Marcy Kaptur

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I want to welcome my colleague, Congressman Joe Crowley, the chair of the Democratic Caucus who is joining us this evening as well. I know how very busy he is, and I appreciate it. As author of the legislation that created our Nation's World War II Memorial here in Washington, I felt obligated and actually compelled to come to this well tonight. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the Trump administration's hollow January 27 statement commemorating International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Statement by President Trump on International Holocaust Remembrance Day--January 27, 2017 ``It is with a heavy heart and somber mind that we remember and honor the victims, survivors, heroes of the Holocaust. It is impossible to fully fathom the depravity and horror inflicted on innocent people by Nazi terror. ``Yet, we know that in the darkest hours of humanity, light shines the brightest. As we remember those who died, we are deeply grateful to those who risked their lives to save the innocent. ``In the name of the perished, I pledge to do everything in my power throughout my Presidency, and my life, to ensure that the forces of evil never again defeat the powers of good. Together, we will make love and tolerance prevalent throughout the world.''

Ms. KAPTUR. Astoundingly, the White House statement made no reference to the 6 million Jews that perished in the Holocaust. There was no mention of anti-Semitism nor a reference to Israel, as has been customary in prior statements issued by our past Presidents. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a statement by President George Bush in 2008. Statement by President George W. Bush on the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust--January 27, 2008 On the third International Day of Commemoration, we remember and mourn the victims of the Holocaust. I was deeply moved by my recent visit to Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust museum. Sixty-three years after the liberation of Auschwitz, we must continue to educate ourselves about the lessons of the Holocaust and honor those whose lives were taken as a result of a totalitarian ideology that embraced a national policy of violent hatred, bigotry, and extermination. It is also our responsibility to honor the survivors and those courageous souls who refused to be bystanders and instead risked their own lives to try to save the Nazis' intended victims. Remembering the victims, heroes, and lessons of the Holocaust remains important today. We must continue to condemn the resurgence of anti-Semitism, that same virulent intolerance that led to the Holocaust, and we must combat bigotry and hatred in all forms in America and abroad. Today provides a sobering reminder that evil exists and a call that when we find evil, we must resist it. May God bless the memory of the victims of the Holocaust, and may we never forget.

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of our Special Order this evening.

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I will also include in the Record a statement by President Barack Obama from 2015 showing what the White House said about Holocaust Remembrance Day. Statement by President Obama on International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 70th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau--2015 On the tenth International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the American people pay tribute to the six million Jews and millions of others murdered by the Nazi regime. We also honor those who survived the Shoah, while recognizing the scars and burdens that many have carried ever since. Honoring the victims and survivors begins with our renewed recognition of the value and dignity of each person. It demands from us the courage to protect the persecuted and speak out against bigotry and hatred. The recent terrorist attacks in Paris serve as a painful reminder of our obligation to condemn and combat rising anti-Semitism in all its forms, including the denial or trivialization of the Holocaust. This anniversary is an opportunity to reflect on the progress we have made confronting this terrible chapter in human history and on our continuing efforts to end genocide. I have sent a Presidential delegation to join Polish President Komorowski, the Polish people, official delegations from scores of nations, and many survivors, at today's official commemoration in Poland. As a founding member of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, the United States joins the Alliance's thirty other member nations and partners in reiterating its solemn responsibility to uphold the commitments of the 2000 Stockholm Declaration. We commemorate all of the victims of the Holocaust, pledging never to forget, and recalling the cautionary words of the author and survivor of Auschwitz Primo Levi, ``It happened, therefore it can happen again. . . . It can happen anywhere.'' Today we come together and commit, to the millions of murdered souls and all survivors, that it must never happen again.

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, let me be clear: between 1933 and 1945, 14 million unarmed men, women, and children were murdered in Eastern Europe. These bloodlands were where most of Europe's Jews lived and where Hitler's and Stalin's imperial plans overlapped. Of the 14 million human beings who were killed, at least 6 million were Jewish souls. Their carnage was the largest in human history. Thus, the brevity of the Trump administration's statement was surprisingly and unusually short and general--only about 100 words. When the White House was asked about these glaring omissions, multiple officials in the new administration at the White House merely confirmed ``the statement was no mistake.'' The Trump White House statement chose not to explicitly acknowledge the deaths of 6 million Jews during the Holocaust. This is atypical of any former President of our country. Moreover, the Trump statement implies that the recognition of the death of Jews during the Holocaust would come at the exclusion of other groups. The tone of those remarks takes the reader in the direction of denying the suffering of the Jewish people. For the President not to mention Jews is a terrible omen. So let us go through some history. The term ``holocaust,'' arising from World War II, has come to mean annihilation of Jewish persons. From 1933 to 1945, those Jewish souls who perished in Europe totaled at least 6 million human beings. Between 2.7 million and 3 million Jews were murdered in Nazi-run death camps. In the USSR, 1,340,000 Jewish deaths were ordered by Joseph Stalin. At least 1.5 million of the victims forcibly killed by Hitler and Stalin were children. Cumulatively, this carnage represented about two-thirds of the 9 million Jews who had resided in Central Europe. By way of explanation, for the 8 million Christians and others who were also murdered, the term generally used to describe their carnage is martyrdom. As an example, in Poland, 3 million Catholic Christian Poles were martyred by Nazi and Soviet killing machines. The Holocaust also included Stalin's mass executions and forced starvation and relocation of Soviet prisoners of war to fight in horrendous places like the Battle of Monte Cassino after being marched through the Middle East. Many of them were buried in Tehran. Stalin also perpetrated a massive post-war ethnic and religious cleansing of Jews and non-Jews. As Hitler and Stalin fought for control of the European continent, over 14 million innocent people--these aren't soldiers I am talking about. This was in addition to the 14 million--women, children, and men who were civilians died in their vastly evil plunder. Millions of Eastern Europeans were trapped between the two most murderous regimes in not only European history, but human history: Nazi Germany and Communist Soviet Union. As an aside, I found it chilling that President Trump's top adviser, Steve Bannon, in an address to the Vatican in 2014, referenced in a most troubling line of thought the name of Julius Evola and his murderous movement. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record excerpts of an article entitled ``This is How Steve Bannon Sees the Entire World,'' which is also available at www.buzzfeed.com. [From BuzzFeed News Reporter] This Is How Steve Bannon Sees the Entire World (By J. Lester Feder) Donald Trump's newly named chief strategist and senior counselor Steve Bannon laid out his globalist nationalist vision in unusually in-depth remarks delivered by Skype to a conference held inside the Vatican in the summer of 2014. Bannon: I think it's a little bit more complicated. When Vladimir Putin, when you really look at some of the underpinnings of some of his beliefs today, a lot of those come from what I call Eurasianism; he's got an advisor who harkens back to Julius Evola and different writers of the early 20th century who are really the supporters of what's called the traditionalist movement, which really eventually metastazied into Italian fascism. A lot of people that are traditionalists are attracted to that. One of the reasons is that they believe that at least Putin is standing up for traditional institutions, and he's trying to do it in a form of nationalism--and I think that people, particularly in certain countries, want to see the sovereignty for their country, they want to see nationalism for their country. They don't believe in this kind of pan- European Union or they don't believe in the centralized government in the United States. They'd rather see more of a states-based entity that the founders originally set up where freedoms were controlled at the local level. I'm not justifying Vladimir Putin and the kleptocracy that he represents, because he eventually is the state capitalist of kleptocracy. However, we the Judeo-Christian West really have to look at what he's talking about as far as traditionalism goes--particularly the sense of where it supports the underpinnings of nationalism--and I happen to think that the individual sovereignty of a country is a good thing and a strong thing. I think strong countries and strong nationalist movements in countries make strong neighbors, and that is really the building block that built Western Europe and the United States, and I think it's what can see us forward.

