Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of Women's History Month. Each year, we pay special tribute to the contributions and sacrifices made by our nation's women. It is an honor to pay homage to outstanding women who are making a difference in my Congressional District. I would like to recognize a remarkable woman, Joelle Dobrow of the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.

After graduating from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1970 with a bachelor's degree in film and television, Ms. Dobrow became a pioneering activist in Hollywood. At a time when women simply didn't have opportunities to produce and direct films, Joelle and five other female directors set out to make a change. The ``Original Six,'' as they've come to be known, decided to get organized in the fight against sexism and together, they formed the first Women's Steering Committee of the Directors Guild of America. Decades before the Me Too movement forced a Hollywood reckoning, Dobrow and the Original Six spearheaded the first entertainment industry lawsuits against feature films studios for discrimination against women and ethnic minorities.

Ms. Dobrow and the Original Six received the recognition for their important activism efforts with the recent book Liberating Hollywood and upcoming documentary This Changes Everything, which features Joelle along with Meryl Streep and Geena Davis as feminist crusaders in Hollywood.

Joelle's groundbreaking leadership is apparent in her television career as the first woman Producer/Director for the bay area television station KTEH, and later, the first woman Associate Director/Stage Manager at KABC-TV in Los Angeles. She continued to have an accomplished career as a television producer and director, including working for Noticiero Estudiantil--for which she won an Emmy--and Good Morning America among many others. She also helped produce live events such as TV Goes to the Hollywood Bowl and Hollywood Remembers the Blacklist.

Fifteen years ago, Ms. Dobrow founded the Edendale Library Friends Society (ELFS) in her neighborhood of Echo Park and has since led the organization as President. Joelle and the ELFS serve as a vital bridge between the Los Angeles Public Library, elected officials, Echo Park Neighborhood Council, other nearby non-profit organizations, and the local community. In addition to her volunteer service with ELFS, Joelle also served on the successful Yes on Measure L campaign, a measure which permanently increased library funding for the City of Los Angeles.

In 2013, Ms. Dobrow received an Executive Master of Arts in Arts Management from Claremont Graduate University. She was recently the recipient of the Drucker Women in Leadership Fellowship, the Ahmanson Fellowship, and an Altrusa Richardson grant.

I ask all Members to join me in honoring this exceptional, well- respected woman of California's 28th Congressional District, Joelle Dobrow.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of Women's History Month. Each year, we pay special tribute to the contributions and sacrifices made by our nation's women. It is an honor to pay homage to outstanding women who are making a difference in my Congressional District. I would like to recognize a remarkable woman, Sofiya Fikhman of West Hollywood, California.

Born in the Ukraine in 1939, Sofiya was two years old when the war between the Soviet Union and Germany began. During World War II, she and her family, along with thirteen strangers, lived in the Bershad ghetto in a one-room tenement. After the Soviet army freed the ghetto in 1944, Sofiya and her family returned to Savran in 1945, where they lived until 1952, thereafter moving to Moldova to join her father's family, where she pursued her education at a medical college to become a nurse.

Sofiya married her husband, Shmil, in 1958, and they had two children. Upon completing her degree that same year, she began work in a children's hospital as a supervisor until 1967; then worked in early childhood education, retiring in 1988 to help raise her grandchildren. Ms. Fikhman was over fifty years old when she and her family moved to the United States in 1991, with the dream of creating a new life in a new country. She worked as a caregiver for the elderly, babysitter, and volunteered in her free time.

A tireless and dedicated volunteer, Ms. Fikhman has always enjoyed being of service to people in the community. She joined the Association of Holocaust Survivors from the Former Soviet Union in 1996, and two years later, started volunteering for the organization and undertook various tasks including answering telephone calls, curating events, assisting new immigrants, and visiting survivors in care facilities and hospitals. She expanded her volunteer work by visiting several Jewish day schools, where she educated young people about her experience during the Holocaust. Ms. Fikhman became a member of the City of West Hollywood Russian Advisory Board in 2006, where she continued to plan cultural events and assist immigrant families. Presently, Sofiya is a staunch volunteer at the City of West Hollywood's Russian Language Public Library.

I ask all Members to join me in honoring this exceptional, well- respected woman of California's 28th Congressional District, Sofiya Fikhman.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of Women's History Month. Each year, we pay special tribute to the contributions and sacrifices made by our nation's women. It is an honor to pay homage to outstanding women who are making a difference in my Congressional District. I would like to recognize a remarkable woman, Anita Quinonez Gabrielian of Glendale, California.

