Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I thank the ranking member for his extraordinary leadership and for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 4712.

In the past year, the usual Republican stream of anti-woman, anti- choice policies has turned into a flood.

Today's vile bill is based on myths and lies and is designed to intimidate doctors from providing abortions.

I would like to remind my colleagues that for 45 years, the Supreme Court has upheld a woman's constitutional right to access a legal abortion, and that current law already protects infants, as well it should.

But Republicans would rather play politics with women's lives than rely on science and the law.

This bill seeks to criminalize legal medical services and put extreme, anti-choice ideology between a woman and her doctor.

Madam Speaker, in what other circumstance would we ever tolerate denying, delaying, or interfering with legitimate and legal medical care?

This must stop.

Protect women from this political charade. Allow doctors to take care of their patients.

Please vote ``no'' on this unfair, vile bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the achievements of the Korean American Association of Greater New York (KAAGNY) as it celebrates the 115th Korean American Day. Korean American Day marks the arrival of the first Korean immigrants to the United States in 1903. Since then, the Korean American community of New York City has grown to over 100,000 people, with 500,000 living in the greater metropolitan area. It is the second largest Korean community in the country.

Today, President Minsun Kim and Board Chair Charles Yoon lead an exemplary team of dedicated volunteers who have worked hard to grow the organization within New York's ever-expanding Korean American community. President Kim is the 35th president in the organization's history and I am confident she and Chairman Yoon will continue to strengthen KAAGNY.

The organization has roots dating back to 1921 when the Korean Students Association of New York was founded. In 1960, KAAGNY became a full service organization working to help Korean Americans of the New York Metropolitan Area. Since then, it has grown into an umbrella organization for more than 200 regional, professional, religious, educational, and trade organizations.

KAAGNY has played a crucial role in advocating for the advancement of Korean Americans since its founding. It plans community activities from helping campaign for Korean American participation in the decennial census survey to registering people to vote. KAAGNY has a proven track record of empowering and engaging Korean Americans through education, community engagement, and social services.

Last year, I personally attended two KAAGNY events. After traveling to South Korea on a Congressional Delegation in August, I met with KAAGNY members to discuss the importance of the U.S.-Korea relationship. In the fall, I witnessed the unveiling of the Comfort Women Statue of Peace. The statue honors the Korean women who were abused as sex slaves during World War II. I was honored to be able to contribute an inscription to this powerful reminder of the pain and suffering endured by so many women and girls.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the outstanding work of KAAGNY, which continues to advance the issues important for Korean Americans.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to introduce the Ending Secrecy About Workplace Sexual Harassment Act.

We are experiencing a national moment of reckoning. Millions of people who have been victims of sexual misconduct in the workplace are telling their stories and initiating a movement to create real change. We have an obligation to listen to all those who have come forward and recognize that many are still suffering in silence. And we also have an obligation to take action to make things better going forward.

The Ending Secrecy About Workplace Sexual Harassment Act will help lift the shroud of secrecy surrounding these cases that have concealed them for years or even decades by requiring companies to annually report all out-of-court settlements involving claims of sex discrimination, including sexual harassment and assault to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

When employers don't have to disclose these internal settlements and there is no public record about abuse, it can cause great harm to victims, other employees, and even the public at large. More complete data and a transparency requirement will help identify institutional problems that should elicit further investigation by EEOC. This bill also has the potential to spark a change in the workplace, inspiring corporate leaders to focus on prevention if they know that complete secrecy is no longer an option regardless of how a claim is addressed and resolved. With total secrecy, companies have absolutely no incentive to focus on preventing sexual misconduct if they know they will never be held accountable.

In 2015, there were nearly 30,000 reports filed with the EEOC involving sexual harassment. That is one-third of the total harassment reports filed that year alone. If companies had to report all of their private settlements, that number would likely increase. The EEOC can also use these reports to take action, if appropriate, and go after violators.

