[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 132 (Monday, October 4, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H9253-H9256]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         U.S. HOLOCAUST ASSETS COMMISSION EXTENSION ACT OF 1999

  Mr. LAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H. R. 2401) to amend the U.S. Holocaust Assets Commission Act of 1998 
to extend the period by which the final report is due and to authorize 
additional funding.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 2401

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

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``U.S. Holocaust Assets 
     Commission Extension Act of 1999''.

     SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE U.S. HOLOCAUST ASSETS COMMISSION 
                   ACT OF 1998.

       (a) Extension of Time for Final Report.--Section 3(d)(1) of 
     the U.S. Holocaust Assets Commission Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 
     1621 nt.) is amended by striking ``December 31, 1999'' and 
     inserting ``December 31, 2000''.
       (b) Reauthorization of Appropriations.--Section 9 of the 
     U.S. Holocaust Assets Commission Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 1621 
     nt.) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``$3,500,000'' and inserting 
     ``$6,000,000''; and
       (2) by striking ``1999, and 2000,'' and inserting ``1999, 
     2000, and 2001,''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Lazio) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. LaFalce) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York (Mr. Lazio).
  Mr. LAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer the U.S. Holocaust Assets 
Commission Extension Act of 1999. This bill amends the U.S. Holocaust 
Assets Commission Act of 1998 to extend the life of the commission for 
1 year and authorize it to receive additional funding. As a member of 
the commission, I can say with confidence that this is a bill that 
ought to be passed unanimously.
  Mr. Speaker, the horrors of the Holocaust are well known, 6 million 
Jews murdered, along with millions of others deemed undesirable by 
Adolph Hitler and his followers. What many do not now, however, is that 
the Holocaust was also the single largest organized theft in history. 
The Nazis stole, plundered, and looted billions of dollars of assets. A 
half century later, we are still looking for full accounting.
  Though we can never right all the monstrous wrongs that took place 
during the Holocaust, we have an obligation to find out what happened. 
We have an obligation to do what we can to bring a measure of justice 
to the victims of the Holocaust and their families.
  In some cases, justice can, indeed, be done. This past summer, for 
example,

[[Page H9254]]

``The Seamstress,'' a painting by Lesser Ury, was turned over to 
Michael Loewenthal, whose grandparents were murdered during the 
Holocaust.
  It turns out that a friend of Mr. Loewenthal's spotted the painting 
hanging in a museum in Linz, Austria, and realized it had once been 
part of the Loewenthal family collection. When Mr. Loewenthal learned 
of the painting's location, he contacted the New York State Holocaust 
Claims Restitution Office in New York City, which initiated 
negotiations on behalf of the Loewenthal family. Eventually the Linz 
City Council voted unanimously to return the painting.
  When he received the painting in July, Mr. Loewenthal was overjoyed. 
He called the returned painting ``absolutely fantastic, the only link 
that I have to my grandparents.''
  But for every story like this one, Mr. Speaker, there are hundreds of 
thousands of stories without happy endings. In recognition of this sad 
fact, 17 nations have established Holocaust historical commissions to 
investigate the extent to which its property was handled, or 
mishandled, by their countries.
  I am proud to say that the United States has been one of the leaders 
of this movement. As part of this effort, Congress created the 
Presidential Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets in the United 
States, a commission on which I serve.
  This commission was given two tasks: one, to find out what happened 
to the assets of Holocaust victims that came into the possession of our 
Government; and, two, to issue a report to the President recommending 
action necessary to do justice.
  While this mission might sound simple, it is anything but. The 
commission has found more than 75 separate United States Government 
agencies through which assets of Holocaust victims may have passed, 
many more entities than was generally thought. The records of each of 
these offices must first be located and then scoured page by page at 
the National Archives and other record centers across the United 
States.
  Additionally, the Federal Government is in the process of 
declassifying millions of pages of World War II era information that 
may shine additional light on policies and procedures at that time. In 
total, the Commission will need to examine more than 45 million pages 
of documents if it is to carry out its mandate.

