[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 30 (Tuesday, February 25, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H1280-H1282]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     PERMITTING USE OF ROTUNDA OF CAPITOL FOR CEREMONY AS PART OF 
      COMMEMORATION OF DAYS OF REMEMBRANCE OF VICTIMS OF HOLOCAUST

  Mr. MICA. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 40) permitting the use of the 
rotunda of the Capitol for a ceremony as part of the commemoration of 
the days of remembrance of victims of the Holocaust.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 40

       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring,) That the rotunda of the Capitol is authorized to 
     be used on April 30, 2003, for a ceremony as part of the 
     commemoration of the days of remembrance of victims of the 
     Holocaust. Physical preparations for the ceremony shall be 
     carried out in accordance with such conditions as the 
     Architect of the Capitol may prescribe.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Mica) and the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Larson) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica).
  Mr. MICA. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise here today for consideration of 
House Concurrent Resolution 40, which is necessary to permit the House 
and the Congress to use the rotunda of the Capitol for a ceremony as 
part of the commemoration of the days of remembrance of victims of the 
Holocaust.

[[Page H1281]]

  The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum was charged with 
providing appropriate ways for the Nation to commemorate the days of 
remembrance as an annual national and civic commemoration of the 
Holocaust. As a result of this legislation, the very first ceremony of 
remembrance was held in the rotunda in 1979. It has been held there 
every year since that time except for periods when the rotunda has been 
closed for renovations.
  House Concurrent Resolution 40, the resolution before us, will 
provide this year's national ceremony which will be conducted on April 
30, 2003, in the rotunda of the United States Capitol Building. The 
purpose of the days of remembrance, again, is to ask all citizens, all 
Americans, to reflect on the Holocaust, to remember the victims and to 
strengthen our sense of democracy, our demand for human rights.
  This ceremony will be the centerpiece of similar remembrance 
ceremonies to be held throughout the Nation. Members of the Congress, 
government officials, foreign dignitaries, Holocaust survivors, and 
citizens from all walks of life have attended previous ceremonies. At 
last year's days of remembrance commemoration in the rotunda of our 
Capitol, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, 
Condoleeza Rice, was the keynote speaker. Two years ago, President 
George W. Bush gave the keynote address.
  The theme for this particular day of remembrance is ``For Your 
Freedom and Ours.'' How fitting and how proper that it be in honor and 
remembrance of those courageous individuals in the Warsaw ghetto who 
valiantly rose up against their Nazi oppressors some 60 years ago.
  In remembering those who took a determined stand against Nazism, we 
honor the memory of those who perished, and of course we are reminded 
that individuals do have the power, and the choice, to make a 
difference in the fight against oppression and murderous hatred. And we 
are so much reminded of that today as we make choices here in this 
Congress and as our President makes choices, not only for our Nation 
but the world, against similar oppression and potential Holocaust.
  Madam Speaker, I urge that we support this resolution.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as 
I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in support of House Concurrent Resolution 40, 
authorizing the use of the Capitol rotunda on April 30, 2003, for a 
ceremony sponsored by the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, 
pursuant to Public Law 106-292, to observe the days of remembrance for 
the victims of the Holocaust.
  I am pleased to be an original cosponsor of this resolution, and I 
want to congratulate the distinguished gentleman from Florida (Mr. 
Mica) for bringing it before us today, and the gentleman from Virginia 
(Mr. Cantor), the new chief deputy majority whip, for introducing it.
  Congress provides for this ceremony every year during the spring. 
Related events will be occurring all over the country. I am proud to 
acknowledge that it has set a precedent in the State of Connecticut. I 
presided over that chamber's Holocaust memorial services for 8 years.
  These related events provide Americans of all faiths and ethnic 
backgrounds to reflect on the Holocaust, to remember its victims and to 
strengthen our commitment to democracy and human rights. It is 
appropriate that we use the Capitol rotunda, the citadel for the rule 
of law and the location of so many historic ceremonies, to again draw 
attention to one of the greatest tragedies in human history. It reminds 
