    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (1999, Book II)]
    [December 9, 1999]
    [Pages 2245-2246]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Statement on Signing the U.S. Holocaust Assets Commission Extension Act
    of 1999
    December 9, 1999

        Today I am pleased to sign into law H.R. 2401, the ``U.S. Holocaust
    Assets Commission Extension Act of 1999.'' This legislation, which
    extends the mandate of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Holocaust
    Assets in the United States for 1 year, is a clear demonstration of

    [[Page 2246]]

    America's determination to pursue justice for Holocaust victims and
    their families.
        The United States has led the renewed struggle for justice and
    compensation on behalf of the victims of the Holocaust. One year ago,
    delegations from 44 countries and 13 nongovernmental organizations met
    at the Washington Conference on Holocaust-Era Assets convened by the
    Department of State and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. During the
    Washington Conference, I announced the public and governmental members
    of the Presidential Advisory Commission, which was created to
    investigate and advise on the fate of Holocaust victims' assets that
    came into the possession or control of the United States Government.
        Since then, the Presidential Advisory Commission has been hard at
    work and estimates that it will have to examine more than 45 million
    pages of documents. To our Nation's credit, the amount of information to
    be reviewed increases every week as remaining Nazi-era documents are
    declassified. The U.S. Holocaust Assets Commission Extension Act of 1999
    provides the Presidential Advisory Commission with additional time and
    authorizes additional resources needed to complete the review of the
    historical record of American activity during one of the darkest periods
    of this century.
        The Commission's research demonstrates irrefutably that we in the
    United States are willing to hold ourselves to the same high standard of
    truth about Holocaust assets to which we have held other nations. The
    extension of the Presidential Advisory Commission sends a strong
    message, both at home and abroad, that we are committed to examining
    difficult aspects of our history and determining how to build a better
    world for our children in the next millennium.

                                                          William J. Clinton

    The White House,

    December 9, 1999.

    Note: H.R. 2401, approved December 9, was assigned Public Law No. 106-
    155.