[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 39 (Thursday, February 27, 2025)]
[House]
[Page H893]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    MAKING CORRUPTION CRIMINAL AGAIN

  (Mr. LICCARDO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LICCARDO. Mr. Speaker, let's make corruption criminal again.
  Three days before his inauguration, President-elect Trump launched 
the Trump meme coin. Trump's partners and some investors based in China 
pumped up the price, making hundreds of millions of dollars with early 
selling while the price was high.
  As they sold, though, the price plummeted. They duped more than 
800,000 Americans, who collectively lost $2 billion. Welcome to what 
experts refer to as a ``rug pull.''
  When I was a criminal prosecutor, we had a different name for this. 
It was ``corruption.''
  Foreign interests got the best Presidency money can buy. Donald Trump 
got richer, and Americans got screwed.
  Today, I introduced the MEME Act, which prohibits top Federal 
officials from issuing, sponsoring, or promoting financial assets, with 
criminal and civil penalties.
  Mr. Speaker, our public offices do not belong to us. They belong to 
the American people, and they are not for sale.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from 
engaging in personalities toward the President.

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