                              {time}  1500

  Members of the Holocaust Assets Commission were named only last 
November, and the Commission began its work just 10 months ago. Given 
the enormous volume of material that needs to be examined, and the 
tremendous importance of being thorough, the Commission needs another 
year to accomplish its tasks. And I think by citing the sheer volume, 
Mr. Speaker, of materials that have to be evaluated, we can understand 
why. This is why myself and my colleagues on the Commission, including 
the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman); the gentleman from 
Connecticut (Mr. Maloney); and the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Sherman) introduced the Holocaust Assets Commission Extension Act along 
with the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach), the chairman of the Committee 
on Banking and Financial Services and a man who has led the way on this 
issue; and as well, my friend, the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
LaFalce), the ranking member on the full panel. This measure simply 
extends the sunset date of the Commission to December 2000 and 
authorizes it to receive additional funding.
  The effort to create the Holocaust Assets Commission last year was a 
bipartisan one, and the effort to extend its life is as well. There are 
no partisan differences when it comes to honoring the memories of 
victims of the Holocaust and pursuing justice in their names. It is in 
that spirit that I urge every Member of this House to vote for this 
bill and, thereby, help the Holocaust Assets Commission complete its 
important work.
  Mr. Speaker, Holocaust survivors are aging and dying, and if we are 
ever to do justice to them and the memory of the millions who perished 
at the hands of the Nazis, we must act quickly. In this case, justice 
delayed is, in fact, justice denied. And with the end of the Cold War, 
as we have the opportunity to look at the immediate post-World War II 
period with fresh perspective, we know that additional work needs to be 
done quickly.
  We know that in Europe banks sat on dormant accounts for five 
decades. We know that insurance companies failed to honor policies held 
by Holocaust victims. We know that unscrupulous art dealers sold 
paintings that were extorted from Jews who feared for their lives. We 
know that gold from Holocaust victims was resmelted, often becoming the 
basis for financial dealings between large corporate entities. And now 
each one of these contemptible practices demands a full investigation, 
daunting as the task may be.
  The noted poet and philosopher George Santayana observed that, 
``Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.'' But 
the truth must be established before it can be remembered. That is why 
we created the United States Holocaust Assets Commission, and that is 
why the life of the Commission must be extended. Given the necessary 
time and funds, I am confident that the United States Holocaust Assets 
Commission will establish that America is doing all it can to return 
all manner of assets to their rightful owners. In so doing, we will 
confirm our leadership in the international effort to obtain justice 
for the victims of the Holocaust and their families.
  Finally, once again, Mr. Speaker, I want to applaud the efforts of 
the full panel chairman, the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach), for 
conducting hearings and his tenacity in seeking justice.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LaFALCE. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Mr. LaFALCE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. LaFALCE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2401, a 
bill that would extend the life of a commission charged with the 
important responsibility of recommending to the President the 
appropriate course of action on the recovery of Holocaust-era assets to 
their rightful heirs.
  We have had a number of committee hearings and have learned from 
those hearings that the more we exhume the horrors of the Holocaust, 
the more we learn about the need to do more to redress the wrongs of 
the past. The harder we work to provide restitution to aggrieved 
victims of that period, the more legitimacy we add to victims' claims 
and the further along we move in the path toward preventing these 
horrible events from ever occurring again.
  The bill we take up today extends the life of the United States 
Holocaust Assets Commission and authorizes additional needed resources 
to complete the daunting tasks the Commission is currently undertaking. 
As we have learned from our committee hearings, the challenges of 
achieving just compensation for Holocaust victims are significant.
  For one thing, no amount of money can undo the injustices and horrors 
suffered by Holocaust victims. But in the ongoing effort to achieve 
justice and to render accountable those who committed crimes against 
humanity, we have become aware of very difficult legal and logistical 
challenges in bringing about a meaningful process to compensate those 
victims. For example, existing documentation is often sketchy, 
misleading, incomplete, or anecdotal, which makes it difficult to 
arrive at a full and complete historical record. But, Mr. Speaker, the 
need to reach meaningful conclusions as to how best to compensate 
Holocaust victims fully justifies the extension of the Commission's 
life and the authorization for additional funds.
  Let me also point out that under the very able leadership of Deputy 
Treasury Secretary Stuart Eizenstat worldwide Jewish organizations, the 
German government, and a group of German companies will meet this week 
in Washington in an effort to agree on a just level of compensation for 
victims of forced labor during the Holocaust. The chairman of the 
Committee on Banking and Financial Services, the gentleman from Iowa 
(Mr. Leach), and I recently wrote German Chancellor's special 
representative on these matters to urge just compensation and utmost 
generosity and expeditiousness, particularly given the advanced age of 
so

