[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 150 (Monday, September 19, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H7934-H7936]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   DESIGNATION OF THE KOL ISRAEL FOUNDATION HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL AS A 
                           NATIONAL MEMORIAL

  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 7618) to designate the Kol Israel Foundation Holocaust 
Memorial in Bedford Heights, Ohio, as a national memorial.

[[Page H7935]]

  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 7618

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

     SECTION 1. DESIGNATION OF THE KOL ISRAEL FOUNDATION HOLOCAUST 
                   MEMORIAL AS A NATIONAL MEMORIAL.

       (a) Congressional Recognition.--Congress--
       (1) recognizes the significance of the Kol Israel 
     Foundation Holocaust Memorial in preserving the memory of the 
     6,000,000 Jews murdered by the Nazi regime and allies and 
     collaborators of the Nazi regime; and
       (2) honors the life and legacy of the Holocaust survivors 
     who erected the Kol Israel Foundation Holocaust Memorial.
       (b) Designation.--
       (1) In general.--The Kol Israel Foundation Holocaust 
     Memorial located in Bedford Heights, Ohio, is designated as a 
     national memorial.
       (2) Effect of designation.--
       (A) In general.--The national memorial designated by 
     paragraph (1) is not a unit of the National Park System.
       (B) Use of federal funds.-- The designation of the national 
     memorial by paragraph (1) shall not require or permit Federal 
     funds to be expended for any purpose related to the national 
     memorial.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Arizona (Mr. Grijalva) and the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Carl) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arizona.


                             General Leave

  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on the measure under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Arizona?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 7618, introduced by my 
colleague, Representative Shontel Brown.
  This bill would designate the Kol Israel Foundation Holocaust 
Memorial in Bedford Heights, Ohio, as a national memorial.
  This bill recognizes the significance of the Kol Israel Foundation 
Holocaust Memorial, which helps preserve the memory of the 6 million 
Jews murdered by the Nazi regime and honors the life and legacy of the 
Holocaust survivors who built this memorial.
  Completed in 1961 by survivors of the Holocaust residing in northeast 
Ohio, the Kol Israel Holocaust Memorial is likely the first and oldest 
Holocaust memorial in the United States.
  For more than 60 years, the Kol Israel Foundation has looked over the 
memorial, which has the ashes of Jewish victims and other tokens of 
remembrance buried at its base. The bill ensures national historic 
recognition for the Kol Israel Holocaust Memorial and preserves the 
memories and resiliency of the victims and the survivors of the 
Holocaust.
  I thank my colleague, Representative Shontel Brown, for introducing 
this important legislation, for introducing this important 
acknowledgment and memorial, and championing the bill to the floor.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes,'' and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. CARL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 7618, offered by Representative Brown, would 
designate the Kol Israel Foundation Holocaust Museum at Zion Memorial 
Park in Bedford Heights, Ohio, a national memorial.
  This memorial was dedicated in May 1961 and honors the 6 million Jews 
murdered during the Holocaust. It is one of the first Holocaust 
commemorative works in the United States, and it is surrounded by walls 
with the names of those who died in the Holocaust, along with the 
survivors who later passed away.
  The memorial also includes the ashes of Jewish martyrs killed by 
Nazis from three concentration camps buried at its base.
  I hope the Kol Israel Foundation Holocaust Memorial will continue to 
bring peace and comfort to the families and the community who lost 
loved ones during the Holocaust.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this measure, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to 
the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Brown), the sponsor of the legislation.
  Ms. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Grijalva for his 
leadership and for yielding to me.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 7618, a bipartisan bill 
to recognize the Kol Israel Foundation Holocaust Memorial as a national 
memorial.
  H.R. 7618 was unanimously voted out of the House Natural Resources 
Committee on July 20, 2022, and its bipartisan Senate companion, S. 
4121, led by Senators Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman, favorably passed 
out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on July 21, 
2022.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill recognizes and honors a memorial in my 
district with a remarkable history. In 1961, surviving victims of the 
Holocaust erected the Kol Israel Memorial, dedicating it to the 6 
million Jewish victims of the Nazi regime, its allies, and 
collaborators.
  From 1939 to 1945, the Holocaust touched all corners of Jewish life 
from east to west, from Africa to Northern Europe. Thriving Jewish life 
in mainland Europe was decimated. The genocide wiped out entire Jewish 
communities, villages, and towns in a campaign that Nazis carried out 
with ruthless precision. They did so with mass shootings, concentration 
camps, and death camps like none the world had ever seen.
  The trauma, pain, and suffering inflicted on the Jewish community 
were not confined to their side of the Atlantic. Many members of our 
American Jewish community were touched by profound loss, and survivors 
found refuge in many communities across the United States.
  One such group of survivors made its way to northeast Ohio, putting 
down roots in Bedford Heights, a thriving part of Ohio's 11th 
Congressional District. They never forgot the horrors of the past and 
began planning a memorial to the 6 million as early as 1959, only 14 
years after the end of the Second World War.
  Since the memorial's dedication on May 28, 1961, survivors and their 
families have continuously cared for what is likely the oldest memorial 
of its kind in the United States.
  On the memorial's exterior walls, the survivors engraved the names of 
their family members and loved ones. At the foot of the monument, the 
survivors also buried firsthand artifacts and keepsakes and ashes of 
victims from three concentration camps.
  Given its historical significance, the Kol Israel Memorial deserves 
to be recognized by Congress. Designating the site as a national 
memorial ensures that future generations understand the true legacy of 
a very dark chapter in history.
  This legislation comes at no cost to taxpayers and does not establish 
the memorial as a unit of the National Park Service. The Kol Israel 
Foundation will retain oversight and responsibility for the memorial, 
as it has for six decades.
  Members of the Ohio community, including Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, 
the Ohio General Assembly, and prominent local and national 
stakeholders, have all supported efforts to recognize the Kol Israel 
Memorial.
  The bill also enjoys wide support from a coalition of organizations 
such as the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, the Anti-Defamation League, 
and the American Jewish Committee.
  I thank all the cosponsors of this legislation, including our seven 
co-leads from both sides of the aisle: Representatives Kaptur, Ryan, 
Beatty, Joyce, Balderson, Gonzalez, and Carey. They, too, have a deep 
understanding of the importance of the Kol Israel Memorial and this 
legislation, particularly at a time of rising anti-Semitism in the 
United States and around the world.
  Let me take one moment, Mr. Speaker, to speak about the dangers of 
Holocaust denial and distortion. Last night on ``60 Minutes,'' we 
watched in shock and disgust as the President of Iran denied the 
existence of the Holocaust and pretended to seek more information on 
its veracity.
  Today, let us all speak in a loud and clear voice: The Holocaust 
happened. It was devastating. We must work every

[[Page H7936]]

day to remember so that we may honestly say ``never again.''
  I am honored to represent one of the country's most celebrated Jewish 
communities, which happens to reside in Ohio's 11th Congressional 
District. Now is our opportunity to honor the victims of the Holocaust 
who call this country home and remember their bravery, dedication, and 
everlasting legacy.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank my House colleagues for taking swift action on 
H.R. 7618 so we may send a strong signal of support for our Jewish 
community.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this critical 
legislation.
  Mr. CARL. Mr. Speaker, I urge the adoption of this bill, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Grijalva) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 7618.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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