Moment of Silence in Honor of the Victims of Ebrahim Raisi

Floor Speech

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Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, last month, the United Nations Security Council had a moment of silence in memory of the death of the late Iranian President, Ebrahim Raisi, known as the Butcher of Tehran.

Even on the Senate floor, the Senate Chaplain said something sorrowful about Raisi's death.

Mr. Speaker, the death of any human being is a tragedy perhaps, but no one had a moment of silence when Osama bin Laden died, and Ebrahim Raisi killed far more people than Osama bin Laden.

At some point, we should take a moment of silence to remember the victims of Raisi's vicious cruelty, such as the 30,000 Iranian political prisoners who were tortured and murdered to death by the death commissions that Raisi headed back in 1988; the 1,500 Iranian freedom protesters murdered in 2019, Bloody November; or the murders of potentially thousands of protesters who were incensed by the death of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, in September 2022.

She was Mahsa Amini, who was beaten and died in custody. Her crime? Not wearing her hijab just the way the morality police thought was appropriate.

Among those murdered by Raisi's regime during the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising was 16-year-old protester Nika Shahkarami in April of this year. The BBC did an investigation and discovered documents that showed that Nika was heinously sexually assaulted and killed by three men from Iran's security forces after she was detained.

Today, many brave Iranians face the death penalty for just speaking out in favor of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement and speaking out for democracy in Iran.

Just recently, we saw the rapper Toomaj, a critic of this regime, who, on April 30, was sentenced to death.

During the last year, Iran admits to having executed 853 people, the highest number in 8 years. That doesn't count all those killed secretly.

I have referred only to the evil that this regime does to its own people. Iran, as we know, sponsors terrorist organizations around the world, including the Houthi, Hamas, and Hezbollah, and those are just the organizations that begin with the letter h.

The evil done by Hamas, I think, is well-known, but one should reflect on all those killed in Yemen by the Houthi, and now their action blockading the Red Sea raises prices of grain for poor people living near the Indian Ocean, from Bangladesh to Ethiopia, raising prices and leading, if not to starvation, to the compromised immune system that then leads to thousands and thousands of deaths.

I am proud to represent California's 32nd Congressional District, home, I believe, to more Iranian Americans than any other district in this country. I know firsthand from talking to them about their opposition to the murderous Islamic Republic regime and their troubled reaction when they saw Ebrahim Raisi mourned without his victims even being remembered.

The brave Iranian people deserve a moment of silence not for the Butcher of Tehran, but for those he butchered, and so I ask, Mr. Speaker, unanimous consent that this House observe a moment of silence for those killed at the hands and under the Presidency of Ebrahim Raisi. Peace Treaty on the Korean Peninsula

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Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, for the past 4 years, I have been working on the Peace on the Korean Peninsula Act, designed to try to move us in the direction of a negotiated settlement with North Korea.

The war stopped, or seemed to have stopped, in 1953, but that was just an armistice. It is now time to negotiate a formal peace treaty.

There are those who say that is an unwarranted concession to North Korea and Kim Jong-un. That is hardly the case. The armistice of 1953 was done by both sides and was equal. If an armistice is not an unwarranted concession, neither is a formal peace treaty.

There is majority support in the South Korean Parliament for ending this war formally, and I believe it would be a first step to negotiating a solution to North Korea's very dangerous nuclear and missile program.

We currently have 41 and growing number of cosponsors in the United States here in the House of Representatives. There is support for this effort in Canada, Britain, and, as I mentioned, in Seoul.

I am proud to represent a large and vibrant Korean-American community, and I look forward to being able to take a step toward a rapprochement with North Korea, knowing full well that dealing with its nuclear program and its deprivation of human rights will be daunting tasks. Housing for Veterans

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Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, due to redistricting just last year, I now represent what I believe is the largest veterans' facility in the West, the West Los Angeles VA.

I have seen exemplified in my own district a problem in large quantity that should strike at the hearts of all of us, and that is homeless veterans. To see any American out on the street is a shame, but when that American has put their life on the line for this country, it is a shame that we need to correct.

This Congress has provided significant money to build housing for veterans. We need to do more. I will focus on one particular problem with the HUD-VASH program that we fund. It sets a limit on the income that a veteran can have, and it is understood we are building this housing for low-income veterans.

Included in that income calculation are disability benefits. We have a situation right in my district where disabled American veterans are living on the streets and can't get into veteran housing on veteran land because they are receiving veteran disability benefits for the disabilities they suffered in the service of the American people.

I have proposed legislation, which passed unanimously, 49-0, through the Financial Services Committee, to say that disability benefits not be included in that income calculation.

Two things to be aware of: First, the income of a disabled veteran can be calculated, but what must be kept in mind is that they face higher expenses. They have to live a different life, and that additional income or payments that they receive does not mean that they are middle class or wealthy.

Second, our Internal Revenue Code already recognizes that disability payments received by veterans are not counted as income.

