold our longstanding commitments to our allies, as hybrid threats loom. This measure will provide the citizens of Ukraine with the support they need to defend themselves. That's why I strongly support this measure, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, Groundhog Day isn't until Friday, but here we are again, voting for the third time in 7 months on a Defense bill that will go in the hole--nowhere. We are 9 days out from the threat of another shutdown and 4 months into the fiscal year of 2018, which started last October 1, yet we still have no budget framework from our Republican friends and their so-called leadership, nothing to direct appropriators on what numbers from which to negotiate funding for the entirety of the government--not just Defense, not just this account. Instead, Republican leadership wastes important, precious time to debate a bill that has already passed this Chamber twice before. Meanwhile, our Republican colleagues force the entire government to run on autopilot for over a third of the fiscal year and trumpet their claim that only they prioritize the military. How can anyone take this seriously? Republicans have provided no overall roadmap of a funding strategy for the Federal Government. They failed to agree within their own caucus on funding priorities, leaving them incapable to even begin to negotiate with Democrats. As a result, law dictates a defense funding level of $549 billion. That is a lot of money. Half a trillion. But here we are debating, for the third time, an astounding $659 billion for defense. That is $110 billion more. Hmm. We can all agree that funding defense is a priority, but so are pensions, community health centers, Federal workforce training, the opioid crisis, keeping our waters clean, domestic security. Well, the list goes on, and each deserves attention. Why are we voting again on a lopsided bill that blows up budget caps when there are so many other bipartisan priorities? This is a partisan sideshow that attempts to mask Republican Party dysfunction. This is not leadership.

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to once again oppose this partisan talking point and demand action on an agreement to fund the entire government for the remaining part of this fiscal year. We have little more than a week to secure a plan for the remainder of 2018, but it may be a road too far if Republicans don't come to the table to talk among themselves seriously and then be willing to negotiate with this side of the aisle.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise to call out our Republican colleagues for still having left community health centers falling off a funding cliff for this year. Long-term funding for community health centers expired last September 30. These health centers serve more than 25 million patients in all States in this Union and U.S. territories and employ over 50,000 professionals in the health field nationwide. In Ohio, more than 85 percent of health center patients fall below 200 percent of the poverty line--the poorest of the poor. In 2015, Ohio health centers served over 600,000 patients--over half a million. Don't our Republican colleagues understand an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure? Community health centers remain the Nation's largest source of primary, comprehensive care for medically underserved populations. They are fundamental to life in our communities and neighborhoods, whether they be urban, rural, or small town. In 2015, America celebrated 50 years of the success of community health centers. This Congress and its Republican majority should not continue to let our constituents down who rely so heavily upon these health centers in life-and-death situations.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, let me just say that our side hasn't been consulted. The Republicans have 238 votes to pass anything here. They have the vast majority. You only need 218 votes, so if you wanted to pass it, you could do it right now. You could have done it a month ago, you could have done it 2 months ago, you could have done it 3 months ago. But there is something fundamentally wrong on that side of the aisle, and, of course, you have to deal with the other body where you hold a majority, and you can't get it done there either. Now, in football, you would call this fumbling the ball. In baseball, you would call it flubbing the ball. Honestly, if you can't consult with our side of the aisle, why would you expect anybody would want to work with you anyway? You treat us like we are from, I don't know, Borneo. Why would you think we would want to vote for something that we can't agree with because of its essential unfairness? I really can't understand why you are putting the Republic through all these contortions. You don't have a budget. You know, we have been asking for a budget, and you don't make decisions about departments until you have a budget because you might underfund one department or overfund another department, so we want to do this in a very orderly way. But our Republican friends appear to hope the government will function with no road map. Are they really asleep behind the wheel of the car? They are sure careening, and they might even hit a brick wall. If the Republicans cannot put together a framework agreement for a vote this week, it is safe to say they have fumbled and flubbed every opportunity they have had. It reminds me of the old Looney Tunes character Elmer Fudd. They can't even catch Bugs Bunny when he is staring them right in the face. They aren't making progress and, indeed, are losing ground. There was hope on September 8, when we voted the first time for a short-term extension, that you could actually reach agreement. But here it is, the brand new year, and we still don't have agreement.