[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 14712]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          AVOIDING TRUMP ADMINISTRATION CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

  (Ms. KAPTUR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I am one of those Americans who is very 
concerned about the conflict of interest that the President-elect faces 
as he assumes office. I don't think we have ever elected someone to 
office in this country with his vast wealth, but I must say, as ranking 
member on the Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies 
Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, let me give you one 
area which causes me concern: where he will separate his private 
interest from the public interest.
  The committee on which I rank handles the Army Corps of Engineers' 
budget, and we don't have enough money to deal with all the projects 
around the country, some of which are backed up 20 years. What happens 
if Mar-a-Lago in Florida faces flooding--or any of the other coastal 
properties that the President-elect owns--and the Army is trying to 
make a decision on where to place Federal funds? Will his properties 
take precedence over thousands of other projects around the country 
that have been backlogged for years?
  I think it is really important that the President-elect create a 
blind trust and put all of his assets in there. Obviously, he will have 
a good life in the years ahead, but we simply must not allow the 
private interests of any American to pollute the public decisions that 
this country must make.

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