Anita holds a bachelor's degree in business administration with a focus on finance and accounting from the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business and earned a master's in business administration (MBA) from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

Ms. Gabrielian had an exceptional career for thirty-three years at AT&T, where she held the position of Regional Vice President of External Affairs for the Los Angeles Market Area when she retired from the company in 2014. Currently, Ms. Gabrielian is the President/CEO of Gabrielian & Associates Insurance Services, Inc. and the co-founder and partner of CG Benefits Group.

Anita has been a dynamic force in the community, and her selfless service, expertise and incredible work ethic have benefitted many organizations over the years. She has served on the City of Los Angeles Workforce Investment Board, and on the board of the San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership. A staunch advocate for accessible quality education, Anita wholeheartedly enjoyed serving as a Member of the Glendale Community College Board of Trustees for fifteen years, including Board of Trustees President for three terms.

Ms. Gabrielian continues her invaluable service to the community and serves in various capacities including on the Advisory Boards of the Glendale Latino Association, the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at California State University, Los Angeles, and on the Corporate Advisory Council of the USC Latino Alumni Association. She also serves as a board member of BREATHE California of Los Angeles County, Glendale College Foundation, and as the Mexican American Opportunity Foundation's chairperson of the board of directors.

Anita is married to her husband, Leo, and they have three daughters, Lauren, Jessica, and Ana Bella. They all love soccer and enjoy traveling.

I ask all Members to join me in honoring this exceptional, well- respected woman of California's 28th Congressional District, Anita Quinonez Gabrielian.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of Women's History Month. Each year, we pay special tribute to the contributions and sacrifices made by our nation's women. It is an honor to pay homage to outstanding women who are making a difference in my Congressional District. I would like to recognize a remarkable woman, Cynthia Hubach of the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.

Cynthia Hubach grew up exploring nature and observing wildlife right in her own backyard, in the open spaces of the 1960s San Fernando Valley. From her father Richard, a rocket scientist and entrepreneur, Ms. Hubach learned to love and respect nature, developing a lifelong commitment to protecting and preserving open spaces. From her mother Gail, who was chief of pharmacy at Canoga Park Hospital for well over twenty years, Cynthia learned the crucial values of hard work, self- reliance, and caring for others.

After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of California, Berkeley, her parents' alma mater, Cynthia took an unusual step into a career in local news. At KCBS-TV News in Los Angeles, Cynthia produced the 6 p.m. newscast through historic periods of civic turmoil and natural disasters. She went on to produce scores of hours of television, from MTV's Behind the Music to several reality shows; most notably The Apprentice.

In 2010, with her father in the final months of a long battle with cancer, she decided she needed to make more of a difference in the world. That year, she enrolled in a master's program at Antioch University in Urban Sustainability. The coursework emphasized the connections among people, the economy and the planet, and how certain ``leverage points'' can have an outsized impact on all three. Community gardens are just that sort of leverage points, so in 2011, Cynthia started work to convert a quarter acre vacant lot she owned in Elysian Valley into a thriving community garden.

Cynthia has become increasingly involved in urban agriculture. She is an active member of the Master Gardener program and she has also served as co-chair of the Los Angeles Food Policy Council's Urban Agriculture Working Group. She is a longtime board member and current Secretary of the Los Angeles Community Garden Council; an organization that supports about 40 community gardens with administrative and programming assistance.

Her love for nature and wildlife extends to her neighborhood in Silver Lake where she is the current Vice President of the Silver Lake Reservoirs Conservancy, which seeks to beautify the reservoir complex with native plantings, and responsibly expand areas of public access.

I ask all Members to join me in honoring this exceptional, well- respected woman of California's 28th Congressional District, Cynthia Hubach.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of Women's History Month. Each year, we pay special tribute to the contributions and sacrifices made by our nation's women. It is an honor to pay homage to outstanding women who are making a difference in my Congressional District. I would like to recognize a remarkable woman, Carrie Ann Sutkin of the Elysian Valley neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Carrie Ann lived there until the age of fifteen, when her stepfather was offered a job as a health agency administrator in the counties of Alameda and Contra Costa and her family moved to Northern California. After volunteering as a health worker in the Dominican Republic, Ms. Sutkin learned the Spanish language at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) and also in Mexico City where she lived and studied Latin American politics.

