Permitting the use of the rotunda of the Capitol for a ceremony as part of the commemoration of the days of remembrance of victims of the Holocaust.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 359) permitting the use of the rotunda of the Capitol for a ceremony as part of the commemoration of the days of remembrance of victims of the Holocaust.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge passage of House Concurrent Resolution 359, which permits the Capitol Rotunda to be used for a ceremony as part of the Days of Remembrance commemorating the victims of the Holocaust.

Mr. Speaker, it is necessary to go through this procedure to use the very sacred center of the Capitol for a ceremony and joint authorization by both the House and the other body because of the significance of this particular location and its significance and importance in this building.

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is mandated by Congress to educate Americans about the history of the Holocaust and to annually honor and remember the victims of this catastrophic, horrible event, and that is done on the National Days of Remembrance observance. The purpose of the Days of Remembrance is to ask all Americans to reflect on the Holocaust, to remember the victims and to renew and strengthen our commitment to democracy and to human rights for every person.

The very first Days of Remembrance ceremony was held in the United States Capitol Rotunda in the year 1979. It has been held there every year since, except when the Rotunda has been closed for renovations. At last year's National Days of Remembrance observance, Secretary of State Colin Powell gave the keynote address. The theme of this year's Days of Remembrance commemoration is entitled ``Justice and Humanity.'' That title, Justice and Humanity, is in memory of the Jews of Hungary who were deported 60 years ago in the final stages of World War II. The commemoration will honor the courageous individuals, as well as the organizations and countries who attempted to rescue them.

In this country, official response to the mass murder of European Jews and others resulted in the creation of the War Refugee Board in 1944. Established by the Executive Order of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the War Refugee Board worked with Jewish organizations, diplomats from neutral countries and resistance groups in Europe to rescue Jews from occupied territories and provide relief to inmates of Nazi concentration camps. Although belated, this action saved thousands of lives, reminding us of the terrible consequences of indifference and of the ability of organizations, individuals and countries to confront and work to halt acts of genocide or related crimes against humanity.

How appropriate I believe it is, Mr. Speaker, at this time that we remember the victims of the World War II Holocaust. It is my hope also that during this ceremony we can reflect upon others who have lost their life to genocide and to murderous regimes. I have often wondered how the world could stand by in World War II and not do more to save people who were headed for extermination camps. Not being alive in that era, I have, however, been alive during an era of other holocausts, such as in Cambodia, where millions literally were murdered in a genocide.

During my term in office, I remember Rwanda where nearly a million Africans were slaughtered and the world did not come to their aid. And, once again, we remember and we should reflect during our Day of Remembrance on those in Iraq as we uncover hundreds of mass graves throughout that country. Our obligation, whether it is in Asia, Africa or the Middle East, is to make certain that a holocaust does not take place, to make certain that tens of thousands are not murdered by any despot regime.

This ceremony that will be conducted will be the centerpiece of similar remembrance observances to be held throughout our Nation in all 50 States. Members of Congress, government officials, foreign dignitaries, Holocaust survivors and citizens from all walks of life have attended previous commemorations. House Concurrent Resolution 359 provides for the 2004 commemoration to be held in the rotunda on the day of April 22 of this year.

Mr. Speaker, I urge the support of my colleagues for this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette), the sponsor of this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Again, I would like to close on this particular resolution before the House, a simple resolution to allow the use of the rotunda for this ceremony. But when we enter the rotunda, the sacred center of the Capitol building on April 22, it is important that we do remember those victims who were lost in this horrific slaughter of human beings in World War II. We remember, as the gentleman from Ohio said so eloquently, that there were incidents like the turning away of the steamship St. Louis that went from port to port, and hundreds met a horrible fate because of the nations, and even the United States, who turned their backs.

The good Lord gave the United States the responsibility now, as the superpower of the world, an important responsibility that we should not lose sight of.

So as we reflect upon those victims, as we reflect upon those who ignored their responsibility, and as we recognize our responsibility in the world today, it is important that again we reflect at this time on what occurred, what was done, and what was left undone, and that we also make certain as we reflect on April 22 that we do not allow a holocaust of our time.

So with those comments, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica), my friend, for yielding me this time; and I also want to thank him and the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Larson) for managing this concurrent resolution. I also, Mr. Speaker, want to thank the chairman of the Committee on House Administration, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ney), for permitting me to carry this piece of legislation.

I have had the pleasure for the last 10 years to be a member of the Holocaust Governing Council, one of the five appointed Members of Congress. During my time in Congress I have seen such giants in this institution as Ben Gilman of New York and recently the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cantor) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) in bringing this resolution to the floor, and it is an honor for me to have the opportunity to be a part of that today.

Mr. Speaker, H. Con. Res. 359 permits the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum to use the Capitol rotunda for the Days of Remembrance observation. This annual event, which takes place in the symbolic heart of our American democracy, honors the victims of the Holocaust and is a reminder to all of us that freedom and liberty have both rights and responsibilities.

Since the opening of the museum and the beginning of the Days of Remembrance sponsored by the museum,

world events have continued to demonstrate that it is imperative that we remember and study the Holocaust. From the violent breakup of Yugoslavia and the cataclysmic terror in Rwanda, to the rise of anti- semitism around the world that continues today, we live in a time when the great strides in human rights made over the last half century are in danger of losing ground to ignorance and intolerance.

That is why the theme of this year's commemoration, ``For Justice and Humanity,'' is so timely. The title comes from a statement made by President Franklin D. Roosevelt who, when he called for the rescue of the Jewish population in Hungary in March of 1944, said, ``In the name of justice and humanity, let all freedom-loving people rally to this righteous undertaking.'' By honoring rescuers along with the victims in this year's commemoration, we are shining a light on the brave acts of individuals and organizations that can teach important lessons today.