[[Page H9255]]

many victims of forced labor. We are united in full support of Mr. 
Eizenstat on this process, and we want everyone who will be coming to 
the table this Wednesday to know and understand that. And I hope it 
will yield the best results for victims.
  Mr. Speaker, the difficulties faced in the process of compensating 
victims of forced labor only exemplifies the importance of our full 
support for organizations such as the U.S. Holocaust Assets Commission. 
I therefore urge each and every one of my colleagues to support H.R. 
2401.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from Minnesota (Mr. Vento).
  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this 1-year extension of 
the Holocaust Assets Commission and the important work that it is 
engaged in.
  I think of the events that have occurred in this century, and 
certainly the Holocaust stands out as one of the most shameful in human 
history and certainly in this century. As the philosopher said, it 
demonstrates man's inhumanity to man.
  And clearly, with the Commission's work and the cooperation that has 
been achieved on a global basis, I think that the attempt here to try 
and restore the property, the gold, the financial assets and arts and 
cultural property, and, of course, the new issue that has arisen, the 
whole issue of slave labor by these individuals that were subjected to 
such horrific treatment during that era in our history is being 
addressed.
  I think these are very complex issues and clearly the responsibility 
lies with that face of industry as well as with the countries that are 
involved, but it obviously has roots that move well beyond Germany and 
into other countries where financial arrangements and indifference, to 
some extent, permitted this to work in all of its horror.
  So I think that the additional year that is provided here will help 
us. It has been said before, but it can be said again, that we cannot 
put this behind us until it is all in front of us. And clearly those 
that have the most experience and who experienced these tragic 
circumstances, we are losing them. But the living history that they 
have provided and the insights, I think, are very much honored by the 
effort of this Commission and the global effort to try to rectify in 
some small way the trespasses that occurred in this century of human 
history.
  Mr. LaFALCE. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. LAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Once again I would ask, based on the bipartisan support that we have 
for 2401, and in the interest of justice, that we move this ahead with 
the approval on the part of the House.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support to suspend the 
rules and pass H.R. 2401, amending the U.S. Holocaust Assets Commission 
Act of 1998 extending the period by which the final report is due and 
to authorize additional funding. I have strongly supported efforts to 
compensate Holocaust survivors since Edgar Bronfman and Israel Singer 
of the World Jewish Restitution Organization first informed me of the 
issue of unclaimed communal property in Eastern Europe in 1995.
  Since then, our State Department and organizations such as the World 
Jewish Restitution Organization, an umbrella group for a number of 
major Jewish organizations both here in the U.S. and abroad, have 
worked to further that goal. Under their leadership, progress has been 
made; however that progress has been slow due to the complexity of the 
issues among many different governments, companies, banks, and 
individuals.
  I was a cosponsor of the U.S. Holocaust Assets Commission Act of 
1998, which was a landmark in efforts to make progress in the area of 
compensation for Holocaust victims.
  It is unfortunate that, though the legislation which created the U.S. 
Holocaust Assets Commission was signed into law by President Clinton 
back in July of 1998, the first meeting of this Commission did not take 
place until March of 1999, nine months later. At that first meeting I 
expressed my belief that the December 31st reporting deadline provided 
insufficient time to tackle the various issues required by the 
legislation, and that extending the life of the Commission was an 
absolute necessity.
  We in the Congress must recognize the grave responsibility which our 
nation has to the Holocaust survivors and their families, many of whom 
are American citizens, and treat the issue of Holocaust era assets as a 
high priority, encouraging other governments to do the same. In order 
to do this, it is necessary to allow additional time for the Commission 
to conduct essential research on the collection and disposition of 
these Holocaust-era assets.
