[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 129 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

<DOC>
114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 129


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              June 8, 2016

      Received and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Expressing support for the goal of ensuring that all Holocaust victims 
live with dignity, comfort, and security in their remaining years, and 
  urging the Federal Republic of Germany to continue to reaffirm its 
       commitment to this goal through a financial commitment to 
    comprehensively address the unique health and welfare needs of 
 vulnerable Holocaust victims, including home care and other medically 
                           prescribed needs.

Whereas the annihilation of 6 million Jews during the Holocaust and the murder 
        of millions of others by the Nazi German state constitutes one of the 
        most tragic and heinous crimes in human history;
Whereas hundreds of thousands of Jews survived persecution by the Nazi regime 
        despite being imprisoned, subjected to slave labor, moved into ghettos, 
        forced

              

 to live in hiding or under false identity, forced to live under curfew, or 
required to wear the ``yellow star'';

Whereas in fear of the oncoming Nazi Einsatzgruppen (``Nazi Killing Squads'') 
        and the likelihood of extermination, hundreds of thousands of Jewish 
        Nazi victims fled for their lives;
Whereas whatever type of persecution suffered by Jews during the Holocaust, the 
        common thread that binds these Holocaust victims is that they were 
        targeted for extermination and that they lived with a constant fear for 
        their lives and the lives of their loved ones;
Whereas Holocaust victims immigrated to the United States from Europe, the 
        Middle East and North Africa, and the former Soviet Union from 1933 to 
        today;
Whereas it is estimated that there are at least 100,000 Holocaust victims living 
        in the United States and approximately 500,000 living around the world 
        today, including child survivors;
Whereas tens of thousands of Holocaust victims are in their 80s or 90s or are 
        more than 100 years in age, and the number of Holocaust victims is 
        diminishing;
Whereas at least 50 percent of Holocaust victims alive today will pass away 
        within the next decade, and those alive are becoming frailer and have 
        increasing health and welfare needs;
Whereas Holocaust victims throughout the world continue to suffer from permanent 
        physical and psychological injuries and disabilities and live with the 
        emotional scars of this systematic genocide against the Jewish people;
Whereas many of the emotional and psychological scars of Holocaust victims are 
        exacerbated in their old age, the past haunts and overwhelms many 
        aspects of their lives when their health fails them;
Whereas Holocaust victims suffer particular trauma when their emotional and 
        physical circumstances force them to leave the security of their own 
        home and enter institutional or other group living residential 
        facilities;
Whereas tens of thousands of Holocaust victims live in poverty, cannot afford 
        and do not receive sufficient medical care, home care, mental health 
        care, medicine, food, transportation, and other vital life-sustaining 
        services that allow them to live their final years with comfort and 
        dignity;
Whereas Holocaust victims often lack family support networks and require social 
        worker-supported case management in order to manage their daily lives 
        and access government funded services;
Whereas in response to a letter sent by Members of Congress to Germany's 
        Minister of Finance in December 2015 regarding increased funding for 
        Holocaust victims, German officials acknowledged that ``recent 
        experience has shown that the care financed by the German Government to 
        date is insufficient'' and that ``it is imperative to expand these 
        assistance measures quickly given the advanced age of many of the 
        affected persons'';
Whereas German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer acknowledged in 1951 Germany's 
        responsibility to provide moral and financial compensation to Holocaust 
        victims worldwide;
Whereas every successive German Chancellor has reaffirmed this position, 
        including Chancellor Angela Merkel, who in 2007 reaffirmed that ``only 
        by fully accepting its enduring responsibility for this most appalling 
        period and for the cruelest crimes in its history, can Germany shape the 
        future'';
Whereas in 2015 Chancellor Merkel's spokesperson again confirmed ``all Germans 
        know the history of the murderous race mania of the Nazis that led to 
        the break with civilization that was the Holocaust * * * we know that 
        responsibility for this crime against humanity is German and very much 
        our own''; and
Whereas Congress believes it is Germany's moral and historical responsibility to 
        comprehensively, permanently, and urgently provide the resources for all 
        Holocaust victims' medical, mental health, and long-term care needs: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That Congress--
            (1) acknowledges the financial and moral commitment of the 
        Federal Republic of Germany over the past seven decades to 
        provide a measure of justice for Holocaust victims;
            (2) supports the goal of ensuring that all Holocaust 
        victims in the United States and around the world are able to 
        live with dignity, comfort, and security in their remaining 
        years;
            (3) applauds the nonprofit organizations and agencies that 
        work tirelessly to honor and assist Holocaust victims in their 
        communities;
            (4) acknowledges the ongoing process of negotiations 
        between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Conference on 
        Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) in 
        order to secure funding for Holocaust victims and for vital 
        social services provided through nonprofit organizations and 
        agencies around the world;
            (5) acknowledges that the Federal Republic of Germany and 
        the Claims Conference have established a new high-level working 
        group that will develop proposals for extensive assistance for 
        homecare and other social welfare needs of Holocaust victims;
            (6) urges the working group to recognize the imperative of 
        immediately and fully funding victims' medical, mental health, 
        and long-term care needs and to do so with full transparency 
        and accountability to ensure all funds for Holocaust victims 
        from the Federal Republic of Germany are administered 
        efficiently, fairly, and without delay; and
            (7) urges the Federal Republic of Germany to continue to 
        reaffirm its commitment and fulfill its moral responsibility to 
        Holocaust victims by ensuring that every Holocaust victim 
        receives all of the prescribed medical care, home care, mental 
        health care, and other vital services necessary to live in 
        dignity and by providing, without delay, additional financial 
        resources to address the unique needs of Holocaust victims.

            Passed the House of Representatives June 7, 2016.

            Attest:

                                                 KAREN L. HAAS,

                                                                 Clerk.