Finally, the people who I think would most benefit from housing on the VA campus, where we have the largest VA hospital in the southern California area are the disabled veterans who need the medical care.

Mr. Speaker, I hope that my colleagues will join in cosponsoring and supporting this legislation. In Recognition of the 75th Anniversary of Valley Industry and Commerce Association

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Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the Valley Industry and Commerce Association, known as VICA, for 75 years of working tirelessly to make the San Fernando Valley the place to do business in California.

VICA serves 1.8 million residents, nearly a quarter million businesses, and VICA has been a leading voice for the business community since 1949. Under the leadership of President Stuart Waldman and Chair Lupita Sanchez Cornejo, VICA has helped the valley become an economic engine that has powered the recovery from the COVID downturn for the entire area of Los Angeles, where they are advocating for a better business climate, improved regional infrastructure, and a 21st century workforce. VICA has left its mark.

I congratulate VICA on this 75th anniversary. I look forward to working with VICA day after day, month after month, as I have in my 28 years in Congress. In Celebration of the Life of Morrie Markoff

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Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the life of Morrie Markoff, and what a life it was. Morrie was a well-known resident of Los Angeles and the father of my good and longtime friend, Steven Markoff, and Steve's sister, Judith Markoff Hansen.

Morrie lived to be the oldest man in the United States, reaching the age of 110, before passing away in his southern California home on June 3 of this year.

Morrie grew up in New York City, attended trade school, married the love of his life, Betty Goldmintz, and settled in Los Angeles.

Morrie was a skilled machinist, businessman, artist, and author. He was not just someone who lived to an incredibly advanced age. He was famous for his cognitive abilities late in life. He held his first art exhibit as a centenarian. At age 103, Morrie was selling his book, ``Keep Breathing,'' a good idea, from his own booth at the LA Times Festival of Books. He was known as the world's oldest blogger.

Morrie witnessed tremendous social and technological changes in 110 years. He inspired so many of us to live life to the fullest. Los Angeles reflects with pride on the life of Morrie Markoff. Defining Anti-Semitism

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Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, Jewish Americans are facing a tide of hate in this country that we thought could only be in a different century, on a different continent. U.S. anti-Semitic incidences have skyrocketed 360 percent since October 7.

Between October 7 and January 7 alone, the Anti-Defamation League has recorded 3,283 anti-Semitic incidents, including harassment, vandalism, and physical assaults. Just outside of my district, Paul Kessler was bludgeoned in the head and bludgeoned to death by an anti-Israel protester.

Recent polling from the American Jewish Committee found that 93 percent of Jews in this country think that anti-Semitism is a problem, and 87 percent think that it has gotten worse since October 7. Yet, some refuse to listen.

That especially is happening in campuses across this country. Too often, university administrators have failed to protect their Jewish students. At Columbia University, leaked text messages show how administrators were mocking a panel on anti-Semitism while it was happening.

At Yale, a Jewish student was assaulted by encampment protestors. At Reed College, Jewish students had their mezuzah torn down or struck with a rock through their dorm room. Just this week, a man was arrested for throwing a rock in the face of a Jewish Columbia student. The list goes on and on.

Now, anti-Semitism can't be fought, particularly on campuses, if it can't be defined. So many are engaging in anti-Semitism and claiming that it is not anti-Semitism. If there is dedication to fighting it, it has to be defined.

America should use the same standard for evaluating its own campuses that the State Department has been using for a decade and a half in looking at global anti-Semitism. The same standard that we use in criticizing or evaluating the University of Bucharest should be used for Columbia University.

That is the IHRA definition, and the most controversial part of that definition says that, when there is a call for the expulsion or death of every Jew living between the river and the sea, that is anti- Semitic. That shouldn't even be a question. If, God forbid, a Member were to come to this floor, grab this microphone, and shout: ``Death to Albania,'' would anyone doubt that that Member was anti-Albanian?

When one calls for the destruction and ethnic cleansing of the only Jewish majority country in the world, is there any doubt that that is anti-Semitic?

Some oppose adopting this definition because they say it deals with free speech. Keep in mind, fortunately or unfortunately, homophobic speech, racist speech, and anti-Semitic speech enjoy substantial First Amendment protection.

We should adopt a definition of anti-Semitism and then use that to evaluate and use our free speech rights to comment on the anti-Semitic speech being screamed on campuses across this country.

Students are entitled to the protection of title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. That says that you cannot interfere with their education because of their race or national origin.

I have battled for 20 years three or four different administrations' Department of Education, and we now have it clear--as we had it clear and then they revoked it and then they made it clear again--that title VI applies to Jewish students. It may say race and national origin. People can debate whether Judaism and the Jewish people are a people or a religion or a civilization. That issue has been handled.

What campuses have to do is follow title VI if they are going to receive any Federal aid, and they are not. Their method for ignoring civil rights law is to refuse to define anti-Semitism.