  Accordingly, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
  Mr. BENTSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 
2401, legislation that would extend the authorization for the 
Presidential Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets through December 
21, 2000. As a cosponsor of this bill, I am pleased that Congress will 
be acting in time to ensure that this important Commission has both the 
resources and additional time it needs to complete its investigation 
and present a report to Congress.
  Under current law, the authorization for this Commission would expire 
on December 31, 1999. Imposition of this deadline would mean that the 
Commission has sufficient time to comply with all of its archival 
information and prepare a report to Congress on the disposition of 
Holocaust assets that came into the possession of the U.S. government. 
This bill would provide $2.5 million in additional federal funding to 
ensure that this investigative work continues.
  The House Banking Committee created this Commission as part of our 
ongoing effort to help Holocaust victims and their families to recover 
their assets which were lost during the Holocaust. I believe we must 
ensure that the U.S. government has properly reimbursed these victims 
and their families for any assets which they may have received. For 
many of these victims, the search for truth has already taken too long 
and this report to Congress may help to clear up one area of concern. 
In my district, there are many Holocaust victims and their families who 
would benefit from these recovered assets and who are seeking redress 
for past actions.
  Just recently, the House Banking Committee held another hearing on 
Holocaust issues. At this hearing, the U.S. Department of Treasury 
Deputy Secretary Stuart Eizenstat, a member of this Commission, 
testified about the progress being made in securing information from 
government agencies. Treasury Deputy Secretary Elizenstat stated that 
the Commission recently released a map of the 75 total federal agencies 
which had some knowledge of Holocaust assets. This map shows how much 
information will have to be reviewed before a report to Congress can be 
completed and I believe that this legislation will help provide the 
necessary time and resources to meet this challenge. Deputy Secretary 
Eizenstat also strongly expressed the Clinton Administration's view 
that we should approve this legislation in a timely manner to ensure 
that the Commission's work continues without delay.
  I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2401, legislation to ensure that 
the Holocaust Assets Commission completes its valuable investigation.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2401, 
legislation to extend the life of the U.S. Holocaust Assets Commission 
and to authorize additional funds necessary for the Commission. I want 
to commend our colleague from New York, Mr. Lazio, the author of this 
legislation, as well as Chairman of the Banking Committee, Congressman 
Jim Leach of Iowa, who introduced the original legislation establishing 
the U.S. Holocaust Assets Commission, which this body adopted in April 
of 1998.
  Mr. Speaker, this legislation is important and necessary. Because of 
delays that are normal in starting any new organization as well as the 
enormous amount of information that the Commission must review, the 
Commission requires another year to complete its tasks. This 
legislation provides an extension of time and authorizes the additional 
funding necessary for the Commission to complete its work.
  Mr. Speaker, my colleagues know well the horrors of the Holocaust--
six million news brutally and systematically murdered, hundreds of 
thousands of others slaughtered because they were deemed ``inferior'' 
by the Nazis. What is less well known is that the Nazis, as part of 
this horrendous effort, also stole and looted billions of dollars of 
assets from many of these same victims. Over half a century after these 
atrocities were brought to an end, we still do not have a full 
accounting of these plundered assets.
  Under the outstanding leadership of Deputy Secretary of Treasury, 
Stuart Eizenstat, the United States has been the leading nation in 
establishing which Holocaust-era assets may have been plundered and in 
establishing policies for dealing with such assets. I want to pay 
tribute to Ambassador Eizenstat for his careful and thoughtful 
attention to these issues.
  Mr. Speaker, resolving the issue of Holocaust-era assets is a moral 
issue. This is a final opportunity to bring a small measure of justice 
to Holocaust survivors, who lost families and their way of life over 
half a century ago. These victims are getting older, and their

