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Mr. TED LIEU of California

Mr. TED LIEU of California. That is a great point because what Secretary Price, and Mnuchin, and EPA Administrator Pruitt did was not only disrespectful to taxpayers, there were violations of the Federal regulations. So I am just going to read to you what the Federal regulation says. It says, ``Your agency must select the method most advantageous to the government,'' when considering travel. Advantageous to the government, not to Secretary Price, or Mnuchin, or EPA Administrator Pruitt. They violated that Federal regulation straight up. That is why Tom Price is under Federal investigation. That is why the IG is investigating Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, and now we call on an investigation of EPA Administrator Pruitt as well for violating the Federal regulations.

Mr. TED LIEU of California. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Congressman Gallego for that terrific presentation. We are also joined today by Congressman Raskin, who will be part of our dialogue as well. Today is Thursday. That means we all need to ask: Why does Jared Kushner still have a security clearance? He already submitted two false ones. But I digress. We are actually going to talk about three other problems in the White House, one of which is Secretary Price. To my left is a picture of the private jet that Secretary Price flew on at taxpayers' expense. But in addition to Secretary Price, we also have Secretary Mnuchin, who flew on a government jet with his wife to Kentucky in order to watch the eclipse. Now, I get that was a pretty cool thing to do, but you shouldn't be using taxpayer funds to do that. And then we have got EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, which, according to media reports, spent $58,000 on noncommercial flights to go to different places. With $58,000, you can do a lot with that. VoteVets put out a release today saying that with $58,000 you could hire a VA spinal cord specialist at the Syracuse VA, a nurse for 1 year. Then Secretary Price spent over $400,000 of your money, and that is a lot of spinal cord specialists. So we are talking about raiding the public funds and raiding the public trust. That is why I have introduced the SWAMP FLYERS Act, and what this act will do is stop this from happening in the future. It will prohibit senior Cabinet officials from using noncommercial flights, unless they certify, under penalty of perjury, that no commercial flights were available. So in this case, you had Secretary Price, for example, flying from here to Nashville. I guarantee you there were lots of commercial flights. There was no reason he had to take a noncommercial flight. In addition to what we are seeing with these three Cabinet officials, we do have sort of this culture of corruption that really needs to stop because this flows from the top. With the President, what we have now is the President staying at all these properties, private properties that are his or owned by his family, and then he comes with this massive entourage of Secret Service and other folks, and they are paying money to these properties to stay there, to eat there, and all of that money flows back to the Trump organization. So the President is enriching himself and his family at taxpayers' expense. It is no wonder that we have got these three Cabinet officials doing these insane things with taxpayers' funds. Now we have got a Republican Congress unwilling to do oversight on this. You have got Speaker Ryan recently going on TV saying that he thinks that the present administration is doing great. Well, you can't have this kind of taxpayer waste when you have got the public trust at issue. We also have responses from these departments that are deeply troubling. So the Treasury Department, in response to what Secretary Mnuchin was doing, in addition to his noncommercial travel to Kentucky to watch the eclipse, he also asked if the Air Force could fly him and his wife on their honeymoon. The answer is no, you can't do that. Now the response from the Department was, well, he needed to have secure communications. Well, that was the wrong response. I can guarantee you there are other ways of getting secure communications other than to have the Air Force fly you around on your honeymoon. With Secretary Price, again, the Department gave the wrong response. They said, well, Secretary Price needs to go around meeting Americans, and he shouldn't be waiting 4 hours at the airport. Wrong response. Yes, he should be waiting 4 hours at the airport because that is what other Americans do. And I can guarantee you no American flies for $25,000 to meet other Americans. Again, the wrong response from that Department. What we need is to have these three Cabinet officials apologize. I joined with Ruben Gallego, as well as Jamie Raskin and other Members yesterday in a letter to ask for Price to resign, and all of us are also coauthors of the SWAMP FLYERS Act. What we need now is really for the public to get engaged because what we are seeing is fraud, waste, and abuse with multiple members of the Trump Cabinet.

Mr. TED LIEU of California. No. If I did that, I would be the subject of an immediate congressional ethics investigation.

Mr. TED LIEU of California. No.