Carrie Ann completed her Bachelor of the Arts degree at UCSC in 1984 and moved to Los Angeles in 1986 for her first professional job in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Southern California. In 1990, she received a Master's Degree in Urban Planning while interning for the City of Los Angeles Chief Legislative Analyst. In 1989, Ms. Sutkin joined Gloria Molina's campaign for Los Angeles County Supervisor and after the successful election, joined Supervisor Molina's staff. Carrie Ann began her Doctorate in 1995 in Planning and Policy Development with her Dissertation on how her Chicana colleagues in the county re-planned and redeveloped the East Los Angeles Civic Center and wrote another Dissertation in Planning and Development on Chicana feminist planning in 2015. From 2012 to 2018, Ms. Sutkin represented Los Angeles County on three Redevelopment Agency Oversight Committees: Pomona, El Monte and West Covina. She currently has a thriving consultant practice for non-profit organizations.

An Elysian Valley resident since 2010, Carrie Ann became involved in the Elysian Valley Neighborhood Council in 2015 and was appointed two years later. She serves as a member of the steering committee of the Alliance for River Communities and helps the Atwater Village Neighborhood Council on their Community Plan Survey and the Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council on Historic Preservation and has been a supporter and community activist for the Los Angeles River for over two decades.

Carrie Ann has one son, Samuel Sutkin Maier, who is attending college in Ohio.

I ask all Members to join me in honoring this exceptional, well- respected woman of California's 28th Congressional District, Carrie Ann Sutkin.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of Women's History Month. Each year, we pay special tribute to the contributions and sacrifices made by our nation's women. It is an honor to pay homage to outstanding women who are making a difference in my Congressional District. I would like to recognize a remarkable woman, Jeanne Broberg of La Ca-nada Flintridge, California.

Born and raised in Glendale, California, Jeanne attended Glendale public schools, graduating from Herbert Hoover High School as Valedictorian prior to attending Brigham Young University and Glendale Community College. In 1970, Jeanne and her late husband, Dr. Charles Broberg, an obstetrics and gynecology specialist, settled in La Ca-nada Flintridge, where they raised eight children.

A selfless advocate for children and committed to enriching the lives of children, Jeanne became active in the La Ca-nada Elementary School Parent Teacher Association (PTA), where she worked on a successful effort to have sidewalks built on La Ca-nada Blvd., and eventually serving as President for a total of six terms of various PTAs and the Council PTA. Along with her husband, she volunteered with La Ca-nada Flintridge schools, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts of America, YMCA day camps and sports programs, thespian and choral activities and the American Youth Soccer Organization.

In 1993, Mrs. Broberg was elected to the La Ca-nada Unified School District Governing Board, where she served two terms until 2001, and was re-elected again in 2007 for a third term, serving as President for three various years. Jeanne was an active participant in the 5 Star Coalition, an affiliation of school officials from the La Ca-nada Flintridge, Pasadena, South Pasadena, Glendale and Burbank school districts that addresses regional issues.

A dedicated member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in La Ca-nada

Flintridge, Jeanne taught seminary to young people, served as President of the Young Women's Organization and President of the Church Relief Society Women's Organization. Jeanne and her husband, Charles served on a missionary trip where Dr. Broberg was a medical advisor in the Ukraine and Russia.

In addition to being a longtime volunteer with the Assistance League of Flintridge, where she served as its 2015-2016 President, Mrs. Broberg's passion for genealogy and family history led her to become Director of the La Crescenta Family History Library in 2006 and eventually, a consultant at the Santa Monica Regional Family History Center from 2012 to 2014.

For her outstanding service to the community, Jeanne received the prestigious PTA Golden Oak Award in 2012 and the La Ca-nadan of the Year Award from the Kiwanis Club of La Ca-nada in 2016.

I ask all Members to join me in honoring this exceptional, well- respected woman of California's 28th Congressional District, Jeanne Broberg.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of Women's History Month. Each year, we pay special tribute to the contributions and sacrifices made by our nation's women. It is an honor to pay homage to outstanding women who are making a difference in my Congressional District. I would like to recognize a remarkable woman, Dr. Diane L. Evans of La Crescenta, California.

Dr. Evans has been the Director for Earth Science and Technology Directorate at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for the last fifteen years, and is the first woman to lead the Earth Science activities at JPL. During her tenure, the Directorate has grown substantially in annual funding and the number of spaceborne missions in development has increased as well.