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, Julius Evola has been described as one of the most influential Fascist racists in Italian history, admired by the Nazi SS, its commander, Heinrich Himmler, and Benito Mussolini. Nazi SS Reichsfuhrer Heinrich Himmler was most certainly responsible for the Holocaust. Hitler's madness obsessed over creating an Aryan nation. Joseph Stalin's depraved dream of conquest knew no bounds. Stalin even conscripted Jews to lead hunts to exterminate other ethnic groups, and then killed the Jews when the mission was completed. The level of Stalin's depravity is difficult for sane people to understand. Violent anti-Semitism and hatred did not end with the defeat of Nazi Germany and the ultimate collapse of the Communist Soviet Union. We can observe a resurgence in certain places in Europe and, sadly, even in isolated incidents here in the United States. History tells us that the rising anti-Semitic violence is not just a threat to civil society today, but the future of free people everywhere. The recent anti-Semitic terrorist incidents in Paris at the Bataclan, Jewish-owned enterprises, or Nazi symbols appearing in hateful situations here in our own beloved country demand that decent people find peaceful means to stare down hate. Timothy Snyder's masterful book ``Bloodlands'' documents the 6 million souls of the Holocaust and 8 million souls of martyrdom and murder. The Nazis established killing centers for efficient mass execution. These killing centers, also referred to as ``extermination camps'' or ``death camps,'' were almost exclusively ``death factories.'' German Schutzstaffel and police murdered nearly 2.7 million Jews in these killing centers either by asphyxiation with poison gas or by shooting. For the non-Jewish populations of Europe, the 8 million non-Jewish victims of Nazi and communist campaigns of mass murder include Romas, Soviet prisoners of war, Aktion T4 patients, Ukrainian Holodomor famine victims, Serbs, the disabled, the LGBTQ communities, and others known only to God. There were also unfathomable crimes against entire nations, as Poland and Belarus were both slated for complete extinction. Poland lost an astounding 20 percent of its entire population, with 6 million killed in the war, and Belarus, though smaller in population, lost 25 percent of its population. In Poland, leaders were annihilated. Many members of the Catholic clergy were either threatened with deportation, kept in custody, or sent to camps. The Catholic Church was particularly suppressed, for nearly a fifth of all priests--over 3,000--were killed between 1939 and 1945, most in concentration camps. From 1932 to 1933, Joseph Stalin's forced famine engulfed much of present-day Ukraine and its eastern flank. The heaviest losses were in Ukraine--which is struggling for its freedom today--which had been the most productive agricultural area of the Soviet Union. Stalin was determined to crush all evidence of Ukrainian pride. As with Poland's leadership, the famine was accompanied by a devastating purge of all of Ukraine's intelligentsia. Millions of peasants were condemned to death by starvation. Troops and secret police units waged a merciless war against peasants who refused to give up their grain. Any man, woman, or child caught taking even a handful of grain from a collective farm could be, and often were, executed or deported to work camps. Stalin's system of internal passports and brutal secret police forced collectivization of the land to Communist-run production. After a long search through history and recordkeeping, I can personally give testimony and even learned that the Catholic Church located in today's Ukraine, in which our maternal grandparents were married, held a dark secret. Joseph Stalin's secret police, the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs, the NKVD, killed 168 people in its basement as Stalin's Black Raven trucks drove the innocents to their death. Historians continue to seek truth even until today about what happened. Their painstaking research includes information from the Soviet archives. Though some people try to erase history or ignore it, others work diligently to record it and learn from it. I recall how fondly our grandmother spoke of Jewish storekeepers in the region from which she emigrated, welcoming her before and after church on Sunday and telling her to change into her church shoes there before attending mass and after her 5-mile hike from her village and the 5-mile hike back. The Jewish storekeeper would always give her a piece of candy. There are other Members here tonight that wish to speak. I am so grateful for their presence here tonight because we are the bearers of liberty's torch. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York, (Mr. Crowley), the great leader of the Democratic Caucus, and I thank him for taking time from his busy schedule to be here with us.