us that such events must never be permitted to occur.
  Each year the ceremony has a theme geared to specific events which 
occurred during the Holocaust, as the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica) 
has pointed out. This year's theme for the days of remembrance is ``For 
Your Freedom and Ours,'' to honor the courageous armed resistance of 
the Jews in the Warsaw ghetto to deportation and slaughter in the Nazi 
death camps.
  Between July and September of 1942 the Germans deported nearly 
300,000 Jews from the Warsaw ghetto for execution. Cut off from 
assistance from the outside world, poorly armed resistance forces 
fought the German military for a month, in April and May of 1943, until 
the ghetto was finally destroyed. This resistance served as a symbolic 
victory and protest in the fight against oppression and helped raise 
the consciousness about the atrocities Hitler was perpetrating in 
Europe.
  While the days of remembrance commemorates historic events in the 
1930s and 1940s in Europe, the issues raised by the Holocaust remain 
fresh in our memories as we survey the political scene in the world 
today. The nature and tactics of war and the identity of an enemy may 
change, but what remains is the terror, the cruelty, and the madness of 
it.
  It is especially timely now to encourage public reflection on the 
faith of Holocaust victims and to remember that there was then and 
there is still today evil in the world. The ceremony we are authorizing 
today reminds us that individuals, as well as Nations, can strike a 
blow to preserve the balance on which human civilization rests.
  I urge the passage of this concurrent resolution. I have no 
additional speakers, but I would just like to thank Matt Pinkus from 
our staff for his very thorough job and assistance in the comments that 
I used to address the body today.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. MICA. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Madam Speaker, I am pleased again to bring before the House, House 
Concurrent Resolution 40 which would permit the use of the rotunda of 
the Capitol for a ceremony as part of the commemoration of the days of 
remembrance for the victims of the Holocaust. I urge my colleagues to 
pass this concurrent resolution and also for them to reflect upon the 
time in history that we face, the potential for another Holocaust and 
the easy route of ignoring the world situation and the potential for 
human disaster. Difficult choices in our times, but we cannot afford to 
ever experience what we will commemorate and remember, victims of the 
Holocaust from World War II, on this occasion and use of our rotunda.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I want to rise in support of H. Con. 
Res. 40, authorizing the rotunda of the Capitol to be used on April 30, 
2003, for a ceremony as part of the commemoration of the days of 
remembrance of victims of the Holocaust, and commend the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Cantor) for bringing this important measure to the floor 
at this time.
  When we talk of the Holocaust, we speak of a unique atrocity, 
distinct from any other.
  The mass murder that was inflicted upon millions of innocent men, 
women, and children must be viewed both as crimes against humanity and 
acts of genocide in their own right, and should be remembered as such.
  Yet, while the Holocaust is unique in history, anti-Semitism 
continues to haunt European society.
  Initially, Jews returning home after their liberation from the death 
camps often were met by their neighbors who had taken their houses, 
refused to return them, and in many places murdered these survivors of 
the Nazis.
  More recently, the continued violence in Israel, the West Bank and 
Gaza has released pent-up anti-Semitism throughout Europe.
  In my capacity as the Chair of the Subcommittee on International 
Operations and Human Rights in the 107th Congress, I held several 
hearings and briefings on the rise of religious persecution in Europe, 
engaged in Western European nations in combating the rise of anti-
Semitism within their counties and in international fora, where anti-
Semitic and anti-Israel bias prevails.
  However, this most recent outbreak of anti-Semitism is not limited to 
Europe by any means.
  Many of the ancient canards and lies about Jews are being resurrected 
in the Arab media.
  This includes the revival of the ``blood libel'' and pervasive 
Holocaust denial by the government-controlled press in Egypt and Saudi 
Arabia.
  This cannot be tolerated.
  We must demand that these governments, recipients of significant U.S. 
foreign assistance and other U.S. support, take immediate action to 
publicly repudiate both the message of hate and violence, as well as 
the purveyors of such filth.
  Today, as we consider this measure to provide a forum for honoring 
the courage and indomitable will of the victims of the Holocaust, let 
us be guided by the lessons of the past and commit ourselves to 
eradicating the intolerance and extremism which led to this grim period 
in history.

