[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 755 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 755

   Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the creation of the Office of 
          Special Investigations of the Department of Justice.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 17, 2009

   Mr. McMahon (for himself and Mr. Rooney) submitted the following 
    resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the creation of the Office of 
          Special Investigations of the Department of Justice.

Whereas the Office of Special Investigations (OSI) of the Department of Justice 
        is part of an interagency Federal effort to identify suspected 
        perpetrators of human rights violations who have entered the United 
        States, to prosecute such individuals in the United States under 
        applicable laws, and to remove or extradite them to countries or 
        international tribunals that can try them for their crimes;
Whereas those who perpetrate serious human rights violations abroad, including 
        genocide, torture, extrajudicial killing, and persecution, should not 
        find refuge in the United States and should face accountability for 
        their crimes;
Whereas the OSI is responsible for identifying human rights violators who have 
        obtained U.S. citizenship and for taking legal action, through civil or 
        criminal charges, to revoke that citizenship so that they can face 
        appropriate measures to hold them accountable;
Whereas OSI works with the Department of Homeland Security and other domestic 
        and foreign authorities to deny safe haven and impunity to human rights 
        violators;
Whereas OSI was originally created in 1979 to investigate and prosecute 
        participants in World War II-era acts of Nazi-sponsored persecution;
Whereas the office's success in pursuing that mission precipitated an expansion 
        of its responsibilities, and on December 17, 2004, the Intelligence 
        Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act (IRTPA) was signed into law;
Whereas the IRTPA expanded OSI's responsibility by providing it with the 
        authority to investigate and bring legal actions in Federal court to 
        revoke the United States citizenship of any naturalized U.S. citizen who 
        committed, ordered, incited, assisted, or otherwise participated abroad 
        in genocide or, under color of foreign law, participated in torture or 
        extrajudicial killing;
Whereas the OSI continues to garner international accolades for its work on the 
        defining battles of the 20th century by bringing Nazi war criminals to 
        justice; and
Whereas as of 2008, OSI has successfully prosecuted 107 Nazi persecutors and has 
        worked closely with the Department of Homeland Security to stop at U.S. 
        ports of entry more than 180 former European and Japanese Axis 
        perpetrators and suspected perpetrators of acts of persecution and to 
        bar them from entering the United States: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) celebrates the 30th anniversary of the creation of the 
        Office of Special Investigations at the Department of Justice; 
        and
            (2) urges the President to issue a proclamation calling for 
        an observation of this anniversary.
                                 <all>