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.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 40) 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.

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

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise here today for consideration of House Concurrent Resolution 40, which is necessary to permit the House and the Congress to use the rotunda of the Capitol for a ceremony as part of the commemoration of the days of remembrance of victims of the Holocaust.

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum was charged with providing appropriate ways for the Nation to commemorate the days of remembrance as an annual national and civic commemoration of the Holocaust. As a result of this legislation, the very first ceremony of remembrance was held in the rotunda in 1979. It has been held there every year since that time except for periods when the rotunda has been closed for renovations.

House Concurrent Resolution 40, the resolution before us, will provide this year's national ceremony which will be conducted on April 30, 2003, in the rotunda of the United States Capitol Building. The purpose of the days of remembrance, again, is to ask all citizens, all Americans, to reflect on the Holocaust, to remember the victims and to strengthen our sense of democracy, our demand for human rights.

This ceremony will be the centerpiece of similar remembrance ceremonies to be held throughout the Nation. Members of the Congress, government officials, foreign dignitaries, Holocaust survivors, and citizens from all walks of life have attended previous ceremonies. At last year's days of remembrance commemoration in the rotunda of our Capitol, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, Condoleeza Rice, was the keynote speaker. Two years ago, President George W. Bush gave the keynote address.

The theme for this particular day of remembrance is ``For Your Freedom and Ours.'' How fitting and how proper that it be in honor and remembrance of those courageous individuals in the Warsaw ghetto who valiantly rose up against their Nazi oppressors some 60 years ago.

In remembering those who took a determined stand against Nazism, we honor the memory of those who perished, and of course we are reminded that individuals do have the power, and the choice, to make a difference in the fight against oppression and murderous hatred. And we are so much reminded of that today as we make choices here in this Congress and as our President makes choices, not only for our Nation but the world, against similar oppression and potential Holocaust.

Madam Speaker, I urge that we support this resolution.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I am pleased again to bring before the House, House Concurrent Resolution 40 which would permit the use of the rotunda of the Capitol for a ceremony as part of the commemoration of the days of remembrance for the victims of the Holocaust. I urge my colleagues to pass this concurrent resolution and also for them to reflect upon the time in history that we face, the potential for another Holocaust and the easy route of ignoring the world situation and the potential for human disaster. Difficult choices in our times, but we cannot afford to ever experience what we will commemorate and remember, victims of the Holocaust from World War II, on this occasion and use of our rotunda.

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

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

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

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of House Concurrent Resolution 40, authorizing the use of the Capitol rotunda on April 30, 2003, for a ceremony sponsored by the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, pursuant to Public Law 106-292, to observe the days of remembrance for the victims of the Holocaust.

I am pleased to be an original cosponsor of this resolution, and I want to congratulate the distinguished gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica) for bringing it before us today, and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cantor), the new chief deputy majority whip, for introducing it.

Congress provides for this ceremony every year during the spring. Related events will be occurring all over the country. I am proud to acknowledge that it has set a precedent in the State of Connecticut. I presided over that chamber's Holocaust memorial services for 8 years.

These related events provide Americans of all faiths and ethnic backgrounds to reflect on the Holocaust, to remember its victims and to strengthen our commitment to democracy and human rights. It is appropriate that we use the Capitol rotunda, the citadel for the rule of law and the location of so many historic ceremonies, to again draw attention to one of the greatest tragedies in human history. It reminds us that such events must never be permitted to occur.

Each year the ceremony has a theme geared to specific events which occurred during the Holocaust, as the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica) has pointed out. This year's theme for the days of remembrance is ``For Your Freedom and Ours,'' to honor the courageous armed resistance of the Jews in the Warsaw ghetto to deportation and slaughter in the Nazi death camps.

Between July and September of 1942 the Germans deported nearly 300,000 Jews from the Warsaw ghetto for execution. Cut off from assistance from the outside world, poorly armed resistance forces fought the German military for a month, in April and May of 1943, until the ghetto was finally destroyed. This resistance served as a symbolic victory and protest in the fight against oppression and helped raise the consciousness about the atrocities Hitler was perpetrating in Europe.

While the days of remembrance commemorates historic events in the 1930s and 1940s in Europe, the issues raised by the Holocaust remain fresh in our memories as we survey the political scene in the world today. The nature and tactics of war and the identity of an enemy may change, but what remains is the terror, the cruelty, and the madness of it.

It is especially timely now to encourage public reflection on the faith of Holocaust victims and to remember that there was then and there is still today evil in the world. The ceremony we are authorizing today reminds us that individuals, as well as Nations, can strike a blow to preserve the balance on which human civilization rests.

I urge the passage of this concurrent resolution. I have no additional speakers, but I would just like to thank Matt Pinkus from our staff for his very thorough job and assistance in the comments that I used to address the body today.

