José Serrano

Mr. SERRANO

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure and admiration that I stand before you today to honor Mr. Bakary Camara for his many years of selfless and compassionate service to the African community, and all of our community's residents. Mr. Bakary Camara was born in Gambia, West Africa, in 1961. He and his family managed an independent business and he traveled throughout Africa and Europe before settling in the Bronx in 1988. Bakary joined the majority of the West African immigrants that were settling in the Highbridge, Mount Eden, Concourse, and Morrisania sections of the Bronx. At that time, there was no Masjid in the Bronx and the Muslim community would gather in each other's apartments to pray. Bakary and other community leaders founded one of the first Mosques for the African community at 1472 Jesup Avenue, Masjid Deyaue of Islam. In the 1990s, Bakary joined other Gambian leaders in helping strengthen the Gambian Society, the first African organization to provide adult education services and worked with the CDC to educate the African community in the Bronx about their health and specifically about the growing problem of AIDS and HIV. Bakary helped open other Mosques throughout the Bronx, serves as Secretary for Makky Masjid and is the Public Relations Representative for Makky Masjid and for the Islamic Cultural Center, the central mosque for the Bronx which opened in 1999. Bakary has volunteered and served as a representative for numerous nonprofits throughout the Bronx, including the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, the United Parents of Highbridge and the Parent Action Committee of New Settlement Apartments. Bakary served on the steering committee for the citywide Muslim Holiday Campaign, a coalition which worked for nearly a decade to have the two Muslim holidays, the Eids, recognized by the New York Public School System. This was achieved in 2015 under Mayor Bill DeBlasio. Bakary also has volunteered as a community translator for Lincoln, Harlem, and New York Presbyterian Hospitals. He speaks Sonike, Manidiko, Fulani, and Walof. Bakary continues to reside with his family on Plimpton Avenue in the Highbridge neighborhood of the Bronx. Mr. Speaker, I respectfully ask that you and my other distinguished colleagues join me in honoring Mr. Bakary Camara for his consistently remarkable dedication to public service.

Mr. SERRANO

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure and admiration that I stand before you today to honor Dr. Jane Edward for her years of compassionate advocacy and tireless work to advocate for the African Diaspora, especially in higher education. Dr. Jane Edward was born and raised in Southern Sudan. She was educated in Sudan, Egypt, and Canada. Her early years of schooling were completed in Sudan where she obtained a BA in Education from the University of Juba in Southern Sudan in 1986. She was the first to attend a college and the first to obtain a Doctoral Degree in her family. Dr. Edward left Sudan for Egypt in 1992 to pursue her graduate studies at the American University in Cairo after receiving a Ford Foundation Scholarship. She completed her Masters Degree in Sociology/ Anthropology at the American in Cairo in 1996. Unable to return to Sudan due to the civil war, she emigrated from Egypt to Canada in 1997; where she joined the University of Toronto, and completed her Ph.D. in Sociology in Education in 2004. She moved from Canada to the United States of America in 2005. Dr. Jane Edward is married to Prof. Amir Idris of Fordham University, and they have two children: Amanawil and Bawila. She is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor and Director of African Immigration Research, in the Department of African and African American Studies, Fordham University, Rose Hill Campus in the Bronx. She published a book titled, Sudanese Women Refugees: Transformations and Future Imaginings, New York: Palgrave Macmillan 2007, and several book chapters, journal and opinion articles, as well as research reports. Her unwavering interest for learning and pursuit of higher education is inspired by her parents, who recognized the importance of education for all their children regardless of their gender. Additionally, her personal experiences growing up in South Sudan and observing the experiences of other women, gave Dr. Edward the motivation and encouragement to continue with her education, and to recognize the significance of women's education. These experiences of schooling, teaching and researching African and South Sudanese women's issues in the diaspora and in conflict and post conflict situations have further afforded Dr. Edward a realization that Africans in general and women in particular need to write about their experiences and history from their own perspectives. As an advocate for women's rights, she has been involved with the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) Forum of the United Nations International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), held in Cairo Egypt in 1994; and the NGOs forum on women in China's Huairou City, a parallel conference of NGOs to the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing China in September 1995. In the summer of 2006, Dr. Edward launched the African Immigration Research as part of the larger Bronx African American History Project (BAAHP), to highlight African immigrants' histories, experiences and contributions to the history of the Bronx County. The main objective of the study is to examine the situation of African immigrants in the Bronx with an aim of capturing their varied experiences. Mr. Speaker, I respectfully ask that you and my other distinguished colleagues join me in honoring Dr. Jane Edward for her consistently remarkable dedication to higher education and the African Diaspora.

