[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 67 (Thursday, May 19, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S5548]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  EXPRESSING CONTINUED SUPPORT FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE VICTIMS OF 
                           COMMUNISM MEMORIAL

  Mr. ALLEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 150, submitted 
earlier today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 150) expressing continued support for 
     the construction of the Victims of Communism Memorial.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today I submitted a resolution with my 
colleague, Senator Smith of Oregon, that I think is especially 
pertinent this week as we commemorate the 60th anniversary of the 
defeat of Nazi Germany. The end of World War II in Europe brought the 
end of Hitler's regime and all of its horrors, but it did not, 
unfortunately, usher in an era that was free of tyranny as so many had 
hoped. Instead, the Soviet Union solidified its illegal occupation of 
its three Baltic neighbors, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, and 
communism's global expansion condemned millions to totalitarian rule or 
death.
  The resolution we submitted expresses support for the construction of 
the Victims of Communism Memorial here in Washington, DC. Authorized by 
Congress in 1993, memoria1 will honor the more than 100 million victims 
of communist atrocities around the globe. The overwhelming carnage and 
suffering that occurred at the hand of international communism must 
never be forgotten. The Victims of Communism Memorial will pay tribute, 
in our Nation's capital, to those who lost their lives to communist 
tyranny. Construction of the Memorial is scheduled to begin in the fall 
of 2005, and when it is completed it will serve as an enduring reminder 
of communist atrocities and of the value of our Nation's commitment to 
freedom.
  I will also join my colleague from Oregon in submitting a resolution 
that calls on the Russian Government to acknowledge the Soviet Union's 
illegal annexation of the three Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia, and 
Lithuania during the Second World War and to condemn this aggression by 
the USSR. In 1939, Joseph Stalin allied himself with Adolf Hitler with 
the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, an agreement that led to 
the Soviet Union's occupation of the Baltic countries in 1940. For five 
decades, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania were forced to live under the 
authoritarian rule of the Soviet empire.
  When I speak about the Baltic countries, I speak with a particularly 
personal interest. Lithuania has a special meaning to me because it is 
my mother's birthplace, and I have visited there a number of times. 
When I visited Lithuania for the first time in 1979, it was under 
Soviet domination. Freedom was at a premium, and the poor people of 
that country struggled day after day wondering if they would ever have 
another chance at self-governance. I have journeyed to the region on 
several occasions since then, and I have witnessed the miracle of 
independence and democracy coming to Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. 
The amazing transformation for these nations was something that many of 
us with strong ties to this part of the world had prayed for but never 
believed would happen in our lifetime.
  The legacy of Soviet occupation remains strong even today. 
Unfortunately, Russia's leaders refuse to acknowledge the wrongs 
committed by the Soviet Union against the Baltic nations. Russian 
President Vladimir Putin rejected a suggestion from U.S. officials that 
he renounce the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, and he has publicly clung to 
the fiction that Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania asked to become part of 
the Soviet Union. In order for relations between the Baltic nations and 
Russia to move forward, the Russian Government and its people must 
honestly and publicly confront the USSR's brutal legacy of repression. 
This resolution will call on Russian leaders to take that important 
step.
  Mr. ALLEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution 
and preamble be agreed to en bloc; that the motion to reconsider be 
laid upon the table; and that any statements relating to the resolution 
be printed in the Record, without intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 150) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 150

       Whereas section 905 of the FRIENDSHIP Act (40 U.S.C. 1003 
     note) authorizes the construction of a memorial to honor the 
     victims of communism;
       Whereas the construction of a Victims of Communism Memorial 
     near the United States Capitol in the District of Columbia is 
     scheduled to begin in the fall of 2005;
       Whereas construction of the Memorial is supported by many 
     Americans whose country of origin is, or was, a ``Captive 
     Nation'', from Baltic-Americans to Vietnamese-Americans;
       Whereas communism has claimed the lives of more than 
     100,000,000 people in less than 100 years; and
       Whereas it is important for the people of the United States 
     to honor and remember the victims of communism by supporting 
     the construction of this memorial: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate expresses its continued support 
     for the construction of the Victims of Communism Memorial.

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