Mr. TED LIEU of California. It is about 5 hours to 5\1/2\ hours, depending on the wind.

Mr. TED LIEU of California. I fly about three times a month, and I generally fly from Dulles back to LAX in my district, and I fly commercial.

Mr. TED LIEU of California

Mr. TED LIEU of California. Mr Speaker, I rise to celebrate the life of Hobart Kelliston McDowell, III--a beloved husband, father, and grandfather--who passed away on September 9, 2017 at the age of 64. Known to his family and friends as Kelly, Hobart grew up in Northern Virginia on a horse farm and attended Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts. In 1974, Hobart graduated from Stanford University with a degree in Economics and Political Science. He received his juris doctorate from UCLA Law School in 1977 and practiced law in Southern California for 30 years. Hobart later moved to El Segundo where he served as Treasurer of the Chamber of Commerce and on the El Segundo Investment Advisory Committee. He was elected to City Council for the City of El Segundo in 1988 and served as a member for 12 years. In 2004, he was elected Mayor of the City of El Segundo and fought tirelessly on behalf of his constituents for six years. Hobart was instrumental in addressing issues pertaining to the Los Angeles International Airport's modernization plan and was a powerful voice in protecting the Los Angeles Air Force Base by highlighting its importance to the South Bay. During this time, Hobart also served as Chairman of the Consortium of Cities where he worked closely with city officials on multiple planning projects. He was deeply committed to ensuring that El Segundo residents had a voice at the decision-making table. After his retirement as Mayor, Hobart continued to be involved in the region as the Executive Director of the Independent Cities Association, a non-profit group consisting of 32 cities in Southern California Hobart is survived by his wife Lisa, his son Kelliston, his brothers Josh and Robert, his sister Tina and his step-grandchildren, Tommy, Ruby and Tanner. I hope that his family will take comfort in the incredible legacy that he established as a dedicated community leader. May his memory be a blessing to us all.

Mr. TED LIEU of California

Mr. TED LIEU of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the life of Mr. John D. Lockhart (known as Jack)--patriot and public servant, loving father, grandfather and great-grandfather--who passed away on October 24, 2015. Mr. Lockhart cared deeply for his family, friends and community. His personality and presence are sorely missed and will never be forgotten. Mr. Lockhart was born in 1934 in Staten Island, New York. He attended Port Richmond High School where he played on the baseball team. He studied at St. John's University in Queens. He also served in the U.S. Army Reserves. In 1959, Mr. Lockhart joined the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY), beginning a 24-year career as a first responder assigned to Engine Co. 10/Ladder Co. 15 in Lower Manhattan. He retired in 1983. In addition to his public service, Mr. Lockhart was also a successful businessman who owned his own company and was the recipient of numerous building awards on Staten Island. He could build or fix just about anything. He enjoyed working on cars, a skill he spent many weekend hours passing on to his sons. Mr. Lockhart was an avid sports fan and cheered for the St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Giants. In his free time, he played baseball and football in adult leagues and was a fixture on the FDNY championship softball team. Upon his retirement, Mr. Lockhart managed the Renaissance Knights softball team in Manchester, New Jersey. In life, Mr. Lockhart exemplified the definition of dedication to his family. He was a constant source of love and wisdom for his family and friends. In 1958, while spending time on the beach, Mr. Jack Lockhart spotted Ms. Joan Pucillo. Pretending to injure his ankle, Mr. Lockhart was able to chat Ms. Pucillo up when she went to check on him. They went on to fall in love and were married for 57 years. Jack and Joan raised five wonderful children--David, Deirdre, Christopher, Greg, Stephen, ten grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. In closing, Mr. Speaker, I recall the words of novelist George Eliot, ``The growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts.'' Mr. Lockhart didn't make history, but he certainly grew good and kindness in the world as a public servant, businessman, friend and family man. And so, I ask that my colleagues in the United States House of Representatives join me in recognizing Mr. Jack Lockhart's exemplary life.

Mr. TED LIEU of California

Mr. TED LIEU of California. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to bring up H.R. 3440, the DREAM Act, to protect DREAMers like Karina from my home State of California. She currently works in the biotech industry.

