[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 62 (Thursday, April 21, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2395-S2396]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 36--EXPRESSING SUPPORT OF THE GOAL OF 
  ENSURING THAT ALL HOLOCAUST VICTIMS LIVE WITH DIGNITY, COMFORT, AND 
 SECURITY IN THEIR REMAINING YEARS, AND URGING THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF 
  GERMANY TO REAFFIRM ITS COMMITMENT TO THAT GOAL THROUGH A FINANCIAL 
  COMMITMENT TO COMPREHENSIVELY ADDRESS THE UNIQUE HEALTH AND WELFARE 
 NEEDS OF VULNERABLE HOLOCAUST VICTIMS, INCLUDING HOME CARE AND OTHER 
                       MEDICALLY PRESCRIBED NEEDS

  Mr. NELSON (for himself and Ms. Collins) submitted the following 
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations:

                            S. Con. Res. 36

       Whereas the annihilation of 6,000,000 Jews during the 
     Holocaust and the murder of millions of others by the Nazi 
     German state constitutes 1 of the most tragic and heinous 
     crimes in human history;
       Whereas hundreds of thousands of Jews survived persecution 
     by the Nazi regime despite being imprisoned, subjected to 
     slave labor, moved into ghettos, forced to live in hiding or 
     under false identity or curfew, or required to wear the 
     ``yellow star'';
       Whereas in fear of the oncoming Nazi Einsatzgruppen, or 
     ``Nazi Killing Squads'', and the likelihood of extermination, 
     hundreds of thousands of Jewish Nazi victims fled for their 
     lives;
       Whereas whatever type of persecution suffered by Jews 
     during the Holocaust, the common thread that binds Holocaust 
     victims is that they were targeted for extermination and they 
     lived with a constant fear for their lives and the lives of 
     their loved ones;
       Whereas Holocaust victims immigrated to the United States 
     from Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and the former 
     Soviet Union between 1933 and the date of adoption of this 
     resolution;
       Whereas it is estimated that there are at least 100,000 
     Holocaust victims living in the United States and 
     approximately 500,000 Holocaust victims living around the 
     world, including child survivors of the Holocaust;
       Whereas tens of thousands of Holocaust victims are at least 
     80 years old, and the number of surviving Holocaust victims 
     is diminishing;
       Whereas at least 50 percent of Holocaust victims alive 
     today will pass away within the next decade, and those living 
     victims are becoming frailer and have increasing health and 
     welfare needs;
       Whereas Holocaust victims throughout the world continue to 
     suffer from permanent physical and psychological injuries and 
     disabilities and live with the emotional scars of a 
     systematic genocide against the Jewish people;
       Whereas many of the emotional and psychological scars of 
     Holocaust victims are exacerbated in the old age of the 
     Holocaust victims;
       Whereas the past haunts and overwhelms many aspects of the 
     lives of Holocaust victims when their health fails them;
       Whereas Holocaust victims suffer particular trauma when 
     their emotional and physical circumstances force them to 
     leave the security of their homes and enter institutional or 
     other group living residential facilities;
       Whereas tens of thousands of Holocaust victims live in 
     poverty and cannot afford, and do not receive, sufficient 
     medical care, home care, mental health care, medicine, food, 
     transportation, and other vital life-sustaining services that 
     allow individuals to live their final years with comfort and 
     dignity;
       Whereas Holocaust victims often lack family support 
     networks and require social worker-supported case management 
     in order to manage their daily lives and access government-
     funded services;
       Whereas in response to a letter sent by members of Congress 
     to the Minister of Finance of Germany in December 2015 
     relating to increased funding for Holocaust victims, German 
     officials acknowledged that ``recent experience has shown 
     that the care financed by the German Government to date is 
     insufficient'' and that ``it is imperative to expand these 
     assistance measures quickly given the advanced age of many of 
     the affected persons'';
       Whereas German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer acknowledged, in 
     1951, the responsibility of Germany to provide moral and 
     financial compensation to Holocaust victims worldwide;
       Whereas every successive German Chancellor has reaffirmed 
     that acknowledgment, including Chancellor Angela Merkel, who, 
     in 2007, reaffirmed that ``only by fully accepting its 
     enduring responsibility for this most appalling period and 
     for the cruelest crimes in its history, can Germany shape the 
     future''; and
       Whereas Congress believes it is the moral and historical 
     responsibility of Germany to comprehensively, permanently, 
     and urgently provide resources for the medical, mental 
     health, and long-term care needs of all Holocaust victims: 
     Now therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) acknowledges the financial and moral commitment of the 
     Federal Republic of Germany during the 7 decades prior to the 
     date of adoption of this resolution to provide a measure of 
     justice for Holocaust victims;
       (2) supports the goal of ensuring that all Holocaust 
     victims in the United States and around the world are able to 
     live with dignity, comfort, and security in their remaining 
     years;
       (3) applauds the nonprofit organizations and agencies that 
     work tirelessly to honor and assist Holocaust victims in the 
     communities of the nonprofit organizations and agencies;
       (4) acknowledges the ongoing process of negotiations 
     between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Conference on 
     Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (referred to in this 
     resolution as the ``Claims Conference'') in order to secure 
     funding for Holocaust victims and for vital social services 
     provided through nonprofit organizations and agencies around 
     the world;
       (5) acknowledges that the Federal Republic of Germany and 
     the Claims Conference have established a new high level 
     working group that will develop proposals for extensive 
     assistance for homecare and other social welfare needs of 
     Holocaust victims;
       (6) urges the working group described in paragraph (5) to 
     recognize the imperative to immediately and fully fund 
     medical, mental health, and long-term care needs of surviving 
     Holocaust victims, with full transparency and accountability, 
     to ensure all funds for Holocaust victims from the Federal 
     Republic of Germany are administered efficiently, fairly, and 
     without delay; and
       (7) urges the Federal Republic of Germany to reaffirm its 
     commitment to fulfill its moral responsibility to Holocaust 
     victims by--

[[Page S2396]]

       (A) ensuring that each Holocaust victim receives all of the 
     prescribed medical care, home care, mental health care, and 
     other vital services necessary to live in dignity; and
       (B) providing, without delay, additional financial 
     resources to address the unique needs of Holocaust victims.

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