I believe this is an important first step toward increasing accountability in the private sector to ensure a safer, fairer workplace for everyone. I thank my colleagues, Representatives Khanna, Norton, Cummings, David Scott, Shea-Porter, Raskin, Connolly, Suozzi, Kuster, Moore, Dingell, and Pallone for joining me as original cosponsors on this legislation, and hope that more members will support as well.

Mr. Speaker, last week the FCC abdicated its responsibility to serve the public interest and put at risk the free and open internet that we have all come to depend on when its three Republican commissioners voted to repeal the Obama-era net neutrality protection.

Net neutrality keeps access to the internet equal for everyone. It protects free speech. It protects equal access to the marketplace of ideas. It has been the fundamental principle underpinning the massive innovation and opportunity that the internet has unleashed. But that is all at risk now.

Fortunately, Congress has a say. I am proud to support Congressman Mike Doyle's resolution to overturn the FCC's decision and restore our net neutrality protections. I also believe the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee should investigate the reports and allegations of fraudulent public comments.

Repealing net neutrality will inhibit innovation, stifle competition, and threaten free speech. It is time for Congress to overturn this decision.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of investor protection and in opposition to H.R. 4015.

Proxy advisers provide recommendations to institutional investors on how to vote on board of director elections and shareholder resolutions.

Big institutional investors are shareholders at thousands of public companies, and they simply don't have time to carefully review every single hundred-page proxy statement in detail, especially because most public companies hold their shareholders meetings at about the same 3- month period.

So institutional investors rely on proxy advisers for vote recommendations, which are often tailored to the investor's particular corporate governance preferences. They also rely on proxy firms for their data management on shareholder votes and corporate governance.

This is healthy. Proxy advisers do actually have the time to carefully read all of the statements and proposals because they are professionals that are hired to do just that.

I agree that the current regulatory system for proxy advisers is not perfect. Two proxy advisory firms account for 97 percent of the market--ISS and Glass Lewis--but, for some reason, they are regulated differently. ISS is a registered investment adviser, while Glass Lewis is not. Surely, this is not an ideal setup, so I am open to the idea of a better and more consistent regulatory regime for proxy advisers.

But there are several things in this bill that concern me deeply. I don't see why companies should have a statutory right to receive and comment on a proxy adviser's draft recommendations before they are sent to investors. Proxy advisers aren't Federal agencies with a notice-and- comment for private companies. They are working for private companies that are providing a valuable service. This is not appropriate at all.

Asset managers that use proxy advisers also tell me that they would find proxy advisers a lot less useful if the proxy firm had to give the company an opportunity to comment on their vote recommendations before sending them to the asset manager.

And a new addition to the bill is very troubling. This would raise the possibility of proxy advisers being forced to send the clients the companies' own complaints about the proxy adviser's recommendations, even if the complaint is completely untrue.

This is totally inappropriate and, I would say, plain wrong. So while I am sympathetic to the idea that a better and more consistent regulatory regime could be developed, I cannot support this bill, and I have good company here.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter from the Comptroller of the State of New York, Comptroller DiNapoli; a statement from the AFL- CIO of the United States of America; a statement from the Council of Institutional Investors; a statement from the Consumer Federation of America, and a statement by Glass Lewis.

This is a troubling bill. I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on it. It is bad for safety and soundness and for good governance in this country.

State of New York,

Office of the State Comptroller,

Albany, NY, December 14, 2017.

Re Opposition to H.R. 4015, Corporate Governance Reform and

Transparency Act of 2017.

Dear Members of the NYS Congressional Delegation: I write

to express my strong opposition to H.R. 4015, the Corporate

Governance Reform and Transparency Act of 2017, which I

understand will soon be voted on by the United States House

of Representatives. I believe that H.R. 4015, if passed and

enacted, would require unnecessary and expensive regulation.