Dr. Evans holds a Bachelor's Degree in Geology from Occidental College in Los Angeles and both a Master of Science and a Ph.D. degree in Geological Sciences from the University of Washington in Seattle. A member of many international science teams, Diane has been a principal investigator on several research activities sponsored by NASA.

Diane is responsible for the implementation, development and operations of JPL's Earth Science flight experiments and missions. One such mission was entitled ``Grace'' and accomplished its main goal of measuring the Earth's gravity field and measuring water loss from major aquifers and ice loss from Greenland. The Grace mission represents one mission whose science results have expended beyond its original objectives to include other crucial measurements, thus making key contributions to understanding our world. Dr. Evans has been instrumental in defining the missions, which often include domestic and foreign partnerships.

Earth Science research at JPL, which is also under Diane's direction, include research areas of oceanography, geophysics, climate, atmospheric composition and combines a wide spectrum of advanced technologies. Dr. Evans has chaired many planning committees for NASA and other academic institutions, has authored more than one hundred research publications and conference presentations in the areas of geologic and radar remote sensing and has presented many courses on these topics globally. For her outstanding leadership and accomplishments in the development of Earth science missions, Diane has received many awards including the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal.

I ask all Members to join me in honoring this exceptional, well- respected woman of California's 28th Congressional District, Dr. Diane L. Evans.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of Women's History Month. Each year, we pay special tribute to the contributions and sacrifices made by our nation's women. It is an honor to pay homage to outstanding women who are making a difference in my Congressional District. I would like to recognize a remarkable woman, Karen Knapp of the Atwater Village area of Los Angeles.

Born in Levittown, New York, Karen's family moved to California when she was five years old. She lived in Northern California until 1976 when she moved to Hollywood, California to work in the movie industry. Karen's acting roles included the ``Voice of the Devil'' in the sequel movie to ``The Exorcist,'' a small part in ``The Incredible Shrinking Woman'' movie, roles on the stage and voice-over jobs, while working at various jobs as a restaurant manager, driving instructor and waitress to support herself. Karen then worked at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Publications Department as the Graphics Manager for fourteen years and after UCLA closed the department, began working for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art as the Graphics Manager in their Graphic Design Department.

A homeowner in Atwater Village since 2004, after Ms. Knapp retired, she became involved in national and local politics, and began volunteering for various organizations, such as the Sustainability Alliance and the Alliance of River Communities. In 2012, she was elected to the Atwater Village Neighborhood Council, where she is currently serving her third term. As a councilmember, Karen participates in a variety of committees, attends Los Angeles City Council meetings and organizes activities. In addition to her service on the Atwater Village Neighborhood Council, Karen has been a dedicated, hardworking volunteer for the Friends of the Los Angeles River's Great Los Angeles River Cleanup, which is known as the largest urban river cleanup in the nation.

Ms. Knapp enjoys helping out her friends and neighbors, working on various home repair projects and gardening. She shares her home with her rescue cat and dog.

I ask all Members to join me in honoring this exceptional, well- respected woman of California's 28th Congressional District, Karen Knapp.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of Women's History Month. Each year, we pay special tribute to the contributions and sacrifices made by our nation's women. It is an honor to pay homage to outstanding women who are making a difference in my Congressional District. I would like to recognize a remarkable woman, Pat Kramer of Sunland, California.

Pat Kramer is a communications expert who creates original content for business and corporate entities for their marketing, outreach and public relations efforts. For over thirty years, she has worked as a consultant to companies in education, entertainment, healthcare, financial services, real estate, transportation, politics, arts and culture, cities, agencies and non-profit organizations to improve their communications materials. Over the course of her career, Ms. Kramer has written for the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Business Journal, Variety, City News, and many industry-based publications.

Today, Pat focuses on ghostwriting memoirs, books and articles for her clients, and especially enjoys writing memoirs for senior citizens to help preserve their legacy for future generations. Pat is a regular guest speaker at various business events, and shares her expertise educating public high school students who are interested in communications careers. Some of the professional organizations Pat has been a member of include the National Association of Women Business Owners, Entertainment Publicists Professional Society, Independent Writers of Southern California and Business & Professional Women of Sunland-Tujunga.

