[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 86 (Friday, June 26, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7288-S7289]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           CONCURRENT RESOLUTION HONORING THE BERLIN AIRLIFT

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                      COVERDELL AMENDMENT NO. 3049

  Mr. LOTT (for Mr. Coverdell) proposed an amendment to the concurrent 
resolution (S. Con. Res. 81) honoring the Berlin Airlift; as follows:

       Strike all after the resolving clause and insert the 
     following:
       That it is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) the Berlin Airlift, which marks its 50th anniversary of 
     commencement in June 1998, is one of the most significant 
     events in post-war European history; and
       (2) the Berlin Sculpture Fund should be commended for 
     commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift by 
     presenting to the citizens of the Federal Republic of Germany 
     a gift of representational art, funded by private 
     subscriptions from citizens of the United States.
       Amend the preamble to read as follows:
       Whereas the date of June 26, 1998, marks the 50th 
     anniversary of the commencement of the Allied effort to 
     supply the people of Berlin, Germany, with food, fuel, and 
     supplies in the face of the illegal Soviet blockade that 
     divided the city;
       Whereas this 15 month Allied effort became known throughout 
     the free world as the ``Berlin Airlift'' and ultimately cost 
     the lives of 78 Allied airmen, of whom 31 were United States 
     fliers;
       Whereas this heroic humanitarian undertaking was 
     universally regarded as an unambiguous statement of Western 
     resolve to thwart further Soviet expansion;
       Whereas the Berlin Airlift was an unqualified success, both 
     as an instrument of diplomacy and as a life saving rescue of 
     the 2,000,000 inhabitants of West Berlin, with 2,326,205 tons 
     of supplies delivered by 277,728 flights over a 462-day 
     period;
       Whereas historians and citizens the world over view the 
     success of this courageous action as pivotal to the ultimate 
     defeat of international tyranny, symbolized today by the fall 
     of the Berlin Wall; and
       Whereas this inspiring act of resolve must be preserved in 
     the memory of future generations in a positive and dramatic 
     manner: Now, therefore, be it
       Amend the title to read as follows: ``Concurrent resolution 
     honoring the Berlin Airlift and commending the Berlin 
     Sculpture Fund.''.

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