[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 7450]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     IN MEMORY OF MS. JANE MAHARAM

  (Mr. POE of Texas asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, Jane Maharam was, above all, a 
survivor. She always rose above adversity. She was a teacher, a music 
producer, a textile owner, a mother, a grandmother. She was happily 
married to her childhood sweetheart, but 31 years after her marriage, 
her husband took off in the darkness of the night with the property.
  After a 15-year court battle, her ex-husband was ordered to return 
her assets, but instead of following the court order, he snuck off 
again, hiding in another State. Jane was left with nothing. She was 
forced to rely on public assistance.
  There are many spouses like Jane who find themselves victims of this 
injustice. Jane's Law provides Federal enforcement to retrieve stolen 
marital property that is illegally taken across State lines. It targets 
stealing spouses who have deliberately evaded payment. Jane's motto, 
though, was: Don't give up.
  Her passion drove me and the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cohen) 
along with a number of other House Members to champion Jane's Law.
  Jane Maharam died recently on April 28, 2016, at the age of 85. She 
was a strong-spirited woman but, Madam Speaker, she died without 
justice. To honor her memory, we must pass Jane's Law to rectify this 
injustice that she had to live through.
  And that is just the way it is.

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