Mr. TED LIEU of California

Mr. TED LIEU of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise to highlight the Baha'i Faith as Iran's largest religious minority group which has been subjected to state-sponsored persecution that has intensified since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. State-sponsored media has disseminated over 1,500 anti-Baha'i pieces every month in 2016, inciting hatred against the Baha'i community. After Baha'is were barred from attending or teaching in Iranian universities, the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE), an informal higher education system, was created in 1987 by members of the Baha'i community in Iran. In recent years, faculty and staff have been arrested and imprisoned for their participation in BIHE. We must be very clear that education is not a crime. In any diplomatic engagement with Iran, I urge the administration to make human rights and religious freedom, including the persecuted Baha'is, an integral part of the dialogue. I fully support House Resolution 274, which condemns the government of Iran's state sponsored persecution of its Baha'i minority and its continued violation of the International Covenants on Human Rights.

Mr. TED LIEU of California

Mr. TED LIEU of California. I like you.

Mr. TED LIEU of California. Mr. Speaker, the collapse of TrumpCare in the Senate shows that we need a new way. The process from the very beginning was fatally flawed. The plan was really behind closed doors. There were no hearings. No witnesses, no doctors, no insurance plans, no patients, no nurses, nobody could testify in front of Congress and let people know about the current healthcare system. I am not ObamaCare. I am willing to work with Republicans, with the President, with Democrats to update and improve ObamaCare. Any law can be made better, but to repeal ObamaCare without a plan is a really stupid way to go about it, and to repeal it with an even worse plan known as TrumpCare is an even more stupid way to go about it. The version that the House passed was going to cause 23 million people to lose their health insurance, increase premiums in 2018 and 2020, and then take people with preexisting conditions and give them enormously higher costs. No wonder the Senate killed that version. Now we are in a position where the Republicans, instead of trying four, five, six, seven, eight different versions of TrumpCare, they should do the one thing they haven't yet tried, which is bipartisanship. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlemen from Arizona (Mr. Gallego), who will make some comments as well.

Mr. TED LIEU of California. Mr. Speaker, Representative Gallego and I both served on Active Duty in the United States military. Before we could do that, we had to take an oath to the Constitution. That is the same oath that Members of Congress take, and it is also an oath that members of the executive branch take. Under the Constitution, Congress passes the laws. ObamaCare is the law of the land. Under the Constitution, the President has a duty to enforce those laws. Today, the President tweeted that he wants ObamaCare to implode. Not only is that mean, mean, mean, it is also a dereliction of duty. The job of the President is to help Americans, not hurt millions of Americans out of spite. Let me give you an example of what it was like before ObamaCare. I was at a restaurant and a waitress came up to me. She knew I was a legislator. I was in the State legislature at the time, and she wanted help. Her daughter had just turned 18, and, in California, where I am from, you cannot get government health insurance if you don't have any minor children. So she lost her government health insurance. She was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. She tried to get private insurance. None of them would cover her. And I realized that she is now going to slowly die because she could not get health insurance coverage. She could not go into an emergency room and get treatment because her breast cancer had not progressed to that point. But one day she is going to get to that point. She will go to an emergency room; she will get treated for a few days; and then she will die. And I thought, in a country as great as America, that should never be happening. Now that the Affordable Care Act is the law of the land, you cannot be discriminated against because of your preexisting conditions. There are some incredibly amazing elements of this law. That is why the Republicans could not repeal it. Because the American people, after looking at it for 7 years, the majority said, you know, this is a pretty good deal. Is it the best deal? No. We could definitely make it better. Mr. Speaker, Representative Gallego and I are offering to the Republicans and Speaker Ryan to engage in bipartisanship. The one thing we are asking the Speaker to do is to not enable the President to sabotage the Affordable Care Act. Not only is that wrong, but it would be enabling his dereliction of duty, and it will cause millions of Americans to suffer greatly just out of spite. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Gallego).

Mr. TED LIEU of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. TED LIEU of California. Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, the House of Representatives is going to go on recess in August. Now is the time for millions of people across America to contact their Member, ask them to hold townhalls, ask them to explain their vote on the awful TrumpCare legislation that passed the House, and ask them to now work with Democrats and work on a bipartisan basis to improve ObamaCare. Now is the time for millions of Americans to speak up. They have the entire month of August to contact their Member of Congress, and I urge them to do so. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Gallego).

