Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 115 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION
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E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 115 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION Vol. 164 WASHINGTON, THURSDAY, MARCH 15, 2018 No. 46 House of Representatives The House met at 10 a.m. and was new tariffs. Their stock prices go down If there is nothing to hide in this called to order by the Speaker. a lot. deal, then the investigation will be f So I guess you could say that Carl quick and that will be that, but simply Icahn was lucky to unload his shares, saying this multimillion-dollar stroke MORNING-HOUR DEBATE valued at, at least, $31 million, just be- of luck was just a coincidence is not The SPEAKER. Pursuant to the fore the President made his announce- flying; not with me, anyway. order of the House of January 8, 2018, ment, but I suspect that luck had noth- Do you know the rigorous reporting the Chair will now recognize Members ing to do with it. of assets that we as House Members from lists submitted by the majority Here is a Trump insider making a gi- have to do to fully disclose our debts and minority leaders for morning-hour gantic decision on tens of millions of and investments? debate. dollars, and we are just supposed to be- And all those disclosures are avail- The Chair will alternate recognition lieve it is a coincidence. able to the public, and the press goes between the parties. All time shall be Sorry, but I am not buying it. over them with a fine-tooth comb. equally allocated between the parties, So I wrote the chairman of the SEC Every time a Member of Congress buys and in no event shall debate continue to request that he investigate. I have or sells a security over $1,000, we have beyond 11:50 a.m. Each Member, other not heard back from him, but I hope to file a form, and then that gets than the majority and minority leaders after he hears this speech, he might shared with the public. And if we are and the minority whip, shall be limited have a change of mind. late with the filing of the paperwork, to 5 minutes. In the letter, I said: ‘‘The announce- we have to pay a fine. f ment of tariffs on the heels of Mr. This may seem burdensome, but the Icahn’s stock sale is highly suspicious. important goal here is transparency SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COM- The close relationship between the and to ensure that Members are not MISSION SHOULD INVESTIGATE President and Mr. Icahn adds to the ap- using insider information they have ac- ILLEGAL INSIDER TRADING BY pearance of wrongdoing.’’ cess to to personally enrich them- CARL ICAHN So I think the SEC has an obligation selves. The SPEAKER. The Chair recognizes to investigate, because it looks bad. We If I was as lucky as Carl Icahn to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. are talking about the President of the make a stock trade that my friend had GUTIE´ RREZ) for 5 minutes. United States, and the people have a the power to tell me the inside infor- Mr. GUTIE´ RREZ. Mr. Speaker, last right to know that things are on the up mation on and it resulted in me mak- week I wrote a letter to Jay Clayton, and up. ing millions of dollars or avoiding los- the chairman of the Securities and Ex- Let’s remember that Mr. Icahn left ing millions of dollars, well, let’s see, change Commission, asking him about as an adviser to Trump at the White there would be investigative reporters, this guy. House because, we are told, it would hearings, an Ethics Committee report, This is Carl Icahn, the billionaire, raise difficult conflicts of interest, and maybe even criminal charges. But for financier, and buddy of our President presumably, just like the President, Mr. Icahn and his buddy, the President, Donald Trump. Mr. Icahn was not interested in selling nothing; at least not yet. It seems that he had a massive off part of his empire just so he could Let’s demand that the friends who amount of stock in a company that appear impartial and demonstrate core circle the White House and the Trump sells cranes and equipment, which, in integrity to the American people. businesses provide the American people case you didn’t know, are made of a lot The President, who many of us think with answers and transparency. That is of steel. Then all of a sudden, Mr. Icahn is profiting illegally from the office— all we ask so that we can have greater sold his position in the crane and and we have filed Articles of Impeach- confidence in our President and his equipment maker; and 1 week later, his ment because of it—seems to attract a family that they are not running a friend, buddy, pal, and fellow billion- lot of people with deep pockets and kleptocracy like we see in Russia, aire, Donald Trump, announced he was shallow reserves of judgment to his where those who govern are simply proposing import tariffs on steel and side. governing to make money. aluminum. Mr. Icahn, who was a notorious cor- Mr. Speaker, no tax returns; very lit- Now, we all know what happens to porate raider and vulture capitalist tle in the way of disclosure; recusals the stock of companies heavily depend- during the Clinton boom years of the that don’t seem to actually be recusals; ent on steel and aluminum when the 1990s, appears to me and a lot of others hotel and business conflicts of interest; President announces he will impose to fit this mold. and the strong odor of something fishy; b This symbol represents the time of day during the House proceedings, e.g., b 1407 is 2:07 p.m. Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor. H1611 . VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Mar 16, 2018 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A15MR7.000 H15MRPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with HOUSE H1612 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE March 15, 2018 those close to the President who are WE SHOULD DEBATE A NEW AUMF with insurgent spokesman Zabiullah making millions, apparently because of REGARDING AMERICAN TROOPS Mujahid, was primarily aimed at a U.S. audi- the proximity to the President; those IN AFGHANISTAN ence. Unlike previous statements issued by the Taliban, it used statistics and logical ar- people demand scrutiny from watchdog The SPEAKER pro tempore. The guments—not just ideological harangues—to agencies; and, in this case, it requires Chair recognizes the gentleman from convince Americans that their government’s an investigation of Carl Icahn by the North Carolina (Mr. JONES) for 5 min- investment in the war has been a dire mis- SEC. utes. take. Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, 1 week ago, ‘‘Prolonging the war in Afghanistan and Mr. Speaker, I include in the RECORD maintaining American troop presence is nei- BARBARA LEE and TOM COLE sent a let- my letter to the Honorable Jay Clay- ther beneficial for America nor for anyone ton, the chairman of the U.S. Securi- ter to the Speaker of the House that else,’’ the document said, calling on U.S. ties and Exchange Commission, of last was signed by 100 Members of Congress, citizens, legislators and others to ‘‘read this week. including myself, asking the Speaker letter prudently’’ and evaluate the costs and to authorize the committees of juris- benefits of continuing to fight. ‘‘Stubbornly CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES, seeking the protraction of this war;’’ it HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, diction to bring an AUMF—that is an added, ‘‘will have ‘‘dreadful consequences’’ Washington, DC, March 8, 2018. Authorization for Use of Military for the region and the ‘‘stability of America Hon. JAY CLAYTON, Force—so that we can have a debate. herself.’’ Chairman, U.S. Securities and Exchange Com- The last time we had a policy debate The letter, sent under the banner of ‘‘The mission, Washington, DC. on Afghanistan was 2001, 17 years ago. Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,’’ was issued DEAR CHAIRMAN CLAYTON: I write to re- I have been on the floor for the last just weeks after a blitz of deadly insurgent quest that you and your agency immediately 5 years because I am frustrated that we attacks in the Afghan capital have left the investigate possible illegal insider trading by can’t get a debate. It is our constitu- government struggling to cope with in- Mr. Carl Icahn, a longtime friend of Presi- tional duty. And our young men and creased public anxiety and anger. It also dent Donald Trump, who according to his women are around the world in dif- came as the Trump administration is SEC filings sold $31.3 million worth of stock ferent locations, half we don’t even ramping up a new military strategy, involv- ing thousands of additional troops, to expand in a company heavily dependent on steel just know about, yet we can’t debate an days before the President announced plans to the Afghan security forces and train them to impose import tariffs on steel and alu- issue of war when young men and defend their country independently. minum. women go and die for this country. While insisting that ‘‘our preference is to That 5 years included calling on John solve the Afghan issue through peaceful dia- According to Securities and Exchange Boehner to authorize an AUMF.