A dedicated volunteer in her community, Pat's activities include over thirty years of participation in the Sierra Club, Angeles Chapter, where she has held leadership positions and advocates for issues affecting the quality of life in the foothills. A Sunland-Tujunga Neighborhood Council (STNC) member for many years, some of her accomplishments on the council include helping to complete a decade- long project to create a new community park in Sunland, Oro Vista Park, as Inventory Chairperson, organizing the STNC's 2017 move to North Valley City Hall, which involved managing volunteers, overseeing inventory of supplies and historical records, and co-chairing the 2018 STNC's Emergency Preparedness Day. In addition, Pat chaired the Ad Hoc Signage Committee and currently chairs the STNC's Safe Traffic and Transportation Committee, which creates informative monthly meetings about improving safety on Sunland-Tujunga's streets.

In addition to her outstanding work in the community, Ms. Kramer is passionate about animal rescue work, and has been working to try to initiate the City of Los Angeles Department of Animal Service's Volunteer Animal Officer program and supports other worthwhile animal rescue organizations.

Born and raised in Worcester, Massachusetts, Pat credits her grandparents, immigrants from the Ukraine, with teaching her good values, installing in her the importance of hard work, while encouraging her to follow her dreams. As a result of doing what she loves and thanks to her grandparents' influence, Pat's full life includes hiking, gardening and caring for her three rescue dogs.

I ask all Members to join me in honoring this exceptional, well- respected woman of California's 28th Congressional District, Pat Kramer.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of Women's History Month. Each year, we pay special tribute to the contributions and sacrifices made by our nation's women. It is an honor to pay homage to outstanding women who are making a difference in my Congressional District. I would like to recognize a remarkable woman, Kathy Jane Onoye, Ed.D. of Pasadena, California.

Dr. Onoye holds a Bachelor of Arts degree and a state Lifetime Elementary Teaching Credential from the University of California, Santa Barbara, a state Administrative Service Credential and Master of Arts degree from the California State University, Los Angeles, a Master of Science degree from Pepperdine University, Los Angeles, and a Doctor of Education and a School Business Management Program Certificate of Completion from the University of Southern California (USC).

Kathy admirably served the Pasadena Unified School District for over four decades, beginning in 1971 as a classroom teacher at Audubon Primary School, then serving as a Principal, Curriculum Resource Teacher and Mathematics Resource Teacher at Willard Elementary School, until her retirement in 2014 as Executive Director, Elementary, K-6 & K-8 Curriculum and Instruction for PUSD. In addition, Kathy was a Master Teacher for USC, a Master Teacher for Pacific Oaks College, has conducted many educational conferences and workshops, and was instrumental in helping Willard Elementary School achieve its International Baccalaureate status.

A true leader in her profession, some of the educational organizations and committees Dr. Onoye has served on include the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA), the Association of Pasadena School Administrators, Member of PUSD's Technology Committee, and a Member of the Advisory Committee for Professional Growth for the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, State of California. Kathy's past and present community involvement includes serving on the boards of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Pasadena, Young and Healthy, Pasadena Educational Foundation and Delta Kappa Gamma, as a member of the Greater Pasadena Japanese American Citizens League and the San Rafael Library Associates, leadership positions at All Saints Episcopal Church and as a volunteer at Huntington Memorial Hospital.

Dr. Onoye has been the recipient of numerous commendations, including PUSD and ACSA Administrator of the Year Awards, the PUSD Outstanding Teacher Award, several Title I Academic Achievement Awards, a California Business for Educational Excellence and Just for Kids Star Honor School Award, USC Research Awards and the Women's Clubs Council of Pasadena's Outstanding Community Service Award.

I ask all Members to join me in honoring this exceptional, well- respected woman of California's 28th Congressional District, Dr. Kathy Jane Onoye.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I rise in strong support of S.J. Res. 7 invoking the War Powers Resolution to withdraw U.S. military support for the Gulf coalition in Yemen.

For 4 years, the war in Yemen has ground on, killing tens of thousands of Yemeni civilians, and putting millions at imminent risk of starvation and deprivation.

The cause of the war is complicated and has much to do with Iran's malign influence.

But our interest today is not in debating the blame for the war, but in bringing it to an end. That is why I urge all Members to support this resolution, because it is in our interest and, above all, in the interest of the Yemeni people to end the war.

U.S. military support for the Saudi coalition has not prevented civilian suffering, and it is my hope that, by withdrawing our support, we will make clear that a diplomatic resolution is the only resolution to the conflict.