Mr. TED LIEU of California

Mr. TED LIEU of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the life of Lennie Steven Cheung--a devoted husband, loving father, wonderful grandfather, and great-grandfather--who passed away on July 16, 2017. He was 93 years old. Mr. Cheung was also a scholar, a visionary, an inventor, and engineer. Mr. Cheung was born on April 1, 1924 in Tainan, Taiwan, youngest son of Mr. Ding-Chi Chang and Mrs. Po Chang-Su. During the Japanese era in Taiwan, he was educated in the Japanese education system. He scored the highest mark in the history of the General Civil Examinations when he was just 18 years old. Later he studied law and worked in the Tainan state office. After 1949, due to the change in government in Taiwan, the law he studied became invalid. He went abroad and studied engineering in Japan as he predicted that electronics and technology would become an important part of our society. In 1970, a U.S. electronics company, Transworld Electronics, hired him and the family moved to Hong Kong. In the 1980's, he started his business, Winner Electronics Company Limited, and set up an electronic factory to manufacture exclusively for Sony. During his career as an electronics engineer, he was an active member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and was awarded several patents. During his visit to the United States in 1982, he fell in love with the spirit and people he met. The following year, he set up a branch office in Los Angeles, California. Ten years later, in 1993, he, his wife (Mrs. Helen Cheung), and their youngest daughter (Mrs. Josephine Gow) were naturalized as U.S. Citizens and called America their home country. Mr. Cheung lived in Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong, and the United States for many years. He was fluent in Taiwanese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, and English. Mr. Cheung was a man of many talents and interests. He was a great scholar and had the nick name ``the living encyclopedia'' from his friends and family. He was a great mentor and advisor to his friends and family. During his free time, he enjoyed reading, listening to music, attending magic shows, and watching detective and action movies. He also had a green thumb, and enjoyed gardening and golfing. Mr. Cheung was loved and respected by all and he will be greatly missed. He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Helen Cheung, five children (Roger, Simon, Shen-Long, Alice, and Josephine), ten grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.

Mr. TED LIEU of California

Mr. TED LIEU of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise to celebrate the life of Sergeant Chad E. Jenson--beloved son, husband, stepfather, and United States Marine--who passed away on July 10, 2017 in the line of duty. Chad grew up in Redondo Beach, where his family still resides. He attended Mira Costa High School and helped lead the Manhattan Beach school's football team to a championship in 2009. Chad was deeply admired for his selflessness and unwavering optimism by teammates, classmates, and teachers alike. Chad had a deep desire to serve his country and he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in September 2010 after graduation from high school. In 2013, Chad joined the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command and by 2014, he had attained the rank of Sergeant--a remarkable accomplishment for any enlisted member of the military to receive so rapidly. He proudly served with the elite 2nd Raider Battalion, Special Operations Command which was based at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. Chad was a critical skills operator and was awaiting his first deployment. Chad constantly strived to perfect his own skills and become a stronger leader. He maintained a high standard of integrity which he shared with those around him. His awards include a U.S. Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, a Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Navy Meritorious Unit commendation, two certificates of commendation, three letters of appreciation and two meritorious masts. Chad was the embodiment of the U.S. Marine Corps' values: honor, courage, and commitment. Chad is survived by his wife, Jessica, and stepson, Jackson, whom I hope take comfort in the way Chad lived his life as a patriotic, selfless and caring young man who served his community and his nation. May his memory be a blessing to us all.