Mr. SERRANO

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure and admiration that I stand before you today to honor the Mt. Hope Mosque for their many years of selfless and compassionate service to all of our community's residents. The masjid was founded by a group of Guyanese Muslims led by Imam Shameem Ali on the Grand Concourse in the early part of the 1980s. It was the second such institution in the whole of the Bronx. Due to the need for a larger space in 1985 it was moved to its present location, 24 Mount Hope Place. Once at its present location, a residential area, it drew the attention of Muslims in the neighborhood who had no place to go for prayers. In the spirit of the unity of Islam, the doors of the masjid were opened to all, including non-Muslims. In doing so, the ethnicity of the members became so diverse that it was dubbed--The United Nations Mosque. The Ameer or leader of the masjid, Mr. Abdallah Cromwell is a Trinidadian, who runs the ``His People Halal Restaurant'' down the block from the masjid. The first imam of the masjid is Imam Shameem Ali from Guyana, who recently retired and passed his mantle to his young and energetic deputy, Imam Issah Lamin Yusif, who is from Ghana. Imam lssah Lamin Yusif's deputy is Imam Hameed Fofana from the Gambia. Imam lssah and his deputies lead the congregants in their daily prayers and also run a daily after-school and weekend programs to educate children of the congregation in religious knowledge. The mosque has a Boys' and Cubs' Scout Troop, who have been invited to many places in the city and the state. Recently, they were invited to recite the Pledge of Allegiance and the Scouts' Creed at the last general meeting of the New York State leadership committee. There are programs to educate the congregants on good citizenship and civic responsibilities. Every Friday after congregational prayers there is enough food for all. During the holy month of Ramadan there is enough food for everyone who comes to break their fast. From 1989 until 2000 the mosque ran a food pantry for the neighborhood's needy. Another uniqueness of this masjid is its plurality of ethnicities. Its congregants are from---Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Mount Hope Masjid was founded to serve the religious and social needs of some Guyanese, but it grew to serve a diverse group of people with the same needs. It still serves the same purpose and it will continue to do so for a long time, lnsha-Allah. Mr. Speaker, I respectfully ask that you and my other distinguished colleagues join me in honoring the Mt. Hope Mosque for their consistently remarkable dedication to public service.

Mr. SERRANO

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure and admiration that I stand before you today to honor African Services Committee, Inc. for their many years of selfless and compassionate service to the African community, and all of our community's residents. Founded in 1981 by Ethiopian refugees to give a helping hand to other newcomers, today African Services is a multiservice agency based in Harlem and dedicated to assisting immigrants, refugees and asylees from across the African Diaspora. Their programs address the needs of newcomers affected by war, persecution, poverty, and global health inequalities. The agency provide health, housing, legal, educational, and social services to 12,500 people each year. Staff representing more than 20 countries and speaking over 25 languages provide culturally and linguistically relevant support to this diverse and growing community. Expanding HIV prevention and access to AIDS treatment and care is central to their mission. African Services has taken this work from Harlem to the frontlines of the global pandemic and now operates five HIV clinics in Ethiopia. African Services Committee was started in 1981 in a Bronx basement apartment by Asfaha Hadera. Asfaha arrived in the United States having experienced first-hand the realities of refugee life. Asfaha fled his home country of Ethiopia in 1977 for refugee camps in Sudan, before emigrating to the U.S. in 1979. Upon arrival, he saw a lack of assistance for others, like himself, who were refugees from conflicted areas throughout Africa. So, he established the organization to give a helping hand to other African newcomers and, with Kim Nichols, began refugee resettlement programs in New York City. As immigration from the continent increased, their offices expanded to their current home in West Harlem, and African Services' priorities widened to include broader support services for African immigrants coming to the United States including, but not limited to: HIV/STD/TB/ Hepatitis B and C testing, diabetes & blood pressure testing, legal services, immigration assistance, advocacy, and policy work. The services have expanded to serve over 12,000 people each year in their Harlem location and continue to grow each year. Though they are based in Harlem, they primarily service the African community in the Bronx. Mr. Speaker, I respectfully ask that you and my other distinguished colleagues join me in honoring African Services Committee, Inc. for their consistently remarkable dedication to servicing the African community.