Madam Speaker, I urge support for this resolution. I urge Members to oppose any motion to commit, which would have the effect of killing this bill and prolonging the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler) for yielding and for his sponsorship of this important legislation. I rise in strong support.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller was appointed in May 2017 to oversee the ongoing criminal and counterintelligence investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election. Over the nearly 2 years since his appointment, the special counsel has indicted 34 individuals and three companies, and secured guilty pleas or convictions from eight individuals.

We do not know when the special counsel will complete his work, but there are indications that it could occur in the near future.

Notwithstanding the overwhelming public interest in the special counsel's report and findings, I am deeply concerned that Attorney General Barr may attempt to withhold Mueller's full report from the public and the underlying evidence from Congress and could instead seek to provide only a CliffsNotes version of the report to Congress.

As this resolution makes clear, Congress will not accept any attempt by Mr. Barr or the President to bury the report and the findings of the special counsel. Withholding this information would be untenable in light of the intense public interest and need for transparency, but particularly so when the Department has provided voluminous production to Congress at the demand of the previous majority, including sensitive FISA materials and other classified and law enforcement-sensitive materials related to the Mueller investigation and the Clinton email investigation.

Last year, I repeatedly warned Department leadership that, in providing these materials to Congress, they were establishing a precedent and one that they would have to live with in the future. They did so anyway.

While anonymous sources at the Department have attempted to publicly blame James Comey for the provision of this information, in fact, the Department has turned over more than 880,000 pages of documents from the Clinton email investigation to Congress, all of them--all of them-- pursuant to congressional subpoenas issued after James Comey was fired. They have produced highly sensitive records, including FISA materials, directly related to ongoing investigations at the core of the special counsel's charter.

To be sure, something far more serious than precedent is at stake. Disclosure is uniquely imperative here because the special counsel reportedly is investigating whether the President himself engaged in misconduct. If the special counsel has indeed uncovered evidence of serious wrongdoing on the President's part, then that evidence must be furnished to Congress and ultimately to the American people.

Withholding the full report or underlying evidence would only heighten concerns over a coverup or a pernicious or partisan double standard.

The special counsel's regulations were written, above all, to ensure public confidence in the fair and impartial administration of justice. That charge would be entirely vitiated by an attempt to cover up or conceal Special Counsel Mueller's findings and report, whatever they may be and whenever they are finalized.

Mr. Speaker, I urge Members of both parties to join me in supporting this resolution and to make clear that anything less than full transparency is unacceptable.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Rabbi John L. Rosove, a man of great integrity and an outstanding leader in the greater Jewish community, who is retiring from his duties as Senior Rabbi of Temple Israel of Hollywood, a position he has held since 1988.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Rabbi Rosove earned a Bachelor's in Art History from the University of California, Berkeley, a Master's in Hebrew letters from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles, Rabbinic Ordination from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York, and a Doctor of Divinity from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles.

Rabbi Rosove has worked tirelessly and selflessly to build a robust Jewish community in the greater Hollywood area, and to bring Jewish people closer together, viewing social justice work and ethical principles as core Jewish religious values. He oversaw the founding of the Temple's Day School and helped spearhead Big Sunday Weekend of Service in 1998, which today is a year-round organization where 50,000 Good Samaritans in Los Angeles volunteer annually to help the community at over 2,000 events.

Rabbi Rosove has admirably served in numerous leadership positions, including as national chairperson of the Association of Reform Zionists of America, where he represented more than 1.5 million American Reform Jews. He also served in leadership roles at the Jewish Agency for Israel, the World Zionist Organization, and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, and from 2012 to 2016, he was a national co-chair of the Executive Rabbinic Cabinet of J Street.

For his work benefitting the Jewish Community, Rabbi Rosove has received the World Union for Progressive Judaism International Humanitarian Award and honored by J Street.

Rabbi Rosove and his wife Barbara, have two sons, Daniel and David.

I ask all Members of Congress to join me today in honoring Rabbi John L. Rosove for his decades of outstanding service to the Jewish community and his unwavering commitment to peace and justice.

Madam Speaker, I rise to commemorate the 31st anniversary of the pogrom against the Armenian residents of the town of Sumgait, Azerbaijan. On February 27, 1988, and for three days following, Azerbaijani mobs assaulted and killed Armenians. The violence left hundreds of Armenian civilians dead and injured, women and girls were raped, and some victims were burned alive. Thousands were forced to flee their homes, leaving behind their belongings.