Mr. TED LIEU of California

Mr. TED LIEU of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the life of James Kyu Lee--a loving husband, father, and grandfather-- who passed away on May 29, 2017. James was born in 1932 in Buchon, South Korea where he attended Seoul Technical High School. Shortly after the start of the Korean War, James served valiantly in South Korea's Navy from 1950 to 1953. After the war, James studied at Hong Ik University where he received his bachelor of arts and went on to receive a law degree from Sung Kyun Kwan University. James went on to serve in the Korean Central Intelligence Agency from 1963 to 1978. In 1980, James immigrated to the United States where he studied and received his California Radiologic Technologist License. He worked at the Medical Clinic as an X-Ray Technician from 1981 to 2002. He retired in 2002 and enjoyed playing golf in his free time. He remained active in the Korean War Veterans Association and the Korean Navy Veteran Association. James is survived by his wife, Nan Ja Lee, his three children, Janice Jong Hyun Lee, Chris Hoon Lee, and Brad Hyuck Lee, and seven grandchildren, Alex Lee, Kate Lee, William Lee, Austin Lee, Aaron Lee, Brandon Lee, and Donovan Lee. Three children are happily married. Janice Jong Hyun Lee is married to Jay Lee, Chris Hoon Lee is married to Judy Lee, and Brad Hyuck Lee is married to Julie Lee. I hope his family can rest knowing James lived a full and happy life. I ask that my colleagues join me in recognizing James Kyu Lee's amazing life.

Mr. TED LIEU of California

Mr. TED LIEU of California. Then Rob Goldstone replies: ``Okay. He is on stage in Moscow but should be off within 20 minutes so I am sure can call. ``Rob.''

Mr. TED LIEU of California. Mr. Speaker, after we finish reading these emails into the Congressional Record, we are going to discuss why it is a straight-up violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act. On Monday, June 6, 2016, Rob Goldstone writes back to Donald Trump, Jr., in an email at 12:40 p.m., with a subject heading: ``Russia-- Clinton--private and confidential.'' ``Hi, Don. ``Let me know when you are free to talk with Emin by phone about this Hillary info--you had mentioned early this week so wanted to try to schedule a time and day. ``Best to you and family. ``Rob Goldstone.'' On June 6, 2016, at 3:03 p.m., Donald Trump, Jr., wrote back: ``Rob, could we speak now? ``D.'' Then Rob Goldstone replies to Donald Trump, Jr., that same day at 3:37 p.m.: ``Let me track him down in Moscow. ``What number he could call?'' By the way, any email where someone says tracking someone down in Moscow might just raise some red flags.

Mr. TED LIEU of California. Mr. Speaker, I am going to be reading the email portions of Rob Goldstone to Donald Trump, Jr. On June 3, 2016, at 10:36 a.m., Rob Goldstone wrote to Donald Trump, Jr., the following: ``Good morning. ``Emin just called and asked me to contact you with something very interesting. ``The Crown prosecutor of Russia met with his father Aras this morning and in their meeting offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father. ``This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump--helped along by Aras and Emin. ``What do you think is the best way to handle this information and would you be able to speak to Emin about it directly? ``I can also send this info to your father via Rhona, but it is ultra sensitive so wanted to send to you first. ``Best. ``Rob Goldstone.''

Mr. TED LIEU of California. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. TED LIEU of California. Let me conclude by saying that the President said that most people would have taken this meeting. That is just not true. Again, under the Federal Election Campaign Act, if you solicit, or conspire to solicit, or show up at a meeting where you expect to get opposition research from a foreign national, that is a violation of the Federal law. So, in fact, most people would not have taken this meeting unless they were crooked. We have an example here of what happened when the Al Gore campaign got information. They were sent anonymously briefing notes and things that then Bush was being briefed on and so on. They took that package, and they turned it over to the FBI. That is what should have happened in this case. In conclusion, this is a pretty big deal. We have people in the White House who believe they are above the law. The lesson in Watergate is that no one is above the law.

Mr. TED LIEU of California. So let me follow up what Representative Gallego said. We have a person in the White House now with a security clearance even though he has lied on at least two of those forms. So there actually needs to be an investigation. That security clearance needs to be suspended immediately. But, also, for any intelligence official watching this or reading about this, how can you trust Jared Kushner when he lied on these security clearance forms and makes a mockery of the process? Keep in mind this is the same person who suggested setting up a secret back channel with the Russians at the Russian Embassy. So the only reason you would want to use Russian equipment at the Russian Embassy is to hide information from U.S. intelligence. So even if his security clearance is not suspended, I really hope that people working for him do not trust him.

Mr. TED LIEU of California

Mr. TED LIEU of California. Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained on July 13, 2017 during the Roll Call No. 369 vote, the Hartzler Amendment No. 10 to H.R. 2810. Had I been present, I would have voted NAY on Roll Call No. 369.