Let us hope that this Department of Education will take its responsibility seriously, that this Department of Education will go that last step from saying that they are using the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism to say that they actually publish it as their definition of anti-Semitism. That is a slight step.

Let us hope that university administrators will protect Jewish students just as the National Guard was used to protect African- American students many decades ago when they entered campus.

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Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, there is substantial discussion of cryptocurrencies. It was one of the things that I agreed with Donald Trump on when he tweeted in 2019, back when he was on Twitter: ``I am not a fan of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which are not money and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air. Unregulated crypto assets can facilitate unlawful behavior, including drug trade and other illegal activity.''

``We have only one real currency in the USA, and it is stronger than ever, both dependable and reliable. It is by far the most dominant currency anywhere in the world, and it will always stay that way. It is called the United States dollar.''

Donald Trump got it right in 2019 because he hadn't figured out that there was a way to get money by getting it wrong. Since then, he has flip-flopped. He has decided that he likes cryptocurrency.

Why is that? First, he may have discovered that those who are doing crypto mining are creating enormous amounts of greenhouse gases, entire mothballed electric plants have been taken out of mothballs. These are coal-burning plants, and the entire output is used to do highly complex calculations in order to mine cryptocurrency. That is to say, whoever does these calculations, the system gives them crypto.

Maybe it is the enormous amount of greenhouse gases, but I don't think that is it. What Trump has discovered is that there is an enormous amount of money for him by embracing crypto.

What is crypto? Why does it have a value? At first blush, it looks like an electronic pet rock.

Why does it have value? It is right in the name. It aspires to be a currency, and if it actually became a currency--if you went to the local McDonald's and were told how much a burger cost based on its crypto value, how many hamster coins for an order of fries, then it would be a currency.

Those who are investing in crypto mostly are just thinking they will buy it now and will sell it in a month, and it will go up in value. They have no idea what they are buying, why it would have any value, why anybody else would buy it except they heard they can make money on it.

There is a constituency for that. A lot of people will make investments without thinking of the consequences.

Those in the crypto movement have told us why they have created it. They want to compete with the U.S. dollar in order to make enormous amounts of money themselves and to take from the U.S. dollar its tremendous role as a reserve currency and as an international settlements currency. The effect of that would be to make a mockery out of the sanctions that we impose on Iran, North Korea, and others.

What is the market for cryptocurrency? Why does anybody need a new currency? What is the matter with the euro? Hell, what is the matter with the dollar? The dollar is an outstanding currency. It is a medium of exchange, a store of value, but there is a huge market for another one.

That is because dollar transactions can be discovered by American law enforcement. Yes, we do have the one hundred dollar bill, but big-time drug dealers, big-time tax evaders, and big-time human traffickers find it difficult to carry around that many suitcases filled with one hundred dollar bills, let alone to try to spend them.

They need an electronic currency that gives them all the anonymity of a sack full of one hundred dollar bills and all the convenience of a 21st century currency.

If it catches on, what are the markets? The biggest market, the only market that justifies the current prices that some crypto is getting, is the tax evasion market.

Trump's own Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, his appointee, testified that there is roughly a trillion dollars of uncollected taxes. The vast bulk of that is from very wealthy people who are hiding their income.

In order to not pay $1 trillion in taxes, you have to hide $3 trillion of income. If you hide $3 trillion of income year after year, after a decade, you have $10 trillion of assets to hide. That is a lot of assets. You cannot put it all in a sack full of one hundred dollar bills.

So, they create a currency that meets the needs of the tax evaders. What about the sanction evaders? It does it even better. What about the drug dealers? We have all seen the movies where the toughest problem the big-time drug dealer has is how to deal with all this cash. It solves that problem.

You can tell by the name. They are trying to create a currency. What do they call it? Cryptocurrency. What does that literally mean? Hidden money.

Donald Trump is finding that he can get hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions, God knows what else he might be taking, from people who see this as an opportunity to create a currency where they are the first owners of it. They create it. They mine it. They already have it.

They have over $1 trillion of this ``currency,'' and they have to find somebody who will take it off their hands. That market won't arise unless they can change the laws of the United States, the security laws and a host of others, in order to compete with the U.S. dollar.

First, if they are able to do this, bankruptcy laws will be unenforceable. Husbands or wives trying to hide assets from their former spouses will not be detected. The income tax will become a tax only on wages. The IRS has your little W-2 form. They know how much you have to pay, but the big-time folks, for them, the income tax will be as much as they feel like paying.

We have to deal with crypto. We also have to deal with the rank hypocrisy of the Republican nominee for President.

Finally, as of today, Mr. Trump is 78 years old. Both parties have nominated Presidential candidates that are older than those that have been nominated anytime in history.

There are those who say one or the other is too old. I will simply say this: It is true, Biden is 3 years older as of today, but Trump is 83 pounds heavier. If you were a life insurance agent, perhaps you wouldn't want to sell that policy.

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