Of course, we know that it was too late for many Jews in Hungary in 1944. With the war entering its final stages, Nazi and Hungarian authorities deported about 440,000 Jews. At least half of those were murdered in gas chambers immediately upon their arrival at the labor camp Auschwitz. By the time the Nazis and their Hungarian collaborators were driven out of Hungary in April, 1945, nearly four-fifths of the Hungarian Jewish community had been killed.

Yet there were some individuals, organizations and countries that asserted the value of human life in the face of the systematic murder of men, women and children. The War Refugee Board, established in January of 1944 by President Roosevelt, had the mandate to take ``all measures to rescue victims of oppression in imminent danger of death.''

Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat based in Hungary, led the War Refugee Board's most extensive rescue efforts by distributing protective Swedish passports or travel papers to tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews. Carl Lutz, a Swiss diplomat, issued certificates of emigration, placing nearly 50,000 Jews in Budapest under Swiss protection. Italian businessman Giorgio Perlasca issued forged visas and established safe houses. When Budapest was liberated in February of 1945, more than 100,000 Jews still remained in the city because of the efforts of Wallenberg, Lutz, Perlasca and other diplomats and individuals. The War Refugee Board played a crucial role in the rescue of as many as 200,000 Jews in German-occupied Europe.

This year, as we commemorate the lives of the millions of victims of the Holocaust, we also pay tribute to the rescuers for their courageous efforts rallying ``to this righteous undertaking.''

The first visit that I had to the Holocaust Museum following my election in 1994, I was taken around by the son of a Holocaust survivor; and there are two exhibits that I would commend to my colleagues on their next visit. One was a temporary exhibit that detailed the sailing of the steamship St. Louis and how that boat was turned from port to port to port as no one would take the Jews into their country.

The second is the failed conference that took place in Avignon, France, where countries from around the world, aware of the ``Jewish problem'' during the Second World War and some of the solutions that Nazi Germany was prepared to undertake, country after country declined to take affirmative action to take Jewish immigrants into its borders, the United States being one of them.

As we ponder not only the Days of Remembrance, I hope that we as legislators also learn the lessons of the St. Louis and the conference at Avignon; and I would ask all of my colleagues to join us in supporting House Concurrent Resolution 359.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I wish to associate myself with the remarks of the distinguished gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica).

Mr. Speaker, I rise with a great deal of humility and strong support for House Concurrent Resolution 359, authorizing the use of the Capitol rotunda for the Days of Remembrance ceremony on April 22.

During the week of April 18, similar Holocaust remembrance days will take place all across this country, as the distinguished gentleman from Florida pointed out. As this body has done every year since 1979, Congress will use the historic rotunda location to reflect on one of the most painful moments in all of world history: the Holocaust.

This very special day of remembrance, along with the creation of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, was established by Congress to permanently honor these victims. They were created not only to remember those who perished but also to educate the world about human rights.

The 2004 Days of Remembrance asks us to honor the memory of the Jews of Hungary, who were deported 60 years ago in the final stages of World War II, and to honor those courageous individuals as well as the few organizations and countries who attempted to rescue them. This year's theme is ``For Justice and Humanity.'' It has specific poignancy for me as a Member from Connecticut, knowing that Hadassah Lieberman's mother was part of that.

I had the honor in Connecticut as Senate President to preside over the Days of Remembrances for 8 years. I often reflect on how solemn and important those ceremonies were, and still are. I can still see the survivors and their family members coming forward to light the candles and the solemnness of the occasion.

Given the current conflicts around the world, it is especially important to remember the message of the Holocaust victims who said, do not forget us. We cannot forget them or the evil that sent them to their deaths. Tragically, we need only to watch the nightly news to realize that this evil still exists in the world.

The ceremony we are authorizing today reminds us that when we respect the lessons of the past, we strengthen the values of every future generation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of this concurrent resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my support of H. Con. Res. 359, to allow the use of the Capitol Rotunda for a ceremony to commemorate victims of the Holocaust. Our Nation's Capitol is a symbol of freedom and democracy to so many. This resolution gives us a forum to pay service to the victims of the Holocaust. I pray that such a tragedy should never touch the world again.

A Holocaust memorial is not something to be taken lightly, or to be rushed without its due respect. The Holocaust is a product of authoritarian government and evil intentions, and we must continue to study and remember it, lest it be repeated. Hate, genocide, racial supremacism still occur in parts of the world and I believe that we as Americans can still focus our efforts on stopping them before they grow to an uncontrollable magnitude.

My heart goes out to the victims and survivors of Adolf Hitler's death camps. Every time I reexamine the Holocaust, and pay tribute to what happened, I am still shocked and pained by the organized, methodical killing that went on in Europe.

For the 12 million people that Nazi Germany exterminated, we must remember. For each of the six million Jews killed, we must respond. For the Gypsies, the gays, the political dissenters and any of the righteous people who spoke out against what they thought was evil--for this we commemorate and remember the Holocaust. It can never happen again.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my support for House Concurrent Resolution 359, permitting the use of the rotunda of the Capitol to commemorate the Days of Remembrance of victims of the holocaust.

It is appropriate that we commemorate those who perished during the Holocaust. It is also important that we not forget that genocide and human rights abuses continue to occur elsewhere around the world. As the leader of the Free World, the United States must use its power and influence to bring stability to the world. History serves as a lesson to all, and we must ensure that the horrors of the Holocaust must never happen again.

I am proud to be a founding trustee of the Virginia Holocaust Museum and am pleased that a growing number of community-based Holocaust museums around the county are a reflection of our increasing awareness of the lessons of the Holocaust. Only when every person understands the magnitude of death, destruction, and utter horrors of the Holocaust can we feel we have done everything to prevent its recurrence.