[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 16558-16560]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



  EXPRESSING SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING UNITED STATES VICTORY IN THE 
                  COLD WAR AND FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 121) expressing the sense of the 
Congress regarding the victory of the United States in the cold war and 
the fall of the Berlin Wall, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 121

       Whereas the cold war was an enduring struggle between 
     communism and democracy throughout the second half of the 
     20th century;
       Whereas an estimated 24,000,000 members of the United 
     States Armed Forces served during the cold war;
       Whereas 400,000,000 people were freed from the bondage of 
     communism during the cold war in the countries then known as 
     the Soviet Union, East Germany, Poland, Hungary, 
     Czechoslovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Latvia, Estonia, and 
     Lithuania;
       Whereas the victory of the United States in the cold war 
     will signify freedom and security for decades to come;
       Whereas the fall of the Berlin Wall, one of the most 
     significant events of the 20th century, symbolized the 
     triumph of democracy over communism; and
       Whereas November 9, 1999, will mark the 10th anniversary of 
     this historic event: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that the 
     Nation should celebrate the victory of the United States in 
     the cold war and the 10th anniversary of the fall of the 
     Berlin Wall by--
       (1) promoting education about the cold war and its 
     historical significance;
       (2) supporting efforts to establish a memorial museum to 
     victims of communism that reflects the suffering of millions 
     of victims worldwide and the role of the United States in 
     promoting freedom and democracy that led to the end of the 
     cold war;
       (3) celebrating peace, freedom, and the principles of 
     democratic government;
       (4) honoring and reflecting upon the role of the United 
     States in the international struggle for individual human 
     rights and the evolution of the free enterprise system; and
       (5) recognizing the veterans who served during the cold 
     war.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman 
from New York (Mr. Gilman) and the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Lantos) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman).
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.


                             General Leave

  Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 
legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on this 
measure.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, this resolution, H. Con. Res. 121, 
recognizes the essential role played by our Nation and the men and 
women in our armed forces who served in Europe during the Cold War. I 
commend the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Miller) for his effort to see 
that our victory in this protracted struggle with the forces of 
communism is duly recognized. I commend the gentleman from California 
(Mr. Lantos) who is joining me today on this resolution.
  Ten years ago, the Berlin Wall, one of the enduring symbols of the 
brutality and repression of the Communist system, was finally brought 
down. It was the remarkable culmination of the 40-year struggle between 
the forces of freedom and liberty and those of tyranny and oppression. 
During this struggle, our citizens and those of Europe had a nuclear 
sword of Damocles hanging over them, and it is one of the truly 
noteworthy events in human history that it ended not with a bloody 
upheaval but a jubilant celebration by those on both sides of the Wall 
who never let their faith in democratic government and the intrinsic 
good of liberty desert them.

                              {time}  1430

  Our victory was not completely bloodless, however, and a number of 
members of our Armed Forces, our public officials and ordinary citizens 
made

[[Page 16559]]