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I am so grateful for Mr. Crowley's presence and his eloquent remarks this evening, representing one of the major cities in our country where Jewish leaders from all walks of life have helped elevate America. I know how proud they are of him and what he is attempting to do. I hope every one of our colleagues, all 435, sign on to his resolution. It is most worthy. I thank him so very, very much for joining us this evening. I want to tell a story in the region that I represent, though this particular neighborhood was cut out of my district. A Nazi swastika was painted on a garage door recently of the home of a Muslim family. It was really repugnant and very cruel, but what happened in our community? What did the American people do? One neighbor came over with a bottle of red paint and she made a big heart over the swastika. Then the conductor of the symphony came and musicians came, and they played ``Ode to Joy'' to the family, and other friends came and the American people. I love the American people because deep in their hearts they live the values of liberty and justice for all. The garage door itself was replaced by the Toledo Overhead Door Company. They gave the family a new door for free. I am just so proud of them. I am just so proud of them. Our communities don't have to bear this sadness of anti-Semitism and of degradation by those who really don't get what this country is made of. I know the Trump White House statement on the Holocaust falls far short of the administration's ability to properly recognize and record history accurately. The Trump White House has the means to hire appropriate staff to prepare thoughtful, carefully researched statements, and their 2017 statement is out of touch with history. History teaches us that wherever anti-Semitism has gone unchecked, the persecution of others has been present or not far behind. Presenting historical truth and defeating anti-Semitism must be a cause of great importance not only for Jews but also for us, for people who value liberty, truth, free expression of religion, justice for all. I know that is the vast majority of the American people. General Leave

Ms. KAPTUR. I want to thank Mr. Brendan F. Boyle of Pennsylvania also for coming to the floor this evening. If there is any remaining time, I would just like to read a couple of the sentences of Congressman Boyle's remarks because they are so incredible. He talks about Deborah Lipstadt, an American historian and author of influential books such as ``Denying the Holocaust,'' who wrote an important article in The Atlantic, entitled, ``The Trump Administration's Flirtation With Holocaust Denial.'' He talks about ``'hardcore Holocaust denial.' In this type of rhetoric, anti-Semites argue that the Holocaust simply did not occur; that there was no systematic plan to destroy the Jewish people based solely on their religion. ``This type of hate speech has unfortunately been espoused by those who seek to delegitimize the suffering of the Jewish people since the Holocaust began.'' But he talks about a more insidious form of denial in rhetoric that has begun to creep into our national discussion. Lipstadt terms this ``'softcore Holocaust denial.' This form of denial, argues Lipstadt, uses different tactics but has the same end-goal. . . . It does not deny the facts, but it minimizes them, arguing that Jews use the Holocaust to draw attention away from criticism of Israel. . . . ``Softcore denial also includes Holocaust minimization, as when someone suggests it was not so bad. Softcore denial, then, is potentially more insidious than our traditional form of denial, by minimizing the suffering of the Jewish people and suggesting that while the Holocaust may have occurred, it was not just about the Jews per se.'' I appreciate those listening this evening and am very grateful to have this privilege of entering into the Record materials we believe important not only to our Republic, but to free people everywhere. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, the resignation of President Trump's national security adviser, Michael Flynn, is the third Trump senior adviser to resign amid allegation of ties to Russia and the Kremlin. Two others were attached to the Trump campaign: his manager, Paul Manafort, and Russian energy adviser, Carter Page. Meanwhile, Russia's Putin is the same KGB thug he always has been, continuing to invade countries in eastern and central Europe and propagating a war in Syria as well as a bloody war against Ukraine. The American people deserve to know the full extent of Russia's financial, personal, and political grip on the Trump administration, and Congress should meet its constitutional responsibilities to protect our national security and to protect our Nation against all enemies, foreign and domestic. The American people need to know whether Russian creditors or their intermediaries are helping prop up the Trump commercial empire. This Congress needs to do its job, conduct hearings, subpoena witnesses, and bring truth to the American people about the Trump administration's ties to Russia.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, President Trump said he was going to drain the swamp. Really? His actions speak louder than words. Check the facts. Wall Street's gold diggers are in charge of the swamp already. The President's senior strategist, Steve Bannon, spent half a decade working at Goldman Sachs. Trump's National Economic Council Director, Gary Cohn, spent 25 years more there. He rose to be Goldman Sachs' president. Trump's Senior Counsel for Economic Initiatives, Dina Powell, was a partner since 2010 at Goldman Sachs. Steve Mnuchin, up for a vote tonight for Treasury Secretary, spent 17 years at Goldman. Dubbed the ``Foreclosure King,'' Mnuchin was the fast-buck artist who maneuvered OneWest out of IndyMac's collapse with shady tactics that kicked hundreds of thousands of families out of their homes in Ohio and beyond. Mnuchin is the ultimate swamp dweller. His father worked at Goldman, his brother still works there, and they all return for alumni engagements. Come now. While millions of Americans lost their homes, with millions more underwater today, Goldman increased its profits. It is obvious, Wall Street's trolls have squiggled their way through the White House transom even before the First Lady has remodeled the living quarters. When Wall Street rigs our economy again, does anyone seriously expect President Trump to drain the swamp? He is fast in it with them.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, Americans have too much to lose for Congressional Republicans to play chicken with their health insurance. Take a family in my district, Kevin and Kim Filiatraut. Kevin and Kim are young parents of two beautiful children, ages 7 and 5. As an attorney in Cleveland, the family uses insurance through Kevin's employment. Kim's job of 15 years at KeyBank was outsourced to India in 2014. They own a home, and their children go to public schools in Bay Village. In 2015, at age 39, Kim was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer. When it was found, it had already spread to her liver, and she has been on chemotherapy ever since and will be evermore. There is only hope and medicine, indefinitely. She is covered now, but with this preexisting condition, a repeal of the ACA is daunting. The ACA establishes that she can never be denied enrollment, but congressional Republicans could take this surety away with their brash, nearsighted objective of full repeal of the ACA. Why would we get rid of something that does so much good for Ohioans, for Americans, with nothing and no plan to replace it? Kim's treatment costs over $500,000 a year. Repeal of the ACA could very well bankrupt this family. And according to The Washington Post, repealing the Affordable Care Act will kill more than 43,000 people in our country, annually. Repeal of the ACA would be the most anti-life measure ever considered or passed by this Congress. Please vote against repeal now.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today regarding President Trump's strange admiration for Russia's President Vladimir Putin. Our President seems to side with Russia over Ukraine and is defaulting to tyranny over liberty. Despite ample evidence from our defense community and European allies, President Trump still casts doubt on whether Moscow is backing Russian forces who have killed over 10,000 innocent Ukrainians and who recently killed at least eight more Ukrainian soldiers and 40 civilians and turned off water and electricity in the invaded region. When Bill O'Reilly asked our President if he respected Putin, a known killer, the President replied: ``There are a lot of killers. You think our country's so innocent?'' The President equates Mr. Putin's actions with those of our country. It is not the first time this has happened. Every time President Trump says something Putin likes, it is broadcast on Kremlin-owned propaganda machines like RT. This is a dangerous threat to liberty. President Trump openly admires and appeases Putin, whose tenure is known for human rights abuses, brutal suppression of political dissent, and mysterious deaths of journalists and political opponents, like Vladimir Kara- Murza who wrote a letter critical of Putin to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee regarding the nomination of Secretary Tillerson. Last Thursday, while in Moscow, he fell into a life-threatening coma believed to be caused by an unknown poison. Mr. Speaker, we cannot continue to normalize what President Trump is doing. We cannot afford to take our country back to an era of unchecked Russian aggression. We need freedom. That is what is at stake. I include in the Record a February 6, 2017, article by Julie Hirschfeld Davis. [Feb. 6, 2017] Trump Seems to Side With Russia in Comments on Ukraine (By Julie Hirschfeld Davis) Washington.