Further, this legislation was not promoted by those it

purports to protect: shareholders. It would weaken corporate

accountability and shareholder oversight, undercut proxy

advisory firms' invaluable independence, increase costs to

consumers of research and redirect proxy advisors to answer

to companies rather than the clients it serves.

As Comptroller of the State of New York, I am the Trustee

of the New York State Common Retirement Fund (Fund) and the

administrative head of the New York State and Local

Retirement System (the System). As a fiduciary responsible

for the benefits of over one million state and local

government employees, retirees, and beneficiaries, I am

especially troubled by H.R. 4015's provisions that would

weaken corporate accountability and shareholder oversight.

The system of corporate governance that has evolved in the

United States relies on the accountability of boards of

directors to shareholders, and proxy voting is a critical

means by which shareholders hold boards to account.

Currently, proxy advisors provide shareholders of

corporations with independent advice. The proposed bill

threatens that very independence, which is integral to the

responsible exercise of a shareholder's voting rights.

In public comments defending H.R. 4015, members of the

Financial Services Committee have voiced the erroneous

assertions that proxy advisory firms dictate proxy voting

results and that institutional investors utilizing proxy

advisors do not make their own voting decisions. I personally

review and approve the Fund's customized Proxy Voting and

Corporate Governance Guidelines (Guidelines). In 2017, the

Fund voted on nearly 30,000 agenda items on its portfolio

companies' proxy statements, and every single one of those

items was voted pursuant to the guidelines which state:

``proxy voting decisions are based on internal reviews of

available information relating to items on the ballot at each

company's annual meeting. . . . The Fund analyzes a variety

of materials from publicly available sources, which include

but are not limited to, U.S. Securities and Exchange

Commission (SEC) filings, analyst reports, relevant studies

and materials from proponents and opponents of shareholder

proposals, third-party independent perspectives and studies,

and analyses from several corporate governance advisory

firms.'' All of our proxy voting decisions are made

independently and in the best interest of our System's

participants.

Proxy advisory firms provide cost-efficient, informed, and

independent research,

analysis, and advice for institutional shareholders, which

often hold thousands of companies in their investment

portfolios. The independence of that advice is absolutely

essential, and if proxy advisors are required to obtain

corporate review and rebuttals before releasing their

research to investors, that independence would be

compromised, depriving public pension funds and other

institutional investors of a vital resource. Such a

requirement would also delay investors' access to research in

the already constricted time frame available to consider

ballot issues and develop independent voting decisions in an

informed fashion.

As you consider your vote on this bill, please take into

account the concerns I have expressed on behalf of the more

than one million members, retirees and beneficiaries of the

System for whom the Fund invests.

Thank you for your consideration of this very important

matter. Please feel free to contact me if you would like to

discuss these issues further.

Sincerely,

Thomas P. DiNapoli,

State Comptroller.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, a terrorist tried to attack the lifeblood of New York City: our subway system. It is another somber reminder that New York City, a beacon of hope and freedom, remains a target for terrorists.

We had the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993, another one on 9/11 in 2001, the Chelsea bombing last year, the truck attack earlier this year, and another bombing yesterday.

In addition, the New York Police Department openly talks about 27 other attempts to harm New Yorkers, which were thwarted. By now, it should be clear that we cannot play politics with Federal funding for local law enforcement and homeland security. The funding for States and cities, especially high-threat areas, must not be delayed, diminished, or cut off.

While we are still learning more about this latest attack, one thing is clear: the terrorist wanted to strike fear into the hearts of every New Yorker, but he failed. New Yorkers will always persevere in the face of diversity. Our trains are running. Our people are back to work.

I wish the three people injured yesterday a swift and speedy recovery. I want to express my gratitude to the law enforcement of New York City and the heroic response of our first responders. We are all very grateful to them for what they do for us every day.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and colleague for yielding and for his incredible leadership as the ranking member on this important committee. I also thank Chairman Royce for his work on this issue, bringing the bill to the floor, and truly being a visionary legislator in shining a spotlight on the systematic persecution of Christians around the world. It is frightening, it is wrong, and we need to do everything we can to stop it.