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

Madam Speaker, I want to rise in support of H. Con. Res. 40, authorizing the rotunda of the Capitol to be used on April 30, 2003, for a ceremony as part of the commemoration of the days of remembrance of victims of the Holocaust, and commend the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cantor) for bringing this important measure to the floor at this time.

When we talk of the Holocaust, we speak of a unique atrocity, distinct from any other.

The mass murder that was inflicted upon millions of innocent men, women, and children must be viewed both as crimes against humanity and acts of genocide in their own right, and should be remembered as such.

Yet, while the Holocaust is unique in history, anti-Semitism continues to haunt European society.

Initially, Jews returning home after their liberation from the death camps often were met by their neighbors who had taken their houses, refused to return them, and in many places murdered these survivors of the Nazis.

More recently, the continued violence in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza has released pent-up anti-Semitism throughout Europe.

In my capacity as the Chair of the Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights in the 107th Congress, I held several hearings and briefings on the rise of religious persecution in Europe, engaged in Western European nations in combating the rise of anti- Semitism within their counties and in international fora, where anti- Semitic and anti-Israel bias prevails.

However, this most recent outbreak of anti-Semitism is not limited to Europe by any means.

Many of the ancient canards and lies about Jews are being resurrected in the Arab media.

This includes the revival of the ``blood libel'' and pervasive Holocaust denial by the government-controlled press in Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

This cannot be tolerated.

We must demand that these governments, recipients of significant U.S. foreign assistance and other U.S. support, take immediate action to publicly repudiate both the message of hate and violence, as well as the purveyors of such filth.

Today, as we consider this measure to provide a forum for honoring the courage and indomitable will of the victims of the Holocaust, let us be guided by the lessons of the past and commit ourselves to eradicating the intolerance and extremism which led to this grim period in history.

Accordingly, I urge my colleagues to support this important resolution, so that the lessons of the Holocaust may not be forgotten.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of this important resolution, H. Con. Res. 40, permitting the use of the United States Capitol rotunda to observe, Yom Hashoah, the Day of Remembrance for Victims of the Holocaust.

Madam Speaker, seventy years ago a tyrant as evil as any known in the history of man, rose to power preaching an agenda of hate and racial superiority. His shadow caused darkness to fall upon the earth. He slew the innocent and pure, men and women and children, with vapors of poison and burned them with fire. And when the light of freedom shined again, tens of millions lay dead, cities and nations lay in ruin and a world stood awe struck at the horrors that had occurred.

Sadly today, even in our time, we face again totalitarian regimes led by maniacal dictators who threaten the peace and stability of the world. The rotunda of the United States Capitol represents the seat of free and open discourse, the foundation of our democracy, and is an anathema to those tyrannical leaders and their regimes.

We in the United States, the birthplace of Thomas Jefferson and Martin Luther King, enjoy a great deal of freedom. We must not take these freedoms for granted. We must not forget that genocide and human rights abuses continue to occur around the world. We must not remain silent when such atrocities occur, and we must dedicate ourselves to continue to educate people around the globe about the horrors of the Holocaust. We must be forever mindful of the danger of such intolerance and ensure that it never happens again.

Madam Speaker, that is why there can be no place more fitting than the rotunda of our Capitol, where freedom shines, to remember those innocent who suffered from a tyrant past, and to speak to the hope of those oppressed people who suffer from the tyrants of today.

Madam Speaker, I am honored to rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 40, 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. Remembrance of victims of the Holocaust is an indispensable and enduring task. We all must honor and identify with the victims. I therefore strongly support the use of the rotunda of the Capitol for a ceremony remembering the victims of the Holocaust.

The most horrifying extent of anti-Semitism took place during the Nazi and Fascist reign in Europe. Jewish people were beaten, discriminated, and deported to concentration camps where they had to suffer from hard labor and medical experiments or were executed in gas chambers. This most horrible form of anti-Semitism took the lives of more than six million people, and the Jewish fate must never be forgotten. Indeed, we must ensure that the seeds of anti-Semitism are never sown again in Europe or elsewhere in the world.

And although we are currently in the sixth decade after the end of the Holocaust, the fight against anti-Semitism is far from over. Quite the contrary, new hatred against Jews can be witnessed in Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. Nazi slogans are shouted in the streets of Germany, synagogues are burnt, and Jews are beaten up. This kind of hatred has already brought catastrophe to the Jewish people. Remembrance of the past is therefore essential as it helps focus attention on current and future threats to the Jewish people

Remembrance must, however, go beyond intellectual insight and historical facts and should also include an emotional understanding, as far as this is possible. Only then are people ready to develop an attitude of zero-tolerance against anti-Semitism and discrimination in general.