--President Trump cast doubt on whether Moscow is backing separatists engaged in the recent escalation of fighting in eastern Ukraine, appearing to side with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, who has long denied involvement in the conflict despite evidence to the contrary. Mr. Trump said he did not take offense at the outbreak of a lethal bout of fighting in Ukraine that came within a day of a phone conversation he had with Mr. Putin, saying of the recent clashes, ``we don't really know exactly what that is.'' ``They're pro-forces,'' Mr. Trump said of the Ukrainian separatists in an interview that aired on Monday on ``The O'Reilly Factor,'' on Fox News. ``We don't know, are they uncontrollable? Are they uncontrolled? That happens also. We're going to find out; I would be surprised, but we'll see.'' Mr. Trump's comments were the latest indication that his desire for warmer relations with Russia may be coloring his view of the conflict in Ukraine, which pits the country's military--trained and equipped in part by the United States Army--against Russian-backed separatists. Moscow has denied involvement in the three-year conflict, despite evidence that it has provided equipment and fighters to support separatist forces in eastern Ukraine. The president's push for a friendlier relationship with Mr. Putin has alarmed Ukrainian officials, who fear that the pressure former President Barack Obama applied on Russia to withdraw its unacknowledged military forces from eastern Ukraine will wane. A telephone call Mr. Trump held on Saturday with President Petro O. Poroshenko of Ukraine raised further questions about his position on the conflict and his administration's commitment to maintaining sanctions against Russia for the annexation of Crimea. In an official account of the call, Mr. Trump had said he was willing to work with Kiev and Moscow to resolve the conflict. But the statement referred to helping to ``restore peace along the border,'' while the violence has been playing out inside eastern Ukraine.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, candidate Donald Trump promised he would drain the swamp. The American people believed him. But instead of draining the swamp, it has become abundantly clear he is driving his own pylons deeply into the swamp. Already, Trump Incorporated is making significant profits off the President's position. Personal profits aren't what serving the public is about. My mother used to ask about the superrich: Do they ever fill up? In fact, The New York Times Editorial Board wrote a scathing indictment of Trump Incorporated. I include that article in the Record. [From the New York Times, Feb. 1, 2017] White House Inc. (By the Editorial Board) As a candidate, President Trump spent contributors' money for office space that he owned, stays at his resorts and food at his restaurants. He spent contributors' money on Trump- branded wine and water. He displayed Trump merchandise at campaign events. Now he seems determined to milk the presidency, apparently synonymous with his brand in his eyes, for a fortune. ``The brand is certainly a hotter brand than it was before,'' Mr. Trump observed, with satisfaction, shortly after the election. Last week, an executive of the Trump Organization, Eric Danziger, said it would open Trump-branded hotels in the 26 largest metropolitan areas in the country, up from five. The business, he said, would focus its expansion domestically for ``the next four or eight years.'' The fee to join the Mar-a- Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla., which Mr. Trump calls the ``Winter White House,'' just doubled to $200,000. This news came less than a week after Mr. Trump and his inauguration committee hosted parties and other events at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, in the government- owned Old Post Office. Even his press secretary, Sean Spicer, has become a pitchman: ``It's an absolutely stunning hotel,'' he said recently. ``I encourage you to go there if you haven't been by.'' Self-dealing is such standard procedure for this White House that a cynic (or satirist) might say it's time to give in and try to put Mr. Trump's conflicts of interest to work for the public. Maybe if he had hotels in every nation, he'd have a financial interest in being less bellicose, and more supportive of the free flow of trade and of people, even if they happen to be Mexican or Muslim. But we really prefer the old-fashioned approach in which presidents put the public interest ahead of their own finances. Federal ethics officials have told Mr. Trump that he should divest his business interests to avoid allegations of bribery and to assure Americans that their needs are his only concern. Mr. Trump argues that he can put a ``firewall'' between his businesses and himself by having his eldest sons manage them. The president and the Trump Organization last week hired lawyers to keep an eye on the Trumps, a laughable ploy that doesn't meet ethical or anti-corruption standards and constitutional requirements. Mr. Trump has argued that the law permits the president to keep his business--even though no modern president has done so, and far poorer ones than he have sold off business interests to serve. He and his lawyers have played down the importance of the emoluments clause of the Constitution, which prohibits government officials from accepting gifts or income from foreign governments without the approval of Congress. And he refuses to release his tax returns and divest his assets and put the proceeds in a blind trust, as his cabinet nominees are doing right now. Consider the Trump Hotel. Mr. Trump has a 60-year lease on the property with the General Services Administration. That contract states that no elected federal official ``shall be admitted to any share or part of this lease, or to any benefit that may arise therefrom.'' That unambiguous clause exists to prevent corruption and self-dealing by government officials. Since Mr. Trump officially violated the lease when he assumed office, the agency is clearly obligated to cancel the lease or require that it be sold to another hotel operator. Ranking Democrats on the House and Senate committees with jurisdiction over the agency have for weeks been asking it to address the lease violation. So far, the agency, which reports to the president, appears to have done nothing. Mr. Trump's lawyers preposterously contend that because he was not an elected official when the lease was signed, he hasn't broken it. Aside from violating the lease terms, Mr. Trump is very likely violating the emoluments clause by holding on to the hotel. His lawyers have said that he will donate profits from rooms rented to foreign governments to the Treasury, but that's no cure. Experts say it would be next to impossible to account for foreign ``profits''--which, of course, would be based on the hotel's own calculations. Is the hotel prepared to open its books so the public can judge those numbers for itself? Congress ought to demand that the G.S.A. uphold the terms of the hotel lease and shame Mr. Trump into selling his other businesses, the fortunes of which are now hitched to the presidency. Democrats have been trying to do this, but the Republicans who run the House and Senate have not joined them. So far, they lack the spine to challenge the president. Just imagine how they would have reacted if Hillary Clinton had been elected and the Clinton Foundation were merely leasing a government building, let alone using it to generate revenue. If the agency doesn't act, a competing hotel could sue to demand that it cancel the lease because the president's control of the hotel represents unfair competition. The Trump Hotel has been drawing business away from other hotels, precisely because its proprietor occupies the White House. Indeed, the hotel has promoted itself on Twitter with an image of a man relaxing in one of its rooms, gazing out upon a building that looks very like the White House (it's actually the Environmental Protection Agency, which Mr. Trump campaigned to abolish). Since the election, embassies from countries that include Bahrain, Kuwait and Azerbaijan have held receptions at the hotel, and diplomats say it's important that they be seen patronizing it. Mr. Trump has boasted that the presidency boosts his brand. He should focus instead on how his commercial ambition is tarnishing the image of public service. If he continues to reduce the most powerful office in the world to a marketing scheme, ethical public servants, in Congress and across the government, can't stand by and watch.

