Political Quotes

“I would like to join the chorus of persons who are complimenting the chairwoman for many jobs well done. This, of course, is just another of the many wonderful things that she is doing to help people across the globe. Mr. Speaker, I support H. Res. 206 because it addresses the launderability of money at the foundation of criminality. When it comes to arts and antiquities, according to an Art Basel report by UBS, the United States remains the largest art market, valued at $26.6 billion, and it accounts for 42 percent of the global total in 2017. This means, of course, that the United States is likely to be the largest destination for stolen ethnic and cultural arts--black market, black market art, black market money. That is why we have to find a way to prevent the laundering of this money. The United States of America should not allow ourselves to be the financier for those who perpetrate dastardly deeds in many countries around the world. An example might be Syria, where you have terrorists who will take stolen artifacts, find a way to put them into commerce, and use that money to support terrorist activities. That is not what we are about. We must find a way to close the loopholes that allow persons in this country to purchase these artifacts and allow that money to get back to those who would perform these dastardly deeds. I call them dastards. That is with a ``D,'' dastards. These dastards must be stopped.…”