Freedom of religion is a core American principle and a key component for peace and stability around the world. There are too many examples of Christian persecution. Congress must clearly condemn those atrocities.

As cofounder and co-chair of the Hellenic Caucus, I have long advocated for reforms in Turkey to respect the rights of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and reopen the Halki seminary.

Boko Haram has wreaked havoc in Nigeria, killing innocent Christians and Muslims alike.

Coptic Christians in Egypt and elsewhere face the constant threat of violence, and we have seen some tragedies for this community just in the past year. The number of Coptic Christians that have been killed is truly astounding. They have laws now that, if a wall falls or any church needs repair, you cannot even repair the church.

These are just a few examples of spots around the world where Christian persecution is rampant.

Persecution against Christians and other religious minorities around the world is a security crisis, and the United States Government must remain vigilant in monitoring and response. It should be a unanimous vote in support of this important resolution.

I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for bringing this to the attention of Congress and, hopefully, the world.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Norm and

Elaine Brodsky in recognition of their long-term commitment to local community and charitable causes. For almost 30 years, this North Brooklyn power couple has helped shape the Williamsburg neighborhood into the vibrant community it is today.

Elaine and Norm Brodsky have generously supported the local community and its charitable causes since opening CitiStorage, an archival storage and records management company, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in 1990. They became full-time residents of the neighborhood in 2001, when Norm fulfilled his promise to build an apartment on the fourth floor of their office building/warehouse. Their family had been residents of Atlantic Beach for 32 years before moving to Brooklyn. The couple sold the company in 2007 but still live in Williamsburg, where they continue to be pillars of the community.

Norm, who was born in Brooklyn, attended Rider University and received his Doctorate of Law from Brooklyn Law School. He is currently involved in three entrepreneurial ventures--a chain of fast, casual Japanese restaurants in NYC, hotels in North Dakota, and an entrepreneurial, education company called Birthing of Giants. For more than 20 years Norm has written ``Street Smarts,'' a monthly column in Inc. magazine. He is the author of a well-respected business book, The Knack. He provides pro bono business consulting advice to a significant number of entrepreneurs who come to visit him in his office in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Norm is also a strong advocate for the community's transit needs and has hosted meetings for local residents and businesses to weigh in on the impacts of the ongoing L train repairs.

Elaine, an Elmira College graduate and former teacher, also worked as a mental health professional and conducted family workshops for Inc. Magazine conferences for many years. The Brodskys have won several business awards for their company culture which has been featured in various business books and magazine articles. Elaine is a Board member of the League Education and Treatment Center and the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce. She has been the Chair of the North Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce since its inception, over four years ago. The couple is actively involved with the North Brooklyn Angels mobile food truck which delivers meals and offers counseling services to the local neighborhood.

Elaine and Norm have been married for 48 years and are the proud parents of their two daughters, Beth and Rachel, and grandparents to Sophie, Eitan, and Ava.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the magnanimous contributions of Norm and Elaine Brodsky, whose dedication to community is truly an inspiration.

Mr. Speaker, we have a gun violence epidemic in this country.

It is glaringly obvious to anyone paying attention that our Federal gun safety laws are pathetically weak and in major need of improvement.

So what is this House doing about it?

Working to pass a bill that completely undermines gun safety laws and puts more guns on the street and more lives at risk.

Believe me, if more guns made this country safer, we would be the safest country on Earth. We are far from it.

Under this bill, someone who couldn't get a concealed carry permit in New York would now be able to carry concealed guns into New York State or any State, as long as they have a permit from another State. This completely eviscerates State-level gun safety laws and puts us all at the mercy of the weakest gun safety laws in the country.