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, it bodes ill for our beloved Republic. Trump Incorporated appears as if it plans to milk the Presidency with his enhanced international profile. The Trump Organization is looking to expand domestic branded hotels in the 26 largest metropolitan areas, up from five. At his Mar-a-Lago Club, which the President dubbed the Winter White House, the club fees just doubled to $200,000. The Trump inaugural committee hosted parties and other events at the Trump International Hotel, and his official staff in the West Wing sound like salesmen endorsing that hotel. All this is with the backdrop of President Trump refusing to fully divest his company, put his assets in a true blind trust, or release his tax returns. The question of President Trump's Emolument Clause violations linger behind every action he takes. It is time for him to fess up.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, this year marks the nine-year anniversary of the greatest financial crisis in a generation. This economic disaster nearly caused the destruction of our country's entire financial infrastructure and led to what we call now the Great Recession. However, during the last nine years Wall Street Banks have succeeded and in the process have caused the financial failure of millions of Americans. JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have all reported record profits during the recession. Wall Street in the last nine years has regained ALL of its pre-crisis wealth with interest, while Main Street has yet to see a real recovery. During the 1990's, Wall Street's biggest banks and speculation houses concocted a fraudulent and greedy scheme to create false money. Then, in 2008, their crime exploded, nearly destroying capitalism. Their recklessness was so extreme it wiped out the net worth of 44 percent of Hispanic American households, 33 percent of African American households, and 11 percent of Caucasian households, respectively. This was a taking of historic dimension never reimbursed to this day. It sucked out the wealth from millions of American families. It's time for Congress to ensure that these failures in our banking system are never repeated. That is why I have reintroduced the Return to Prudent Banking Act. To build on the momentum and the movement to reinstate Glass-Steagall. Since last summer, fifteen state legislatures introduced resolutions calling for Congress to reinstate Glass Steagall. Democrats and Republicans have memorialized support for Glass-Steagall in their respective political platforms. Even President Trump has declared his support for a new Glass-Steagall law and we are obligated to work with him to do just that. I was proud to join with 57 members of the House who several years ago voted against the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the bill that overturned Glass Steagall. As the anti-regulation movement won the day, that law was a clear signal that Wall Street was in charge. Banks grew larger and riskier, and American taxpayers were given the bill when the deregulated financial sector fell apart. This is a reality that has sunk its teeth deep into the flesh of our Republic, influencing more and more who is elevated to office. Mr. Speaker, these banks have to be defanged. Restoring Glass Steagall is a first step among other items, like a campaign finance reform, better trade deals, and better deals for American workers.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, the day after our new President spoke to the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, we saw a surge in Russian aggression and attacks in eastern Ukraine. Every American must realize, Russia is testing our new administration's resolve to stand up for liberty. Since Russia invaded Crimea in February 2014, 10,000 innocent Ukrainians have been killed by Russian aggression, and this has increased over the past week. Dozens more have been displaced--17,000, in fact. These actions violated the 1994 Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances that stated: the Russian Federation would respect the independent sovereignty and existing borders of Ukraine. Russia's new aggression is another step in its campaign to undermine the democratic order that has existed in our Transatlantic Alliance since the end of World War II and cold war. America must stand up for the people of Ukraine and our European alliances and denounce the actions of President Putin. We have to stand up or we face--Russia will face condemnation by the world community. Russia should withdraw her heavy weapons from that region. They should stop financing separatists. They should allow repairs for critical infrastructure and fulfill all of their agreements under the Minsk accords. What is happening is a global shame.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to place in the Record a very important story from The Columbus Dispatch newspaper. It focuses on Steve Mnuchin, President Trump's nominee to be Treasury Secretary, and it raises issues of deep concern. [From the Columbus Dispatch, Jan. 29, 2017] Trump Treasury Pick Mnuchin Misled Senate on Foreclosures, Ohio Cases Show (By Alan Johnson and Jill Riepenhoff) President Donald Trump's nominee for U.S. treasury secretary was untruthful with the Senate during the confirmation process, documents uncovered by The Dispatch show. Steve Mnuchin, former chairman and chief executive officer of OneWest Bank, known for its aggressive foreclosure practices, flatly denied in testimony before the Senate Finance Committee that OneWest used ``robo-signing'' on mortgage documents. But records show the bank utilized the questionable practice in Ohio. ``The guy is just lying. There's no other way to say it,'' said Bill Faith, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio. The revelation comes with the committee's vote on whether to confirm Mnuchin's nomination, currently scheduled for Monday night. Barney Keller of Jamestown Associates, who represents Mnuchin, was asked to comment for this story but did not respond before deadline. Jamestown Associates is a Washington political consulting and advertising firm that represented Trump in his campaign. ``Robo-signing'' is the informal term for when a mortgage company employee signs hundreds of foreclosures, swearing they have scrutinized the documents as required by law when in fact they have not. ``OneWest Bank did not `robo-sign' documents,'' Mnuchin wrote in response to questions from individual senators, ``and as the only bank to successfully complete the Independent Foreclosure Review required by federal banking regulators to investigate allegations of `robo-signing,' I am proud of our institution's extremely low error rate.'' But a Dispatch analysis of nearly four dozen foreclosure cases filed