[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 70 (Friday, May 23, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S5104]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      RELIEF FOR THE MEILI FAMILY

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 768 which was reported by 
the Judiciary Committee.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 768) for the relief of Michael Christopher 
     Meili, Guiseppina Meili, Mirjam Naomi Meili, and Davide 
     Meile.

  Mr. LOTT. I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a 
third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, 
and that any statements relating to the bill be placed at the 
appropriate place in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (S. 768) was passed, as follows:

                                 S. 768

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

       Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) The actions of Swiss banks and their relations with 
     Nazi Germany before and during World War II and the banks' 
     actions after the war concerning former Nazi loot and 
     heirless assets placed in the banks before the war have been 
     the subject of an extensive and ongoing inquiry by the 
     Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the 
     Senate and a study by a United States interagency group.
       (2) On January 8, 1997, Michel Christopher Meili, while 
     performing his duties as a security guard at the Union Bank 
     of Switzerland in Zurich, Switzerland, discovered that bank 
     employees were shredding important Holocaust-era documents.
       (3) Mr. Meili was able to save some of the documents from 
     destruction and then turned them over to the Jewish community 
     in Zurich and to the Swiss police.
       (4) Following Mr. Meili's disclosure of the destruction of 
     the Holocaust-era documents, Mr. Meili was suspended and then 
     terminated from his job. He was also interrogated by the 
     local Swiss authorities who tried to intimidate him by 
     threatening prosecution for his heroic actions.
       (5) Since this disclosure, Mr. Meili and his family have 
     been threatened and harassed, and have received many death 
     threats. Mr. Meili also received a hand-delivered note 
     threatening the kidnapping of his children in return for the 
     ``Jewish money'' he would receive for his actions, and urging 
     him to emigrate to the United States or be killed.
       (6) Because of his courageous actions, Mr. Meili and his 
     family have suffered economic hardship, mental anguish, and 
     have been forced to live in fear for their lives.

     SEC. 2. PERMANENT RESIDENCE.

       Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for purposes of 
     the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.), 
     Michel Christopher Meili, Giuseppina Meili, Mirjam Naomi 
     Meili, and Davide Meili shall be held and considered to have 
     been lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent 
     residence as of the date of the enactment of this Act upon 
     payment of the required visa fees.

     SEC. 3. REDUCTION OF NUMBER OF AVAILABLE VISAS.

       Upon the granting of permanent residence to Michel 
     Christopher Meili, Giuseppina Meili, Mirjam Naomi Meili, and 
     Davide Meili as provided in this Act, the Secretary of State 
     shall instruct the proper officer to reduce by the 
     appropriate number during the current fiscal year the total 
     number of immigrant visas available to natives of the country 
     of the aliens' birth under section 203(a) of the Immigration 
     and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(a)).

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