Mr. SERRANO

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure and admiration that I stand before you today to honor Mr. Joseph K. Awadjie for his years of compassionate advocacy and tireless work to improve the lives of our students. Born and raised in Ghana, Mr. Awadjie is fluent in the languages of Twi, Fanti and Ga. Emigrating from Ghana, Mr. Awadjie was drawn to CUNY because of its rich diversity and broad service to New Yorkers of all backgrounds. Mr. Awadjie is dedicated to ensuring that students have an active role in university governance, and is committed to improving the quality of public higher education through advocacy efforts at the university, city, and state levels. Mr. Awadjie earned his Master of Science Degree at Brooklyn College, specializing in Natural and Behavioral Sciences, in June of 2016. Prior to his graduate studies, Mr. Awadjie earned his B.S in Exercise Science from Brooklyn College. In 2014, Mr. Awadjie was elected the thirtieth Chairperson of the University Student Senate (USS) and just completed his second term as the USS Chairperson and CUNY Trustee. Mr. Awadjie has a long record of service at CUNY. While at Brooklyn College, he has served as Senator of Student Government, President of the Forensics Debate team and the Academic Club Association, and Captain of the men's soccer team. Shortly upon returning to Brooklyn College for his Master's degree, Mr. Awadjie was elected President of the Graduate Student Organization. During his tenure at USS, Mr. Awadjie was an integral part of the grassroots campaign that restored a Merit Based Scholarship within the New York City Council Budget. With strong support from the City Council Committee on Higher Education, Mr. Awadjie helped secure $11.1 million in the FY2015 Budget and $17 million in the FY2016 budget for a Merit Based Scholarship for CUNY students. In 2016, Mr. Awadjie led a successful student campaign to halt tuition increases at CUNY, while helping acquire increased funding for essential university programming. Mr. Speaker, I respectfully ask that you and my other distinguished colleagues join me in honoring Mr. Joseph K. Awadjie for his consistently remarkable dedication to education and longstanding commitment to improving our community.

