[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 86 (Friday, June 26, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7305-S7306]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HONORING THE BERLIN AIRLIFT
Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Foreign
Relations Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Con.
Res. 81, and further that the Senate proceed to its immediate
consideration.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk
will report.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 81) honoring the
Berlin airlift.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the immediate
consideration of the concurrent resolution?
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the
concurrent resolution.
Amendment No. 3049
(Purpose: To provide a complete substitute)
Mr. LOTT. Senator Coverdell has a substitute amendment at the desk,
and I ask for its consideration.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Mississippi [Mr. Lott], for Mr. Coverdell,
proposes an amendment numbered 3049.
Mr. LOTT. I ask unanimous consent that further reading of the
amendment be dispensed with.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment is 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
Mr. COVERDELL. Mr. President, I rise today to speak on a resolution I
introduced honoring the heroes of the Berlin Airlift. Today marks the
fiftieth
[[Page S7306]]
anniversary of this great undertaking. This massive Allied effort to
provide relief to a post war Berlin held hostage by the Soviet Union
displayed to the world, the resolve of the western world to fight
oppression and began a long fight against Soviet Communism that
culminated with the collapse of the Berlin Wall.
The former Soviet Union, Britain, France and the United States
occupied separate sectors of Germany after World War II. Berlin,
located in the Soviet zone of Germany, was occupied in a similar
fashion. In response to a failing economy the Western powers undertook
an effort to reform the German currency. The Soviet Union, meanwhile,
kept the old German currency from entering its zones by banning, on
June 24, 1948, all travel into and out of the Western half of the city.
The Soviets also cut the supply of electricity to this zone. Berlin's
economy was in ruins and its citizens were under virtual seige.
The response to this blockade was one of the most heroic and
monumental undertakings in history. For fifteen months Allied transport
planes shipped food, coal and supplies into Berlin. During the height
of this effort airplanes were taking off every three minutes, twenty
four hours a day, while delivering daily 14,000 tons of supplies. All
told, 2,326,205 tons of supplies were delivered by 277,728 flights in
the face of Soviet efforts to thwart the Allies.
Mr. President, these numbers do not speak to the personal stories of
those who organized and participated in the Berlin airlift, the
sacrifices they made and the selflessness they displayed. They do not
speak to the lives lost during the operation, 31 of which were
American. They do not speak to the gratitude those in Berlin felt
toward the Allies who were so willing after such a brutal war, to
provide them with life-sustaining relief. Mr. President, let us all
keep these ideas in mind as we remember the Berlin Airlift, what it
meant to the world in a post World War II environment, and what it has
come to mean to us today.
Finally, Mr. President I would like to note that next week, on July
2, 1998, a delegation with representatives from the Berlin Sculpture
Fund will visit Berlin to present a gift of art to the citizens of the
Federal Republic of Germany in commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of
the Berlin Airlift. The Berlin Sculpture Fund and its Chairman, General
John Mitchell, should be commended for their work to commemorate this
event and the impact it made on our world's history.
Mr. LOTT. I ask unanimous consent that the amendment be agreed to,
the resolution, as amended, be agreed to, the amendment to the preamble
be agreed to, and the preamble, as amended, be agreed to, the amendment
to the title be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the
table, and any statements relating to this resolution appear at the
appropriate place in the Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment (No. 3049) was agreed to.
The resolution, as amended, was agreed to.
The amendment to the preamble was agreed to.
The preamble, as amended, was agreed to.
The concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 81), as amended, with its
preamble, as amended, reads as follows:
S. Con. Res. 81
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
Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives
concurring), 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.
The title was amended so as to read: ``Concurrent Resolution Honoring
the Berlin Airlift and Commending the Berlin Sculpture Fund.''
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