This bill is opposed by major law enforcement organizations across this country. I urge this body to listen to their advice and vote against this reckless assault on State and local gun safety laws.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend, Sheila Jackson Lee, for her extraordinary leadership on this issue and so many others, and I thank her for yielding to me.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3317, the Stopping Abusive Female Exploitation, or SAFE, Act. It is a bipartisan, noncontroversial issue; and I hope this body unanimously supports it, as it will save the health and protection and stop the abuse of girls in our country.

I am the Democratic lead on this bill and, first, want to thank my friend and colleague from Michigan (Mr. Trott) for his devotion, extraordinary leadership, and commitment to bringing this bill to the floor.

Female genital mutilation is an issue that affects women and girls in the United States and around the world.

I want to express my regret that he has decided to retire from this body. We will miss his leadership in Congress. His district, I am sure, and State will miss it, and, I must say, I believe our country will miss it. It is one thing when a woman champions a woman's issue, but to have a like-minded man join you and lead you is a very, very special expression of leadership, and I am deeply grateful for the gentleman's leadership on behalf of the girls and women that this bill will help.

Female genital mutilation is a terrible, abusive practice that causes immense physical and emotional pain and damage to young girls that can last a lifetime. It is a Federal crime. Twenty-two States have laws against it, yet it is still being practiced in our great country.

It is illegal in the United States, and while we condemn this practice around the world, we really need to do more to stop it right here at home.

The CDC estimates that in 2012, 500,000 females in the United States have been subjected to or are at risk of female genital mutilation, and that number is rising. It is up to us to bring that number to zero.

This bill creates a harsher and more appropriate penalty, increasing the current sentence of 5 years to 15 years imprisonment. Stricter penalties for performing the procedure are critical to eradicating this horrific abuse.

I not only thank my colleague, but also Chairman Goodlatte and Ranking Member Nadler and our sponsors in the Senate, Senators Feinstein and Grassley.

This is an important bill. I hope this entire body supports it. It will literally save the lives of many young girls in our country.

Mr. Speaker, last week we lost one of the finest people ever to serve the people of New York State and the country when Congressman Maurice Hinchey passed away.

I would like to express my deepest condolences to his wife, Ilene; his sons, Reese and Josef; his daughter, Michelle; and the entire Hinchey family.

Maurice leaves behind a legacy of service that is second to none. During his 18 years in the New York State Assembly, he became what former Governor Mario Cuomo called ``the environmental conscience of New York State'' for his groundbreaking investigations into polluters and landmark environmental laws.

When he came to Congress in 1993, he continued that work, creating the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area, preserving wild public lands, and doing everything possible to clean and protect his beloved Hudson River.

Maurice and I came to Congress in the same class and we became fast friends. I already miss him dearly, but I know that his work and his legacy will be remembered for generations to come. To know him was to love him.

Rest in peace, my dear friend.

Mr. Speaker, this past weekend, as Americans across this country were enjoying Thanksgiving with their families, over 438 Americans were victims of gun violence.

So what is the response of the House Republican leadership?

Advancing the misguided Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act that would eviscerate State laws meant to keep people safe from gun violence.

This bill being marked up today in the Judiciary Committee would put lives at risk by forcing all States to recognize weapon permits from other States, regardless of how lax State permitting laws may be.

House Republicans have no right to curtail the safety reforms that New York and other States have put in place to protect their citizens. That is why law enforcement organizations from across the country strongly oppose this legislation. It should never come to the floor.

Americans deserve a better deal and more protection from gun violence, not less.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Brady for his leadership; Chairman Harper for moving so swiftly on this issue; and my colleague, Jackie Speier, who has selflessly worked on this issue for many years, along with Barbara Comstock.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill.

Too often, harassment is treated just like it is part of the job; and if anyone complained, they were fired, punished, or paid off to be silent. This is an important cultural change where harassment, which is illegal, is treated seriously as a crime that needs to stop; and to train staff, Members, and officers on how to know what is right and what is wrong so that there is no misunderstanding.