by OneWest in Franklin County in 2010 alone shows that the company frequently used robo-signers. The vast majority of the Columbus-area cases were signed by 11 different people in Travis County, Texas. Those employees called themselves vice presidents, assistant vice presidents, managers and assistant secretaries. In three local cases, a judge dismissed OneWest foreclosure proceedings specifically based on inaccurate robo-signings. The Dispatch found more than 1,900 OneWest foreclosures in the state's six largest counties from 2009 to 2015. Carla Duncan, a social worker from Cleveland Heights, was snared by OneWest's robo-signing machinery. On her way out of town for a short trip in 2010, Duncan stopped by her home to get her mail and found a note from a field inspector for her mortgage company saying that her house was vacant and was going to be boarded up. ``It wasn't vacant. I was living there,'' Duncan said. ``There were curtains on the windows. The radio was playing and the dog was there.'' What Duncan didn't know at the time was that OneWest had begun foreclosure proceedings on her three-bedroom home even though she was up-to-date on her payments. OneWest refused to accept a loan modification approved by a previous lender that had been purchased by OneWest, and it wanted to substantially increase Duncan's interest rate and monthly payment and add late fees. The company also put a lock box on a separate rental property she owned in Cleveland. After hiring former Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann, waging a five-year court battle and filing personal bankruptcy, Duncan was finally able to get the foreclosures dismissed and keep her home and rental property. She said the experience was devastating. ``It's almost like being raped, like being emotionally violated,'' Duncan said. ``It got to the point that I was afraid to open my own door.'' Court records show that Duncan's mortgage was robo-signed by Erica Johnson-Seck, vice president of OneWest's department of bankruptcy and foreclosures. From her office in Austin, Texas, Johnson-Seck robo-signed an average of 750 foreclosure documents a week, according to a sworn deposition she gave in a Florida case in July 2009. Under oath, Johnson-Seck acknowledged that she did not read the documents she was signing, taking only about 30 seconds to sign her name. To speed up the process, Johnson-Seck said she shortened her first name on her signature to just an ``E.'' She said in the deposition that OneWest's practice was to review just 10 percent of the foreclosure documents for accuracy. Dann, who now specializes in representing clients who have problems with banks and other lenders after he was forced to resign as attorney general nearly 10 years ago, said Mnuchin's businesses were a ``major offender'' in problem mortgages. Dann said Mnuchin's firms were known for dual tracking (pursuing foreclosures simultaneously as they allegedly worked with homeowners), fabricating documents and other tactics ``that caused unbelievable devastation in people's lives.'' In 2010, federal laws were changed, enabling borrowers victimized by lenders to sue them. Dann said he worries that Mnuchin, as treasury secretary, would quietly work to repeal reforms, collectively known as the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. That appears to be the case. ``It has been over six years since the passage of Dodd- Frank and it seems like an appropriate time to review all of the regulations from Dodd-Frank to understand their impact on the market, investors, small businesses and economic growth,'' Mnuchin said in a written answer to the Senate. U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, grilled Mnuchin at his recent hearing and in follow-up written questions. ``Mnuchin profited off of kicking people out of their homes and then gave false testimony about his bank's abusive practices,'' Brown told The Dispatch. ``He cannot be trusted to make decisions about policies as personal to working Ohioans as their taxes and retirement.'' Faith, the homelessness coalition director, said foreclosure practices by Mnuchin's companies and others like them ``created havoc.'' ``People were bamboozled into signing these mortgages,'' Faith said. ``We watched this train wreck happen. It's been devastating, not only to the people who got caught in this kind of scheme, but also to people who happened to live in the neighborhood . . . . It's scary that he's going to be treasury secretary.'' The Dispatch analysis showed thousands of Ohio homeowners-- including 245 in Franklin County--found themselves in OneWest's crosshairs when they defaulted on their loans, the majority of them with high interest rates. Many mortgages had terms that housing and financial experts view as predatory: prepayment penalties, interest-only loans and no-money-down loans. In addition to OneWest, which was born in 2009 from the collapse of subprime mortgage giant IndyMac, Mnuchin's banking group also acquired Financial Freedom, a subsidiary of Lehman Brothers that went bankrupt because of its toxic mortgage portfolio. The firm specialized in loans to senior citizens cashing in on their homes' equity. Mnuchin was labeled by critics at the time as the ``Foreclosure King.'' Of the nearly four dozen foreclosure cases filed by OneWest in Franklin County in 2010 that were analyzed by The Dispatch, a quarter were filed within three years of the homeowner taking out the loan, typically a red flag that there was a problem with the mortgage terms and/or vetting the borrowers. Thirteen of the borrowers had double-digit interest rates, ranging from 10 percent to 17.31 percent, largely because of adjustable-rate mortgage terms. In the cases in which the houses were sold at an auction, two-thirds ended up in the hands of the federal government, which had backed those loans. Collectively, more than $4 million was due on those loans. Only seven borrowers were able to get a loan modification, even though former President Barack Obama's administration had been pushing since 2009 for lenders to help Americans keep their homes by lowering interest rates and, in some cases, the principal balance. Mnuchin does have supporters, including the American Bankers Association, which sent a letter to the Senate committee saying Mnuchin's ``public statements as well as his career in finance bring us optimism with regard to the outlook for public policies focused on growth and prosperity.'' Grover Norquist, head of Americans for Tax Reform, released a statement supporting Mnuchin's nomination, in part because of his stated intention to roll back some of the Dodd-Frank legislation: ``Mr. Mnuchin has made it clear that reforming the Dodd-Frank Act will be his `number one priority on the regulatory side' once he becomes secretary of the treasury.''