[[Page H9256]]

numbers are constantly diminishing. This is our last brief opportunity 
to help them.
  I urge my colleagues to join in supporting this important 
legislation.
  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 
2401, The U.S. Holocaust Assets Commission Extension Act of which I am 
a proud cosponsor. Last year Congress passed legislation creating the 
Presidential Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets in the United 
States. The creation of the Commission made clear the Congress' belief 
that knowledge of the whereabouts of Holocaust assets in the possession 
of the U.S. Government should be documented and those assets should be 
dealt with in a just and prompt manner.
  At a time when Holocaust survivors are aging and the U.S. Government 
is engaged in reparations negotiations on several fronts, we should 
certainly remain committed to a timely and thorough resolution of 
Holocaust assets issues in which the U.S. Government may be involved. 
H.R. 2401 will ensure that the President's Advisory Commission on 
Holocaust Assets in the United States is given the time and resources 
necessary to complete its work. While a timely resolution is indeed of 
the utmost importance, it is reasonable to grant a year-long extension 
of the Commission. This one-year extension will facilitate a thorough 
and fair assessment of the United States' efforts to return Holocaust 
era assets of which our government is in possession.
  While we are actively pursuing reparations internationally on behalf 
of Holocaust victims and survivors, we also need to look carefully at 
the role of the United States. The United States has been a strong 
leader on Holocaust claims issues. We should also set an example of 
what it means to conduct transparent self-evaluation.
  Passage of H.R. 2401, and the subsequent extensions of the 
President's Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets in the United 
States, will allow the U.S. to continue to play a leadership role. 
Hopefully, in the year to come we will witness some measure of justice 
for Holocaust survivors and family members of Holocaust victims.
  I commend the work the Commission has done to date as well as the 
sponsors of this legislation. I urge all members to vote in support of 
H.R. 2401.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of the 
U.S. Holocaust Assets Commission Extension Act of 1999, which amends 
the U.S. Holocaust Assets Commission Act of 1998 to extend the life of 
the Commission for one year and authorize it to receive $2.5 million in 
additional funding.
  I applaud Representatives Rick Lazio, Benjamin Gilman, Jim Maloney 
and Brad Sherman for their leadership on this issue. These four 
gentlemen are members of the Holocaust Assets Commission and original 
cosponsors of this important bill. In addition, Banking Committee 
Chairman Jim Leach and Banking Committee Ranking Member John LaFalce 
are also original cosponsors of the bill.
  Seventeen nations have established Holocaust historical commissions 
to investigate the extent to which the assets of victims of the 
Holocaust were handled, or mishandled, by their countries. As part of 
this effort Congress passed legislation last year creating the 
Presidential Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets in the United 
States. H.R. 2401 extends by one year (from December 31, 1999 to 
December 31, 2000) the deadline for the Commission to issue its final 
report to the President. The bill also authorizes the Commission to 
receive an additional $2.5 million to cover expenses for the additional 
year.
  Congress established the Holocaust Assets Commission (P.L. 105-186) 
last year to (1) study and develop a historical record of the 
collection and disposition of specified assets of Holocaust victims if 
they came into the possession or control of the federal government, 
including the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System or any 
Federal Reserve bank, at any time after January 30, 1933; (2) 
coordinate its activities with those of private and governmental 
entities; (3) review research conducted by other entities regarding 
such assets in the U.S.; and (4) report its recommendations to the 
President.
  Members of the Holocaust Assets Commission were named only last 
November, and the Commission began its work just ten months ago. The 
Commission requested an additional year to complete its work due to the 
unexpected volume and complexity of the material it needs to examine.
  The effort to create the Holocaust Assets Commission last year was a 
bipartisan one, and the effort to extend its life has been as well. 
Accordingly, I urge my colleagues to support this measure.
  Mr. LAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Miller of Florida). The question is on 
the motion offered by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Lazio) that the 
House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2401.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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