This is a first step. I strongly support Congresswoman Speier's bill that has a comprehensive approach, which bans the use of taxpayer money to silence victims and to settle this.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding and for her leadership.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 2874.

There are some good things in this bill, including the Zeldin-Maloney bill, that would allow policyholders to receive mitigation credit for elevating boilers and other mechanical systems to higher floors instead of in easily flooded basements, which is a huge deal for the city of New York and other big cities.

But there are too many provisions that would make flood insurance in my district either unavailable or unaffordable. For this reason, the city of New York opposes this bill.

The bill would raise premiums on homeowners by increasing the floor on premium increases that Congress just set 3 years ago. Currently, FEMA has to increase premiums by a minimum of 5 percent per year. Under this bill, FEMA would have to increase premiums by a minimum of 6.5 percent per year.

When you add up the mandatory increases in premiums required to fund FEMA's reserve fund and all of the other surcharges in the bill, the effect would be to significantly increase flood insurance premiums for homeowners.

Finally, I am concerned about eliminating the noncompete clause for so-called write-your-own private insurers. This would allow the private insurers that administer the National Flood Insurance Program to exploit their access to FEMA's database in order to cherry-pick the safest properties. This would leave FEMA with only the riskiest properties, and would undermine the solvency of the National Flood Insurance Program.

So, while there are many thoughtful good provisions in this bill, there are too many provisions that would dramatically increase premiums for my constituents.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote on this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his leadership on this and so many issues.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support H.R. 2148, which clarifies and simplifies the capital rules for commercial real estate loans.

This bill addresses an important issue, which is that the capital requirements for commercial real estate loans are overly complex for banks and unnecessarily punish certain types of commercial real estate loans and, thereby, the overall economy.

I have had many community bankers and real estate developers complain to me about this, and I think that they have a point. Even the regulators agree that these rules are overly complicated and need to be simplified, so there is broad consensus that this is a longtime, legitimate problem that needs to be fixed.

I thank Chairman Hensarling and Ranking Member Waters for all their hard work on this issue. I also want to thank Mr. Pittenger and Mr. Scott for working with me during this markup on an amendment to strengthen the bill.

The current capital rules punish commercial real estate loans that are considered high volatility, by requiring banks to hold additional capital against them. They have to hold capital worth 150 percent for these high volatility loans, as opposed to the normal 100 percent for other commercial real estate loans.

These high volatility commercial real estate loans, or HVCRE loans, are usually made so that a borrower can purchase vacant or undeveloped land, which they then will build on or hold for a later time.

But the capital rules for these HVCRE loans were extremely complex and led to a great deal of confusion about which loans were considered high volatility and which were not.

The regulators finally did propose a rule to simplify the treatment of high volatility commercial real estate loans just a few weeks ago. This bill addresses the same issue as the regulators' proposed rule by simplifying the capital rules for commercial real estate loans.

I offered an amendment in committee that further aligned the bill with the best parts of the regulators' proposed rule, which I think ultimately strengthened and improved the bill. The bill would simplify the capital rules by removing the so-called contributed capital requirement, which requires very complicated calculations and forces banks to project the value of the property years into the future, which is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to do.

Even the regulators have concluded that this entire contributed capital requirement is unnecessarily burdensome and does not add protection at all. Removing it will streamline the capital rules for banks and make it easier to finance job-creating projects. The regulators have proposed to remove this entire requirement, and I agree.

Under current law, banks have to hold more capital when the property is vacant and not producing any income. So the bill clarifies that when a property does start to produce sufficient income to cover the debt service payments to the bank, then the loan is much safer, and thus is eligible for capital relief, removing the 150 percent surcharge and going back down to 100 percent.

I think this bill is a very good, commonsense bill that fixes a legitimate problem, and I urge my colleagues to support the bill. I believe it will make access to capital more fair and will get it out into the community, creating jobs.

I congratulate all of my colleagues who were part of this process, and I support the bill.