[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 36 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. CON. RES. 36

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 reaffirm its commitment to 
that 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.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 21, 2016

   Mr. Nelson (for himself and Ms. Collins) submitted the following 
 concurrent resolution; which was 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 reaffirm its commitment to 
that 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 6,000,000 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 or curfew, or required 
        to wear the ``yellow star'';
Whereas in fear of the oncoming Nazi Einsatzgruppen, or ``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 Holocaust victims is that they were targeted 
        for extermination and 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, North Africa, and the former Soviet Union between 1933 and 
        the date of adoption of this resolution;
Whereas it is estimated that there are at least 100,000 Holocaust victims living 
        in the United States and approximately 500,000 Holocaust victims living 
        around the world, including child survivors of the Holocaust;
Whereas tens of thousands of Holocaust victims are at least 80 years old, and 
        the number of surviving Holocaust victims is diminishing;
Whereas at least 50 percent of Holocaust victims alive today will pass away 
        within the next decade, and those living victims 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 a systematic genocide against the Jewish people;
Whereas many of the emotional and psychological scars of Holocaust victims are 
        exacerbated in the old age of the Holocaust victims;
Whereas the past haunts and overwhelms many aspects of the lives of Holocaust 
        victims 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 homes 
        and enter institutional or other group living residential facilities;
Whereas tens of thousands of Holocaust victims live in poverty and 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 individuals 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 the Minister of 
        Finance of Germany in December 2015 relating to 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, the 
        responsibility of Germany to provide moral and financial compensation to 
        Holocaust victims worldwide;
Whereas every successive German Chancellor has reaffirmed that acknowledgment, 
        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''; and
Whereas Congress believes it is the moral and historical responsibility of 
        Germany to comprehensively, permanently, and urgently provide resources 
        for the medical, mental health, and long-term care needs of all 
        Holocaust victims: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), 
That Congress--
            (1) acknowledges the financial and moral commitment of the 
        Federal Republic of Germany during the 7 decades prior to the 
        date of adoption of this resolution 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 the 
        communities of the nonprofit organizations and agencies;
            (4) acknowledges the ongoing process of negotiations 
        between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Conference on 
        Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (referred to in this 
        resolution as the ``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 described in paragraph (5) to 
        recognize the imperative to immediately and fully fund medical, 
        mental health, and long-term care needs of surviving Holocaust 
        victims, 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 reaffirm its 
        commitment to fulfill its moral responsibility to Holocaust 
        victims by--
                    (A) ensuring that each Holocaust victim receives 
                all of the prescribed medical care, home care, mental 
                health care, and other vital services necessary to live 
                in dignity; and
                    (B) providing, without delay, additional financial 
                resources to address the unique needs of Holocaust 
                victims.
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