[[Page H1282]]

  Accordingly, I urge my colleagues to support this important 
resolution, so that the lessons of the Holocaust may not be forgotten.
  Mr. CROWLEY. Madam Speaker, I am honored to rise today in support of 
H. Con. Res. 40, permitting the use of the rotunda of the Capitol for a 
ceremony as part of the commemoration of the days of remembrance of 
victims of the Holocaust. Remembrance of victims of the Holocaust is an 
indispensable and enduring task. We all must honor and identify with 
the victims. I therefore strongly support the use of the rotunda of the 
Capitol for a ceremony remembering the victims of the Holocaust.
  The most horrifying extent of anti-Semitism took place during the 
Nazi and Fascist reign in Europe. Jewish people were beaten, 
discriminated, and deported to concentration camps where they had to 
suffer from hard labor and medical experiments or were executed in gas 
chambers. This most horrible form of anti-Semitism took the lives of 
more than six million people, and the Jewish fate must never be 
forgotten. Indeed, we must ensure that the seeds of anti-Semitism are 
never sown again in Europe or elsewhere in the world.
  And although we are currently in the sixth decade after the end of 
the Holocaust, the fight against anti-Semitism is far from over. Quite 
the contrary, new hatred against Jews can be witnessed in Europe, the 
Caucasus, and Central Asia. Nazi slogans are shouted in the streets of 
Germany, synagogues are burnt, and Jews are beaten up. This kind of 
hatred has already brought catastrophe to the Jewish people. 
Remembrance of the past is therefore essential as it helps focus 
attention on current and future threats to the Jewish people
  Remembrance must, however, go beyond intellectual insight and 
historical facts and should also include an emotional understanding, as 
far as this is possible. Only then are people ready to develop an 
attitude of zero-tolerance against anti-Semitism and discrimination in 
general.
  Mr. CANTOR. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of this important 
resolution, H. Con. Res. 40, permitting the use of the United States 
Capitol rotunda to observe, Yom Hashoah, the Day of Remembrance for 
Victims of the Holocaust.
  Madam Speaker, seventy years ago a tyrant as evil as any known in the 
history of man, rose to power preaching an agenda of hate and racial 
superiority. His shadow caused darkness to fall upon the earth. He slew 
the innocent and pure, men and women and children, with vapors of 
poison and burned them with fire. And when the light of freedom shined 
again, tens of millions lay dead, cities and nations lay in ruin and a 
world stood awe struck at the horrors that had occurred.
  Sadly today, even in our time, we face again totalitarian regimes led 
by maniacal dictators who threaten the peace and stability of the 
world. The rotunda of the United States Capitol represents the seat of 
free and open discourse, the foundation of our democracy, and is an 
anathema to those tyrannical leaders and their regimes.
  We in the United States, the birthplace of Thomas Jefferson and 
Martin Luther King, enjoy a great deal of freedom. We must not take 
these freedoms for granted. We must not forget that genocide and human 
rights abuses continue to occur around the world. We must not remain 
silent when such atrocities occur, and we must dedicate ourselves to 
continue to educate people around the globe about the horrors of the 
Holocaust. We must be forever mindful of the danger of such intolerance 
and ensure that it never happens again.
  Madam Speaker, that is why there can be no place more fitting than 
the rotunda of our Capitol, where freedom shines, to remember those 
innocent who suffered from a tyrant past, and to speak to the hope of 
those oppressed people who suffer from the tyrants of today.
  Mr. MICA. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica) that the House suspend the rules and 
agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 40.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Mr. MICA. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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