[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 17 (Monday, January 27, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S383-S384]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                International Holocaust Remembrance Day

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, today marks the 80th anniversary of the 
liberation of the Nazi concentration and extermination camp at 
Auschwitz-Birkenau. We commemorate this day through International 
Holocaust Remembrance Day.
  Today, we remember the 6 million Jewish victims as well as millions 
of other victims persecuted by the Nazis, and we do this so that it is 
never repeated. I honor the victims, the survivors, and their families 
by combating anti-Semitism and preserving history for future 
generations.
  In 2023, the Simon Wiesenthal Center approached me about wrongdoing 
by the Swiss bank named Credit Suisse in its internal investigations 
into undisclosed information relating to the bank's Nazi ties.
  For decades, we have tried to track the Nazi confiscation of all 
kinds of Jewish valuables and cash, and we all know that the Nazis used 
Swiss banks to hide whatever was confiscated.
  I went to Senator Whitehouse, chairman of the Budget Committee. He 
and I issued the Budget Committee's first subpoena since 1991 to obtain 
a report that was developed by the investigation's independent 
ombudsman, Mr. Neil Barofsky. The report confirmed allegations and shed 
light on the breadth of Credit Suisse's servicing of Nazi wealth during 
and after World War II, along with their efforts to keep that wealth 
hidden.
  So it is very clear Credit Suisse's past leadership handled this 
matter terribly. They lied to Congress while smearing the reputation of 
the Simon Wiesenthal Center and also the reputation of Mr. Barofsky. 
The bank even fired Mr. Barofsky, which is why we had to subpoena his 
report.
  Since then, Credit Suisse as a bank collapsed and was merged, and Mr. 
Barofsky has been rehired after our pressure. Now, the bank UBS owns 
the results of this inquiry, and it also owns Credit Suisse's past of 
mishandling this whole event.
  Earlier this month, Senator Whitehouse and I released updates from 
this investigation. Shortly after, there were negative press leaks 
about UBS and possibly past disgruntled employees. The leaks contained 
lies about the work and attacked Mr. Barofsky's

[[Page S384]]

character. These attacks serve no purpose other than to frustrate an 
investigation into Credit Suisse's Nazi past. That absurd conduct is, 
in fact, a spit in the face to the victims of the Holocaust.
  The U.S. Congress won't tolerate and shouldn't tolerate that kind of 
evil here in the 21st century, and neither will those brave souls long 
past that lived through the Nazi evil. They stand guard as our 
spiritual strength.
  So let this be a message to the bank obstructionists: This Senator, 
as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, will leave no stone 
unturned when it comes to Nazi evils--and neither will Senator 
Whitehouse.
  I yield the floor.