Mr. SERRANO

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure and admiration that I stand before you today to honor the Bronx Lebanon Hospital-- Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for their years of tireless work to improve the lives of our community, especially the African Diaspora. Prior to the Diaspora Clinic being opened June 12, 2012, the primary care staff at the Bronx Lebanon Hospital Center and the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Health Centers found that many patients who speak minority languages ended up in emergency rooms. The Diaspora Clinic at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Health Center on 1265 Franklin Avenue, Bronx, New York was first conceptualized to break down the myriad barriers between doctors and immigrant patients, and it was opened specifically for the growing African immigrant population in the Bronx. The Diaspora clinic focuses on providing culturally sensitive services, including health education, prevention, maternal/child health care, chronic disease, dental care, and HIV counseling. Thus far, the Diaspora clinic has had more than 15,000 visits to date. The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Health Center has staff members who speak several of the African languages and dialects and very often they act as cultural ambassadors who help bridge the trust between the Diaspora patients and the medical system. The Clinic has reached out to the West African population by way of direct visits to mosques and churches; participated in their radio programs; and also organized and participated in numerous health fairs and community events because they wanted to emphasize the need for primary health care to this community. As recently as October 15, 2016, the Center hosted several Imams from Togo, Senegal, Ghana, Guinea and Gambia communities; a leading Ghanian pastor, Mr. Benjamin Boakye, the Gambian Ambassador to the United Nations, Dr. Mamadou Tangara, and more than two hundred and fifty adults and kids from the West African community participate in the second Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Diaspora Health Fair, and they were treated to giveaways, free screenings for blood pressure and diabetes. During the Diaspora clinic hours, the clinic has a social work assistant who is responsible for ensuring that the concrete services needs of these patients are met, and the social work assistant and the registrars also make sure that the unemployed, undocumented or temporary residents benefit from paying little or no cost via Charity Care. Many ``Diaspora'' patients now visit the clinic regularly for appointments with our Internists, but many of these patients have also been incorporated into the clinic's regular operating hours. Mr. Speaker, I respectfully ask that you and my other distinguished colleagues join me in honoring the Bronx Lebanon--Martin Luther King, Jr. Health Center for their consistently remarkable dedication to the health and wellness of our community, especially for the African community.

Mr. SERRANO

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure and admiration that I stand before you today to honor Mr. Scott Auwater for his many years of selfless and compassionate service to the African community, and all of our community's residents. Scott Auwater became BronxWorks' Assistant Executive Director for Case Management Programs in 2002 after serving as a department director for seven years. He is an alumnus of the State University of New York at Cortland and has a Master's degree from the Hunter College School of Social Work. After graduating from college, he served for two years in the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone. Scott first joined BronxWorks as a student intern in 1986 and has been a full-time staff member since 1988. His portfolio includes BronxWorks' street homeless services, family shelters, HIV/AIDS services, and foster care prevention programs. Scott established the BronxWorks Homeless Outreach Team, led BronxWorks' expansion into the homeless services programs, and he is widely recognized as an expert on homelessness. He oversaw BronxWorks' role in dramatically reducing street homelessness in the borough and has done innovative work in addressing the health needs of chronically homeless individuals. Scott has served on a number of not-for-profit boards over the years including The Bronx Borough President's African Advisory Board and Throup Family Residence, a Bronx faith-based organization that shelters families and provides permanent supportive housing. Scott is married to Luz Real and has four children. In the years since his Peace Corps services ended, Scott has kept in close contact with his network of friends in Sierra Leone and returned to the country twice. Scott and Luz's youngest son, Hassan, was born in Sierra Leone during the country's brutal civil war and Hassan was adopted after his birth parents were killed during the war. Mr. Speaker, I respectfully ask that you and my other distinguished colleagues join me in honoring Mr. Scott Auwater for his consistently remarkable dedication to public service.

Mr. SERRANO

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman. I rise to join my voice to those from New York and other places who continue to ask: Why not fairness in reimbursing New York City for the work that it is doing, the money that it is spending, to take care of the President-elect? We don't have a problem with safeguarding him, but someone should pay, other than the local government. I must remind you, or warn you, that he loves New York, and that is fine. I suspect this will be a President who will spend a lot of time in New York City, rather than in the White House. That might sell well on some TV networks, but it won't sell well for the taxpayers of New York. So I think it is important for us now to be able to get New York the $35 million it has already paid. Now, there is $7 million in the bill, and some will say, I can't vote for this because it only has $7 million. I am looking at Chairman Rogers, I am looking at Chairman Frelinghuysen, and I suspect that this is a downpayment on what is to come, and that the negotiations will get better. As I close, let me just take a second to say, Hal, you have been a great chairman. Every time I get up and you look to your right, which is not difficult for you to do, but when you look to your right and you single me out to speak, I have always felt that I am part of the team. You are not leaving the Congress, but you are leaving the chairmanship. We are going to miss you in that position, but you are replaced by a friend who now has to sit closer to me when I travel on the train so I can tell him all of my thoughts. I thank you.

