[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 91 (Wednesday, June 17, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S6714]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 PRAGUE CONFERENCE ON HOLOCAUST ASSETS

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I am delighted the Senate is poised to 
consider and pass S. Con. Res. 23 in support of the goals and 
objectives of the Prague Conference on Holocaust Era Assets.
  The Prague Conference, which will be held June 26 through June 30, 
will serve as a forum to review the achievements of the 1998 Washington 
Conference on Holocaust Era Assets. That meeting brought together 44 
nations, 13 nongovernmental organizations, scholars, and Holocaust 
survivors, and helped channel the political will necessary to address 
looted art, insurance claims, communal property, and archival issues. 
The conference also examined the role of historical commissions and 
Holocaust education, remembrance, and research. While the Washington 
Conference was enormously useful, more can and should be done in all of 
these areas. Accordingly, the Prague Conference provides an important 
opportunity to identify specific additional steps that countries can 
still take.
  The Holocaust left a scar that will not be removed by the Prague 
Conference. But this upcoming gathering provides an opportunity for 
governments to make tangible and meaningful progress in addressing this 
painful chapter of history. I commend the Czech Republic for taking on 
the leadership of organizing this meeting and welcome the appointment 
of Ambassador Stuart E. Eizenstat, former Treasury Deputy Secretary and 
former Department of State Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, to 
head the U.S. delegation to the Prague Conference. Ambassador Eizenstat 
is uniquely qualified to represent the United States at this historic 
gathering.
  I would like to express my gratitude to Senators Kerry and Lugar, the 
chair and ranking member, respectively, of the Foreign Relations 
Committee, for cosponsoring and reporting this resolution 
expeditiously.

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