the greatest sacrifice in order to bring about victory. So too did many 
of the people of Eastern Europe, some of whom were killed simply trying 
to escape from beyond the Iron Curtain and others who died resisting 
the tyrannical forces that ruled over them. This resolution is an 
appropriate tribute to all those who sacrificed so much.
  Accordingly, I urge the House to unanimously approve H. Con. Res. 
121.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  At the outset, let me commend my good friend, the distinguished 
chairman of the Committee on International Relations, the gentleman 
from New York (Mr. Gilman), for bringing this resolution to the floor 
and for his decades of dedicated service on behalf of the democracy and 
freedom in Europe and elsewhere. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support 
of this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, it is important, as we pay tribute to our own political 
leadership on a bipartisan basis during the Cold War and to the 24 
million men and women who served the United States in uniform during 
the Cold War, that we recognize that the victory was not ours alone; it 
was ours, and it was the victory of equally committed freedom-loving 
democratic people throughout the NATO alliance. From Norway to Spain, 
men and women committed to freedom and democracy and to opposing 
totalitarian regimes joined with us in succeeding in this tremendous 
historic victory that was symbolized by the collapse of the Berlin 
Wall.
  The distinguished Democratic leader, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. 
Gephardt) and I happened to be in Berlin, Mr. Speaker, as the Berlin 
Wall was being dismantled. We were there along with scores of others 
from many countries chipping away at the wall and bringing home with us 
tiny segments of that symbol of tyranny. The Berlin Wall, as my 
colleagues will note, is the only wall ever erected in history not to 
keep the enemy out, but to keep the people inside this wall so they 
could not escape, and yet scores of individuals in a variety of ways, 
many of them giving their lives in the process, broke out, tried to 
break away from an era of tyranny.
  I think we also need to pay enormous tribute to the people who lived 
within the Soviet Union and within the Soviet satellites who gave their 
lives to fight those regimes, the tens of thousands of refuseniks and 
dissidents and slaves of the giant gulag archipelago whose sacrifices 
far exceeded the sacrifices of all of us who lived in the free world.
  I think it is important to realize, Mr. Speaker, that while the 
collapse of the Berlin Wall symbolized the end of the Cold War, it 
surely did not symbolize our struggle against tyranny, and, as we 
applaud our victory and the victory of our allies and the victory of 
the dissidents in the Soviet Empire over totalitarianism and tyranny, 
it is important for us to pay tribute to the judgment and determination 
of those who led the fight against the tyranny more recently in Bosnia 
Herzegovina and Kosovo.
  The struggling Kosovo is a direct continuation of the Cold War. The 
name of the dictator has changed from Stalin to Milosevic, but the 
underlying issues have remained the same, and those who feel that we 
have seen the end of history have a thing coming. History has not 
ended. The voices of tyranny, the attempt to suppress and persecute 
people because of their political beliefs, ethnic backgrounds, 
religious views continues. And while we are all rejoicing in the 
collapse of the Berlin Wall, we are all rejoicing in our victory in the 
Cold War over the Soviet Union, the struggle goes on.
  As our distinguished Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, reminded 
us on a recent occasion, problems neglected abroad will eventually 
reach our shores. This should be a reminder to all the neo-
isolationists that the collapse of the Berlin Wall is not the end of 
our effort, but just a significant milestone in our struggle against 
totalitarian tyranny.
  Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in support of H. 
Con. Res. 121 which commemorates victory in the Cold War and the 10th 
anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Most of us in the Congress 
today do not remember much of a time beyond what we refer to as the 
Cold War. Fortunately, for most of our children today, most of them 
will not remember a time which we refer to as the Cold War.
  The Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union was the defining 
international and military challenge which we faced for a half a 
century. It took many forms from an arms race, to a space race, from a 
debate about ideology to even a debate about the superiority of 
kitchens, but through it all, the U.S. remained firm and committed to 
winning the struggle against a totalitarian vision of government and 
society. This ominous vision is acknowledged by countries which 
suffered under totalitarian socialism to be bankrupt and without 
foundation.
  The Cold War necessitated a world wide network of bases and the 
capacity to project American power overseas quickly and with effective 
force any where in the world. In the course of the Cold War, we had hot 
wars in Korea and Vietnam. My home island of Guam was instrumental in 
the prosecution of both wars and played an important part of the 
network of bases from which we could counteract the challenges 
presented by the Soviet Union and their allies. In fact, for many 
years, the people of Guam saw Soviet fishermen and their boats near the 
coast of Guam, fishing in decidedly unproductive grounds for fish, but 
productive for electronic eavesdropping and the monitoring of American 
military assets as they moved through Guam and the island's 
considerable military infrastructure. In order to prosecute both World 
War II and the Cold War, the military on Guam took enormous amounts of 
property in the 1940s and inappropriately stored and buried large 
amounts of military hardware, chemicals and weaponry some of which has 
just been discovered late last week.
  I continue to work with the local military commands, the Pentagon, 
the administration and where necessary, the Congress to expedite the 
return of the lands no longer needed by the military and to make sure 
that the lands are adequately cleaned for agricultural or residential 
pursuits.
  There is an unsung story about how we won the Cold War and how we 
need to bring closure to an embarrassing chapter of our own history. At 
the height of the arms race with the Soviet Union, our government 
decided to conduct nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands. Over the 
course of several years, some 66 nuclear devices were detonated in 
these islands which have made prominent names such places as Bikini, 
Eniwetok, Rongelap and Utirik. As the U.S. became more powerful, the 
Marshallese became enfeebled by radiation and its consequences which 
are with us today. There have been many good faith efforts on our 
government's part to provide appropriate redress and medical treatment 
for these very innocent victims of the Cold War and the Arms Race. 
However, we must continue to monitor and update our efforts to make 
sure that the latest information and research is applied to the 
historical data and present day conditions of the Marshallese. This is 
a continuing obligation of the United States which we should not forget 
as we commemorate the winning of the Cold War and the fall of the 
Berlin Wall in Europe.
  The Cold War began in Europe and it is entirely appropriate that the 
fall of the Berlin Wall become the defining event which signaled its 
end. However, let us not forget that the Cold War was a world wide 
phenomenon and let us not forget the contributions of small Pacific 
islands to that struggle. Let us not forget that the Cold War had 
innocent victims. Let us not forget that the legacy of the Cold War is 
not just in the triumph of the ideals of democracy, but in the triumph 
of justice. The Cold War was a very just war, an effort that we all 
supported; but we must remember that not everything done in the pursuit 
of just aims can be entirely justified.
  Congratulations to all of the men and women of our armed forces who 
served with distinction and a special sense of self-sacrifice, 
congratulations to all of our past Presidents who provided the 
leadership which ultimately resulted in the fall of the Berlin Wall and 
let us also remember all of the communities, both in the Pacific and in 
the North American continent which contributed their human and land 
resources for military facilities and nuclear testing.
  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by thanking my 
friend, Chairman Ben Gilman, for marking up House Concurrent Resolution 
121. This resolution states that it is the sense of Congress that 
Americans should celebrate our victory in the cold war in conjunction 
with the 10th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, which will be 
November 9th of this year.