Mr. SERRANO

Mr. SERRANO. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me time. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to pass H.R. 6282. This legislation will rename the Morris Heights Post Office in the Bronx, New York, in my district, after a legend. Dr. Roscoe Brown was a giant among men and a revered figure in the Bronx, New York City, and the Nation. I had the privilege of knowing Dr. Brown for decades and considered him a dear friend. He faced the horrors of segregation early in his life, but he never let that stop him from achieving what he wanted and set out to do. Dr. Brown was a fearless Tuskegee Airman during World War II, conducting some 68 missions and becoming one of the first fighters to shoot down a German fighter jet. The heroism he displayed paved the way for the desegregation of the Armed Forces and, decades later, earned him and his fellow airmen a Congressional Gold Medal. After the war, he went on to further his studies at New York University, where he eventually served as a professor and an academic of the highest caliber. For 17 years, Dr. Brown served as president of Bronx Community College, which is located in my district, leading an institution that gave hope of a better life through education to a predominantly minority and nontraditional student population. Throughout his life, Dr. Brown was a quiet, yet fierce advocate and leader that many turned to during the racial discord that plagued the city of New York in the sixties and seventies. His activism in the civil rights movement led him to start 100 Black Men, a civic organization devoted to improving the treatment of African Americans in New York. Dr. Brown was also an avid runner and participated in nine New York City Marathons. During his tenure at Bronx Community College, he established the Annual Hall of Fame 5K and 10K races to help benefit the school. His invitation to participate in one of those races inspired me to start running myself, and I have now run that particular race for more than 30 years. While his accomplishments and contributions are far too numerous to list, it is fair to say that Dr. Brown left the world around him in a much better place than which he found it. He was a unique individual with a great smile, a great sense of humor, and a great sense of history. Above all, he was a coalition builder. No one was too far for him to speak to or to bring close to him. We will miss him, and I know that he is looking on us today. This is a small but very important tribute for a great man, Dr. Roscoe Brown.

Mr. SERRANO

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise today to once again pay tribute to Francesc de Paula Soler, a gifted and world-renowned musician. Mr. Soler grew up in Spain and comes from a Catalan family of well- known artists. He began studying the guitar at the age of six and was completely immersed in it by age 11, earning the highest honors in the prestigious Conservatorio Superior de Musica in Barcelona, Spain. Mr. Soler received rigorous training from legendary guitarists Andres Segovia, known as the ``Father of Classical Guitar,'' and Narciso Yepes. Mr. Soler has become a legend in his own right due to his unique skills in conveying emotions through the strings of his guitar. Mr. Soler has performed in music halls and auditoriums throughout the United States and Europe for audiences of all ages and backgrounds. Some of the venues include the Library of Congress, the Levine School of Music and the Acheson Auditorium at the United States Department of State. Commonly known as the ``Poet of the Guitar,'' Mr. Soler has received numerous awards and recognitions, including: Medal of St. Vladimir of the Russian Orthodox Church, Honorary Citizen of Dallas, Honorary Citizen of Corpus Christi, Golden Key of the Corpus Christi City, Medal of the U.S. Military Academy and the Plaque of the Catalan Catholic Church Council. In commemoration of Hispanic Heritage Month and the positive contributions of Hispanic-Americans throughout our nation's history, Mr. Soler will once again grace the Library of Congress with his music. I encourage all of my colleagues to attend Mr. Soler's concert on September 16, 2016 as we commemorate the 400th Anniversary of the death of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, author of the most influential work of literature in the Spanish language--Don Quijote de la Mancha. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to Francesc de Paula Soler for his contributions to the world of music.