Ms. KAPTUR. According to The Columbus Dispatch, Mnuchin was untruthful to the Senate Finance Committee regarding his company's aggressive role in hastening thousands of home foreclosures during the 2000 financial crisis and what followed, and his misdeeds deeply impacted places like Ohio. Mr. Mnuchin was the chief executive officer of OneWest Bank, which engaged in so-called robo-signing of mortgage documents. That means you really don't--you treat people like objects; you really don't go into the details of every case. The Columbus Dispatch said its analysis of dozens of foreclosure cases in Ohio, and subsequent action, prove otherwise. The dastardly practice of robo-signing, prevalent throughout the mortgage industry in the aftermath of that terrible financial crisis, had certain leaders, of which Mr. Mnuchin was at the top of the heap; and their employees signed foreclosure documents en masse without properly reviewing them and forcing unjust foreclosures. The Columbus Dispatch found more than 1,900 such cases in Ohio alone. Individual cases revealed OneWest Bank declared properties vacant, even though someone was living in them. OneWest Bank, time and again, refused to abide by agreed-upon loan modifications. Is that the kind of person that we really want in charge of the U.S. Treasury Department? Nominee Mnuchin comes with a Goldman Sachs pedigree. Well, wouldn't we know that? He was nicknamed the ``foreclosure king'' after buying up IndyMac, a subprime lender that evicted about 36,000 people during the financial crisis. Sadly, Mr. Speaker, while President-elect Trump promised to drain the swamp, his nominee for Treasury Secretary proves he is not doing that at all. He is enlarging the swamp. The Columbus Dispatch found more than 1,900, I repeat, OneWest Bank foreclosures in our State's six largest counties from 2009 to 2015. In addition, Mr. Mnuchin profited personally off of kicking people out of their homes. Does such a person actually deserve confirmation as Secretary of the Treasury of the United States of America? Wake up, America. Wake up. Pay attention to what is happening here in Washington, D.C. This city belongs to you. This Capitol belongs to you. Mr. Speaker, I would also like to place in the Record a release I sent out over the weekend relating to President Trump's executive order on immigration and refugees. Kaptur Statement on President Trump's Executive Order on Immigration and Refugees Condemns misguided mandate, invites Trump to meet with refugees who call Ohio home Washington, DC.--Today Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09) released the following statement in light of confusion and hurt emanating from President Donald Trump's Executive Order on immigration and refugees. ``In New York harbor, not far from President Donald Trump's office tower stands the awesome Statue of Liberty with Emma Lazarus' immortal words, `Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.' Surely, President Trump has read these words. ``Ancesters of the Trump and Kaptur families both passed through that unforgettable portal as they made their way to America as immigrants. How can we deny to others the gift of freedom bequeathed to us? ``I support robust efforts to make America safe and secure. But a workable solution should ensure America's safety without destroying our heritage as an immigrant nation, dedicated to liberty and justice for all. ``President Trump's mandate will make America less safe. It penalizes worthy individuals and actually gives terrorist cells ammunition to use against America. This mandate puts people at risk who have helped America in our battle against terrorism, at home and abroad. It punishes innocent individuals caught in the crossfire fleeing terror and tribal conflict. ``Dangerously this misconceived Executive Order will spur anti-American sentiment globally and on the Internet, spurring more terrorism, including against our troops, and it potentially aggravating religious conflict half way around the world. Reckless rhetoric puts our nation at greater risk at home and puts Americans traveling abroad in danger. ``I cordially invite the President to northern Ohio to meet personally with some of the crossfire fleeing the terror of war and tribal conflict. A well-crafted policy should enshrine liberty for all law-abiding persons while avoiding unintended consequences that can be used by our enemies to enflame terrorism.''

Ms. KAPTUR. I just wish to say that the ancestors of the Trump family, as well as the Kaptur family, passed through the unforgettable portal of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. And the words at the base of that statue are emblazoned in the minds of families like our own going back generations. ``Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.'' Surely, President Trump has read these words. I support robust efforts to make America safe and secure, and have served on all the committees in this Congress that aim to do that. But workable solutions should ensure America's safety, without destroying our heritage as an immigrant Nation dedicated to liberty and justice for all. President Trump's mandate actually will make America less safe because it penalizes worthy individuals and puts them at greater risk, and it actually gives terrorist cells ammunition to use against America. Think about it. This mandate puts people at risk who helped America in our battle against terrorism abroad and at home, and it punishes innocent individuals caught in the crossfire fleeing terror and tribal conflict. Dangerously, this misconceived executive order will spur anti- American sentiment globally and on the internet spurring more terrorism. The old World War II motto ``loose lips sink ships'' is going to happen because of the way this was conducted. Reckless rhetoric puts our Nation at greater risk at home and puts Americans fighting for us and those traveling abroad in greater danger. Mr. Speaker, I cordially invite the President to northern Ohio. Come and meet some of the people whose lives your order changed. I think you will change your mind.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I ask unanimous consent to bring up H.R. 724, which would rescind President Trump's misguided refugee ban. Scheduled to arrive today in Toledo from war-torn Iraq was a fully vetted mother and her three young daughters, one of whom is less than a year old. They are forced to remain in Tunisia with their futures very uncertain.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, I rise to focus on President Trump's curious executive action to deny U.S. entry of certain refugees and travelers who were cleared and properly vetted. The arbitrary and discriminatory nature of his order is odd in that he only identified seven countries to be included. One must ask: Why were other nations excluded? Yes, excluded from the executive order are several Middle Eastern, African, and other nations where The Trump Organization has business interests, including Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Azerbaijan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, where the majority of 9/11 terrorists originated. We know Mr. Trump has failed to divest from his company, as ethics experts have duly noted. Every American should wonder whether he designed this executive order with his own business interests, at least, partly in mind. This is the purpose of divestiture, to eliminate any possible question of doubt or possible mal intent. Without divesting from management and ownership, President Trump's circumstance threatens the basic tenet of the rule of law that the government and all of its actors will discharge duties in the best interest of the American people, not their self-interest or the interests of their cronies or the interest of their brand.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge our new President to drain the swamp, to address his own myriad conflicts of interest. President Trump's financial disclosure stated he had a holding of at least $15,000 in Energy Transfer Partners, the lead developer on the Dakota Access Pipeline. We also know he has at least $100,000 invested in Phillips 66, which has a 25 percent stake in the same project. His spokesperson claims he has sold his stake, but how do we know? We still don't have his tax returns. Additionally, news stories indicate he has a holding in TransCanada, the developer of the Keystone XL pipeline. With the White House's action to push these pipelines forward, I fear that today we have the first of many indications of impropriety and conflict of interest. Without disclosure of his tax returns, Mr. Trump's personal financial interests are a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. They appear to compromise honorable governance with insider deals. The President should know the American people are watching, and they do care. The peaceful protests he saw on Saturday are only the beginning if he cannot live up to the ethical requirements of his new office and the legitimate expectations of the American people.