The pogroms came as a direct result of years of vicious, racist anti-Armenian propaganda by Azerbaijani authorities, dehumanizing the Armenian residents of Azerbaijan and laying the groundwork for mass violence. Azerbaijani authorities made little effort to punish those responsible, instead attempting to cover up the atrocities in Sumgait to this day and denying the government role in instigating the killings. Indeed, even today, racist propaganda against Armenia and Armenians is prevalent in Azerbaijan.

The hateful and dangerous Azerbaijani attacks on Armenians is also seen in a horrific crime which occurred 15 years ago last week. At a NATO sponsored training in Budapest, an Azerbaijani Army officer named Ramil Safarov snuck into the room of an Armenian lieutenant, Gurgen Margaryan, and hacked him to death with an axe as he slept.

For this brutal and despicable crime, Safarov was sentenced to life imprisonment in Hungary. Yet after a determined campaign by Azerbaijan's government, he was extradited to Baku in 2012 where he was greeted not as a criminal but as a hero, provided back pay, and promoted in rank. There is no more dramatic illustration of Azerbaijan's continued posture of hatred and aggression towards their Armenian neighbor than their celebration of a cold-blooded murderer.

The assault on ethnic Armenian civilians in Sumgait helped touch off what would become a direct conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan which took thousands of lives and dislocated millions more. The anniversary of Sumgait is a reminder of the consequences when aggression and hatred grow unchecked.

Madam Speaker, in two months we will mark the 104th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, an event the Turkish government, Azerbaijan's closest ally, goes to great lengths to deny. We must not let such crimes against humanity go unrecognized, whether they occurred yesterday or 30 years ago or 100 years ago. Today, let us pause to remember the victims of the atrocities of the Sumgait pogroms. Madam Speaker, it is our moral obligation to condemn crimes of hatred and to remember the victims, in hope that history will not be repeated.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the life of Nat ``King'' Cole, who was born one hundred years ago on March 17, 1919 in Montgomery, Alabama.

Mr. Cole is recognized for being one of the most distinguished and exemplary music recording artists of all time and as a talisman for the civil rights movement.

Nat King Cole began his music career with a focus on jazz, having founded the Nat King Cole Trio as a young man. The band quickly became an influential melodic phenomenon. He signed with Capitol Records in 1943, and the release of his first album, The King Cole Trio, followed in 1945. The album was widely successful as it hit the top of Billboard's inaugural album chart. The talented pianist and vocalist went on to record approximately 700 songs under Capitol Record's label, including 150 singles that appeared on the R&B, Pop and/or Country charts of Billboard. Mr. Cole's success caused Capitol Record's legendary Hollywood building on Vine Street to be informally nicknamed ``The House That Nat Built.''

In 1946, he hosted the nationally aired, fifteen-minute ``King Cole Trio Time,'' which was the first broadcast of its kind to have an African American musician as a host. Mr. Cole made history once again in 1956 when he became the first African American performer to host his own network television show, NBC's ``Nat King Cole Show.'' He also appeared in numerous films, including St. Louis Blues and Cat Ballou.

Along with his legendary musical career, Mr. Cole is remembered for his milestone leadership in the civil rights movement. After purchasing a house in the all-white Hancock Park neighborhood in 1948, he became a target of the Ku Klux Klan who burned a cross on his family's lawn. This horrific incident spurred him to help overturn a 1920's City of Los Angeles statute that allowed the neighborhood to be segregated.

Before Mr. Cole's premature death in 1965, when he was just 45 years old, his final album, L-O-V-E, reached number four on the Billboard album chart. At that time, Capital Records had sold more than nine million Nat King Cole records. Nat King Cole received many honors including being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, receiving a Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award and being featured on a U.S. Postal Service commemorative stamp.

Married in 1948, Mr. Cole and his wife, Maria had five children: Natalie, Carole, Nat Kelly, Casey and Timolin. In 2008, their twin daughters, Timolin and Casey Cole, founded Nat King Cole Generation Hope to help fund music programs for schools across America.

I ask all Members of Congress to join me in recognizing Nat King Cole on the one-hundred-year milestone of his birth. Mr. Cole's life is a lesson in success despite adversity, the triumph of respect, talent and civility coupled with cultural, business and political savvy.