Mr. SERRANO

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, when you think about it, it is a very simple solution to think about: If you can't fly because you are too dangerous to be on a plane and you are a threat to the country, why would you be allowed to buy a gun? Yet the gun lobby is so strong that our colleagues in the Republican Party could not see fit to change that. Secondly, we have another threat in this country and that we are not paying attention to. We have a Zika epidemic that is brewing. It started already. It is hurting the territories. It is going to hurt Florida in a strong way, and it will move north. Then it might be too late, when we have so many people sick. Why would they leave town and run away from real issues when they could have stayed here and faced the American people by doing the right thing? What are they going to say now to the American people when they ask: Why didn't you protect the children? Why didn't you protect the pregnant women? Why didn't you stop crazy people or people who need help from getting on an airplane with a gun? That is the big issue that we have to deal with.

Mr. SERRANO

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the gentleman's amendment.

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Chair, we finally found something we agree on again. This is becoming a habit. We want to keep Wall Street in its place. I wish the gentleman would help us with empowering the SEC to do so. Dodd-Frank does not designate any entity as ``too big to fail,'' as the Garrett amendment suggests. Instead, Dodd-Frank provides regulators with the tools to address the risks posed by large, complex, and interconnected financial institutions--both banks and nonbanks alike. This is crucial in addressing one of the main regulatory gaps we witnessed leading up to the 2008 crisis. Too many nonbanks were in the shadows, having had escaped critical regulation that could have prevented the crisis. For example, regulators have already designed AIG as a nonbank systemically important financial institution, a SIFI. Recall that the London arm of AIG's was speculating in derivative products, such as credit default swaps, leading up to the 2008 crisis. By the fall of 2007, AIG Financial Products had already begun a tailspin that helped spark the worst financial crisis in the U.S. since the Great Depression. By May 2009, various programs of support from the Federal Reserve and the Treasury amounted to more than $180 billion in bailouts to the company. Other nonbank broker dealers, like Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, were at the center of the creation of toxic assets, which were central to the crisis and necessitated the need for a Wall Street bailout. The Garrett amendment would stop our banking regulators from subjecting the next Lehman Brothers from heightened regulation. Hedge funds were also key intermediaries in the distribution and structuring of toxic assets. Again, the Garrett amendment would stop our banking regulators from providing the heightened regulation of their operations. The Garrett amendment is an attempt to roll back the critical rules of the road we have passed in the wake of the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression. Large financial institutions are fighting the SIFI designation because they know that being identified as one means being subjected to regulation that is above and beyond current requirements, including ``living wills,'' which will help regulators plan how to wind down the firms in an orderly fashion in the event they become insolvent. The heightened regulation also includes the ability for regulators to ``stress test'' the entity to see if it can withstand financial distress, demand more capital, or to demand more stringent reporting. Former FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair, a Republican appointee, noted in congressional testimony after the passage of Dodd-Frank: ``Many institutions are vigorously lobbying against such a designation,'' and ``being designated a SIFI will in no way confer a competitive advantage by anointing an institution as `too big to fail.' '' The capacity to designate nonbanks as SIFIs is critical to the U.S. financial system for appropriate regulatory oversight. The designation process already has in place multiple procedural safeguards and opportunities for appeal via a lengthy process. Therefore, I urge my colleagues to oppose the Garrett amendment as it does much more harm than we would think. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Chair, I am telling the gentleman from Arizona what he didn't write.

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Maxine Waters).

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition.

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong opposition to the amendment.