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in memory of Reverend Paul Kwiatkowski, who passed away in early December. Rev. Kwiatkowski was known throughout Northwest Ohio for his intellect, humor, knowledge, and empathy. Ordained a priest at St. Peter Basilica in Rome in 1964, Father Kwiatkowski has dedicated his entire life to serving the people in parishes at Our Lady of Lourdes, Holy Spirit Seminary, St. James, Immaculate Conception, and St. Hedwig in Toledo, as well as St. Mary Parish in Bluffton and St. Joseph Parish in Maumee. St. Hedwig is notable as Father Kwiatkowski's great- grandfather was one of the original bricklayers of the church in 1891. He was incredibly dedicated to the parishes and the communities he served, a truth highlighted in Rev. Kwiatkowski's presence as a violinist with the Perrysburg Symphony for 45 years. As many parents do, Rev. Kwiatkowski's parents, Ted and Evelyn, knew he was musically inclined from a young age. Few parents experience the joy of knowing their child is also inclined to serve others. When neighborhood children gathered to play, Rev. Kwiatkowski often pretended to be their priest. His dream was realized when he enrolled in seminary studies at St. Meinrad Seminary in Indiana and the Pontifical North American College in Rome. His devotion to people and his community led him to accept a teaching position at his alma mater, Central Catholic High School, after his retirement. Father Kwiatkowski's parishioners, students, family and friends, were buoyed by the joy and fellowship he brought into their lives each and every day. For many who knew him, the first words to describe the Reverend would be ``fun'' and ``compassionate.'' A man with a bright, infectious spirit, Father Kwiatkowski will be dearly missed. He was an institution unto himself in Northwest Ohio, and will long be remembered as such. In every parish community he served, Father Paul left a neighborhood and his church property in an improved condition. Buildings were restored, streets paved, festivals established, church celebrations enhanced. He was gifted and kind. As a fellow Polish-American, I will remember his participation every Memorial Day at the Veterans' Mass at Mt. Carmel Cemetery in Toledo. He arranged for an organ to be brought on site, he played the violin as his vestments blew in the soft spring breeze, he distributed communion to the gathered worshippers who were dressed so royally for the solemn occasion. Fr. Paul made each occasion beautiful and worthy of the people he served. He was an extraordinary diocese priest who cared and shepherded his flock with great love.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, the Constitution clearly states: ``No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.'' The law defines public service as a public trust. It requires government employees to place loyalty to the Constitution, and laws and ethical principles above private gain. At his inauguration, President- elect Donald J. Trump will swear an oath to uphold the Constitution. Given the immensity of Mr. Trump's business dealings, grave concerns exist that he will immediately be in violation of this oath. Every one of his personal investments will pose a conflict of interest. Any ongoing foreign business relationship threatens to violate the Constitution's Emoluments Clause. The Constitution must be upheld. Our Founding Fathers identified the principles important to the bedrock of our democracy; they included an anticorruption measure known as the Emolument Clause. Its inclusion emphasized their desire to preserve independence from external influence. There is no question this principle should apply to this President, as it has to every other President of our nation. Mr. Trump has achieved great wealth and his investments spread across the United States and dozens of foreign countries. His personal finances are directly impacted not only by our own policy but also by policies adopted in other nations. His debt obligations pose great conflicts of interests and the possibility of hidden influences will eclipse every action and decision Mr. Trump makes. There is no way to be sure of the full depth of Mr. Trump's conflicts. He continues to refuse to release his tax returns, a key component of accountability provided by every President and presidential candidate since Richard Nixon. When asked what he will do to eliminate the conflicts, Mr. Trump has said it's ``a very simple situation'' and ``routine.'' Yet, thus far, he has not explained how he will address the conflicts. Meanwhile, there has been little division between Mr. Trump's business interests and his transition. This fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants approach is unconstitutional and dangerous to liberty. Our Founding Fathers would not accept this uncertainty and subversion of the Constitution. They constructed the Clause to clearly forbid self-serving dealings. They established a clear baseline of unacceptable conduct, rather than force after-the-fact judgement. Further, they granted Congress the power to validate exchanges. This is why I am introducing a joint resolution, the ``No Congressional Consent for President Donald J. Trump to Accept Foreign Emoluments of Any Kind Whatsoever.'' It empowers Congress to act by explicitly denying consent for Mr. Trump to accept any and all emoluments, whatever they may be. The resolution details that since the President is a federal office holder, he is subject to the strict scrutiny of the Emolument Clause. As such, the President cannot accept any Emolument without the consent of Congress and since emolument is broadly qualified, the consent or denial is in effect for a full spectrum of transactions. Specifically, these transactions include emoluments from foreign States and corporations owned or controlled by foreign governments. Further, the resolution explicitly denies Congressional consent for Mr. Trump's acceptance of any emolument, whatever it may be and requires President Trump to report back to Congress on specific action taken to ensure his compliance with the Emoluments Clause. Mr. Speaker, Congress must act to uphold our Constitution and decide what should be allowed and what cannot be tolerated with Mr. Trump's business dealings. Without full sunlight and full separation of private interests from the public trust, we must deny any acceptance of any emolument.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in memoriam of Bernadette ``Bubbles'' Winhoven. Bernadette passed away fourteen years ago on December 9. Her family dearly remembers her as a bright spirit that left this world too soon, fondly recalling how she encouraged and inspired everyone who came into contact with her. Bernadette inspired me to seek to become a Congresswoman. Our friendship dated back to elementary school at Little Flower Parish. She was the young student who loved ``twirly'' skirts. Bernadette's life should serve as a template for all of us. She was an exemplary citizen who simply wanted to improve the lives of those around her. The sense of community she created for those who knew her has continued to thrive in the years since her passing, and is certain to continue into the future, sustained by the friends and family she knew and loved. I am confident that Bernadette's family and friends were deeply cherished and that she gave them the very best in life. Her role in their lives will forever be exemplary, guiding their decisions, inspiring kindness and good humor in all situations. She will continue to always be there to help, advise and to give to everyone she has crossed paths with. In remembering Bernadette, I am reminded of the words by St. John Chrysostom: ``They whom we love and lost are no longer where they were before. They are now wherever we are.'' I know the family and friends of Bernadette feel her presence with them daily, and hope they find comfort in knowing she is with them during every milestone and small step in between. We offer her family our prayers and hope they continue to find comfort in their wonderful memories of ``Bubbles.''