[[Page 16560]]

  As the 20th century slips away from us, November 9th, 1989 will 
always be one of its most historic and defining moments. On that night, 
the world watched as Berliners celebrated an end to the tyranny that 
had separated them from their friends and families. As the people took 
the Berlin Wall down brick-by-brick with their own bare hands, they 
were also bringing the future of communism to its knees. It was a 
turning-point in world civilization and a night to remember. Most 
importantly, it was a night we can't afford to let America forget.
  Twenty-eight years before that night, the Soviets built a wall 
through a divided Germany, intent on keeping East Germans from fleeing 
to the West. Berliners awoke on the morning of August 13, 1961, to find 
their city divided. People began to risk their lives to flee from the 
tyranny. One of the saddest stories was that of eighteen-year-old Peter 
Fechter, a bricklayer apprentice in East Berlin. On August 17, 1962, he 
and a friend attempted to escape to the West over the wall near the 
infamous military post called ``Checkpoint Charlie.'' Peter's friend 
made it over the wall, but Peter was shot and fell into `no man's land' 
between barbed wire and concrete. He cried for help for 50 minutes 
before he bled to death. From the western side of the Wall, American 
soldiers could only throw first-aid kits at him. Over the twenty-eight 
years that the Wall stood, dozens of freedom-seeking East Germans would 
share Peter's fate. These people, who sacrificed their lives in an 
attempt to reach freedom, are proof that American dedication to fight 
the forces of communism was an important contribution to humanity.
  The Berlin Wall was a tragic microcosm of the Cold War, and the Cold 
War was perhaps the most defining event in American history. America 
was willing and committed to fight for and protect individual human 
rights and democratic principles. The Cold War was an international 
struggle for the very principles our nation was founded on, the essence 
of our existence. America's Cold War victory wasn't just a victory for 
the U.S., it was a victory for mankind. It was a victory for Peter 
Fechter, who would never live to see it. Our cold war victory echoed 
through the microcosm of Berlin when the two East German border guards 
who shot Peter Fechter were convicted of manslaughter in March of 1997.
  There are so many stories like those of Peter Fechter. Stories of 
people who died trying to flee, stories of people who successfully 
escaped, stories of soldiers fighting communist forces on the front 
lines, and stories of those who fought for freedom from behind the 
lines. These stories can be pieced together like a jigsaw puzzle to 
create a defining moment in history. The Cold War has consumed our 
history for the second half of the 20th Century. Who can forget the 
fear we felt during the Cuban Missile Crisis? The pride we felt when 
the American flag was planted on the moon during the space race? The 
anger we felt when the Soviets shot down Korean Air flight 007? America 
sent thousands and thousands of men to Korea and Vietnam, committed 
trillions of dollars in resources, and stood by its vow to fight the 
repression of communism.
  I believe that it's important for our nation to celebrate our 
monumental achievement in winning this war, and to recognize the 24 
million servicemen who dedicated their lives to the cause. Because the 
Cold War did not involve an official surrender with the signing of a 
document on a single day, our nation has never had the immediate 
opportunity to give the Cold War its due recognition. This year, on the 
tenth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, it is time to 
commemorate our victory. I ask my colleagues to support House 
Concurrent Resolution 121.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Pease). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) that the House 
suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 
121, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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