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Chairman, at the behest of the House Republicans' inquiry, the Department of Justice's Office of Professional Responsibility investigated whether there was misconduct or targeting of legal businesses by Operation Choke Point. The DOJ's OPR, in their report from last year, found that absolutely no wrongdoing had occurred. The DOJ's Office of Professional Responsibility ``concluded that the Department of Justice attorneys involved in Operation Choke Point did not engage in professional misconduct,'' and that, ``OPR's inquiry further determined that Civil Division employees did not improperly target lawful participants.'' Moreover, a follow-on report from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation inspector general found that the FDIC's involvement in Operation Choke Point was inconsequential to the direction and outcome of the initiative. Operation Choke Point is an enforcement action by the Department of Justice, whose funding is not addressed by this particular appropriations bill. In fact, that is part of the large problem with this amendment--that it really speaks to issues that belong in another bill. What this provision really does is tell the banking regulators not to cooperate with law enforcement when the Department of Justice has identified mass market fraud and other abuses of the payments system. The Department of Justice has made it a priority to hold the perpetrators of consumer fraud accountable. Recently, for example, they prosecuted the operators of lottery scams, the promoters of fake business opportunities, and the criminals behind a telemarketing fraud targeting Spanish-speaking customers. Preventing banking regulators from cooperating with legitimate law enforcement requests would restrict the ability of the Civil Division's Consumer Protection Branch in enforcing consumer protection statutes throughout the United States. Operation Choke Point is just one of the Consumer Protection Branch's efforts that require cooperation with banking regulators and which have produced significant results. For example, the Branch, together with U.S. Attorneys across the country, obtained over 150 criminal convictions and more than $7 billion in criminal fines, forfeitures, and restitution ordered to victims. Limiting the funding it receives would be a serious blow to consumers who need the protection of the government from the financial predators. This is something that we should not be doing at this point. We, certainly, shouldn't be doing it in this bill, but we shouldn't be doing it at all. I urge its opposition. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. It is a surprise to the gentleman that we still have 6 months to go in this Congress and in this administration. This amendment would limit the administration's ability to propose or finalize important rules or regulations. The administration issues rules because Congress has conveyed a specific responsibility to them. Rather than enact every contingency into law, we rely on public comment and technical advice to make sure the laws are implemented efficiently. Taking a myopic view of our Nation's regulatory practices is nothing new for the majority. Time and time again we have seen appropriations riders and authorizing legislation that only looks at the costs associated with agency rules and completely ignores the associated benefits. This amendment is no different. These proposals overlook the extensive review process that already exists for rules. For example, every new rule is already scrutinized up and down by numerous Federal agencies as well as key stakeholders and the public. For economically significant rules, an agency must provide the Office of Management and Budget with an assessment and, to the extent possible, a quantification of the benefits and costs of the proposed rule. In accordance with Executive Order 12866, the agency has to justify the costs associated with the rule, and these costs are justified with benefits--something this amendment appears to think don't exist. But that is just false. For example, in its 2015 analysis of the estimated cost and benefits of significant Federal regulations, OMB estimated that, over the last decade, the benefits of these rules outweighed the economic costs by up to 9 to 1. This amendment would upend years of precedent and could prohibit agencies from revising rules and regulations in response to changes in technology, the economy, or public demand. Republicans should stop trying to undermine the rulemaking process and should stop ignoring the real-world benefits of these rules to society. Mr. Chairman, I oppose this amendment very strongly, and I urge a ``nay'' vote. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Chairman, it is amazing. I think it could be December 31 of this year and we would still be trying to find a way to make the President look bad. That is what this is about. It is about this President having an administration. If it was up to some on the other side, there would be no Federal agencies, there would be no Federal employees, they might invent a new computer that would run the whole government, and the rest of us would just sit around. But be careful, because then somebody would suggest that there should not be a Congress. This should be left alone. We have agencies. We have secretaries. These agencies carry out. And when they don't carry out to our understanding, believe me, just look at the appropriations bills. There are riders upon riders upon riders to try to undo what is being done, which, in many cases, is excellent work. This is just more of the same. It may come as a shock to you, but the President is still around for 6 more months and we are around for 6 more months and those administrators are around for 6 more months, so we better learn to get along for those 6 months. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SERRANO

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to bring up H.R. 1217, the bipartisan expanded background checks legislation, to honor the memory of Malcolm Winffel, a victim of gun violence who never received a moment of silence on this House floor.

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to bring up H.R. 1217, the bipartisan expanded background checks legislation, to honor the memory of Eric Ivan Ortiz Rivera, a victim of gun violence who never received a moment of silence or who never received any action on the House floor.