June 3, 1991 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS 13037 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS LET'S CLOSE DOWN THE WALSH preme Court ruling I suspect Mr. Walsh might IN RECOGNITION OF THE DADE INVESTIGATION even privately welcome such an outcome. COMMUNITY FOUNDATION With his termination papers in hand, he HON. WM. S. BROOMFIELD could argue for years to come that if only he HON. ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN had a few more months or years to pursue the OF FLORIDA OF MICHIGAN cases, if only the Supreme Court hadn't raised IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES all those constitutional hurdles, if only * * *. Monday, June 3, 1991 Monday, June 3, 1991 The fate of these cases was decided from Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I am Mr. BROOMFIELD. Mr. Speaker, some of the very beginning. In the wake of the Iran pleased to recognize Juan P. Loumiet and the my colleagues who were fortunate to have Contra revelations, there were two alter­ Dade Community Foundation. Mr. Loumiet is read Charles Dickens when they were growing natives. The allegations could have been pur­ the first Cuban-American to be elected chair­ up may remember a novel called "Bleak sued through the courts and those convicted, man of the foundation since it was formed 24 House." if any, thrown in jail, thereby sending a mes­ years ago. Featured in Miami Today was an It concerned a case he called Jarndyce ver­ sage to other public servants that they are just interview with Juan Loumiet discussing his sus Jarndyce, which went through the courts as liable to be prosecuted for crimes as any­ role as the chairman of the Dade Community for generations, ruined lives, destroyed reputa­ one else in America. Foundation. tions, drove people literally insane, enriched The second alternative was to publicize the Q: What's the role of the Dade Community lawyers, and after all that, never got resolved. entire affair through televised congressional Foundation and how is it evolving under The modern day sequel to that case is hearings. your chairmanship? being prosecuted by Independent Counsel I believe that just about anyone associated A: The purpose is to service the commu­ Lawrence Walsh. The cases against the so­ nity's endowment. It permits individuals and with this case knew full well from the begin­ organizations to establish trust funds for called Iran Contra defendants have now ning that you could do either, but you could specific and general purposes and to leave a dragged on for the better part of 5 years­ not do both. memorial for charitable and social purposes longer than the American Civil War, have cost Mr. Walsh's case was poisoned from the to benefit Dade County and its citizens. the taxpayer as much as $35 million, and in very outset by the congressional hearings. These can range from artistic to medical, so­ the end will have done little but enrich a bunch The fact that he has elected to pursue this cial and educational purposes. of lawyers. The great thing about a community foun­ case for almost 5 years, with the promise of Four years ago, when the congressional in­ dation is that it's very flexible in its ability little more in the way of results than ruined vestigation of the Iran Contra affair was wind­ to deal with the desires of a donor and to as­ reputations and personal bankruptcies for the sure that his or her or its wishes will be com­ ing down, I said that the investigation went on plied with-really in perpetuity, or as long too long and yielded too few results. Nothing defendants, is I believe one of the greatest in­ justices ever perpetrated by the American as Dade County is here. that's happened since then has changed my And it allows individuals of limited wealth judgment. legal system. What started as a prosecution to establish philanthropic funds without Last Monday the Supreme Court made a has turned into a persecution. having to be multi-millionaires or those ruling which one might have hoped would put There's a time for everything under the Sun, funds having to be that large. It also permits an end to this legal farce. Yet it appears that and Mr. Walsh's time has come and gone. individuals and corporations to add to exist­ even in the face of hopeless odds, Mr. Walsh Let's wrap this case up, send all those lawyers ing funds already established by other citi­ will hunker down and drag the defendants back into productive jobs, and get this thing zens or organizations for specific purposes. We have many types of funds that are ad­ through the mud as long as he can. behind us. ministered and out of which grants are Last July 24, I wrote Attorney General Rich­ I believe it is also incumbent on the Con­ made. the significant thing about a commu­ ard Thornburgh to begin actions to terminate gress to ensure that such a legal injustice not nity foundation is its flexibility and the con­ the office of Independent Counsel in this case. happen again. Last year I introduced legisla­ tinuity that it provides. I pointed out in the letter that the "Iran tion that would create a 2-year sunset provi­ You also have the ability for organizations Contra affair has been thoroughly investigated; sion for the appointment of an independent to establish advised funds, which may permit organizations-such as our law firm-to we've paid for two congressional committees, counsel, unless an extension is approved. a Presidential Commission, and an independ­ gather charitable funds from a number of its The bill will make sure that future special members, pool them and then make grants ent counsel; and scores of lawyers, account­ prosecutors are not able to conduct endless with the advice of the community founda­ ants and investigators have pored over the fishing expeditions. tion for worthwhile endeavors. These may documents, interviewed hundreds of wit­ Among the 19 cosponsors of the bill were range from the University of Miami to the nesses, and issued report after report." Historical Museum, or any other organiza­ all 4 Republican Members serving at that time Last Thursday, I sent a new letter to the At­ tion. in Congress who had also served with me on torney General urging him once again to begin Q: Your law firm has such a fund? the Iran Contra Committee. They were Con­ actions to terminate Mr. Walsh. This time I be­ A: We have a significant philanthropic gressmen HENRY HYDE, BILL McCoLLUM, fund at the foundation to which all of our lieve the message will carry additional gravity partners contribute every year. We pool because it is cosigned by some of the most JAMES COURTER, and MICHAEL DEWINE. I hope that my colleagues on both sides of those funds and, during the following year or senior Members in the House of Representa­ years, make commitments with those funds tives. the aisle will become cosponsors of this im­ collectively. The cosigners were my colleagues, Con­ portant legislation. Only by enacting such a Q: Are there any limits on where Dade gressmen ROBERT H. MICHEL, NEWT GINGRICH, law can we be confident that future special Community Foundation funds would be GERALD SOLOMON, JERRY LEWIS, GUY VANDER prosecutors will be encouraged to pursue un­ channeled? JAGT, BILL DANNEMEYER, HENRY HYDE, ROBERT biased and thorough investigations of criminal A: No. We have a general purpose. It's not DORNAN, TOM BULEY, BILL MCCOLLUM, MIKE activities against senior Government officials limited to a social purpose in the sense of something like Camillus House. OXLEY, MICKEY EDWARDS, DUNCAN HUNTER, in a prompt, responsible, and cost-effective The foundation is holding funds right now and VIN WEBER. manner. under the Wolfson Initiative. It held funds at If ever there were a right moment to fire Mr. one point that were used to make significant Walsh, this is it. In light of last Monday's Su- grants from a private developer in Dade •This "bullet" symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor. 13038 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS June 3, 1991 County to community development corpora­ forts between private organizations and the courses in English as a second language and tions. So long as the purpose is generally for government, the opportunity to become vocational training. The Russian students divi­ the benefit of the community in its broadest homeowners or renters of decent housing. sion, under the leadership of Russian-born sense, it complies with our charter. And be­ That has an impact on people who live in cause we are a public foundation, there are those neighborhoods that's impossible to program director Rabbi Aharon Sirota, has in­ certain tax benefits. measure. So I think it's a very important stituted many successful outreach projects. Q: Is the transfer to the community foun­ part of the improvement of the social fabric The result has been a successful integration dation a result of the financial institution in this community, as it is in other commu­ of newly arriving immigrants and a heightened which was named trustee itself disappearing? nities. awareness of the local community. A: No. The institution we're talking about Q: How do you feel about having become With the help of its many friends in the com­ initially is not disappearing, nor is it unwill­ the first Hispanic to be elected chairman of munity, I know the Beth Jacob-Beth Miriam ing to serve.