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 proudly in support of House Concurrent Resolution 63, authorizing use of the Capitol Rotunda on May 5 of this year for a ceremony sponsored by its United States Holocaust Memorial Council to observe the Days of Remembrance for victims of the Holocaust.

I want to thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ney) for introducing this, as well as the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Millender- McDonald), the original cosponsor of the bill. Unfortunately, she could not be here because of a prior commitment in her congressional district.

The Days of Remembrance ceremony honors those men, women and children who suffered through one of the darkest periods of our history. Every year, the Days of Remembrance recalls different historical events of the Holocaust. This year's theme, ``From Liberation to Pursuit of Justice,'' commemorates the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camps and the persecution of war criminals at Nuremberg, Germany.

For over 20 years, Congress has approved the use of the Rotunda for this ceremony each spring and every year that I attend I am struck by the two competing feelings that I have: One, the shocking realization that man's inhumanity to man sometimes seems to know no bounds; that a mere 60 years ago, 6 million Jews were exterminated throughout the world, their only transgression being the fact that they were Jewish.

But I am also struck by the incredible realization that 60 years after the most heinous episode in our civilized world's history here we still are. We are not only survivors, but we have managed to thrive. Every year those who have survived and thrived, their children and grandchildren and now their great grandchildren, gather under the dome of the United States Capitol, the very seat of power of the most important and strongest nation in the world.

I am second-generation American. My grandparents literally walked across Europe to come to this country. My mother's side comes from Salonika, Greece. Prior to World War II, prior to the Nazis, there were approximately 80,000 Jews in Salonika. When the Nazis finished with those Jews, there were only 1,000 left. And I am not presumptuous enough to presume to think that my family would have been among those that were chosen to live.

My father's side from the Russia-Poland border after hundreds and hundreds of years of a thriving culture and civilization were obliterated, exterminated in this Holocaust. Nobody remained. Not the towns. Not the people. Not the culture. But here we are 60 years after the Holocaust. Here I am, a Jewish American, elected to serve her community and her country in the United States Congress, standing on the floor of the United States House of Representatives, alive and free, supporting the resolution honoring those that were lost.

This past January I had the privilege of attending the ceremony commemorating the liberation of Auschwitz. I attended it as part of a congressional delegation. As I walked in the freezing cold and the snow the mile from Auschwitz to Birkenau where the ceremony was taking place, we were surrounded by survivors that were in Auschwitz as children. Now in their late 70s and 80s, each one of them was anxious to talk and tell us when they had been there, what it was like, who they had lost, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, entire families obliterated. But there we were. And as we sat there for the few hours for that extraordinary ceremony commemorating that liberation of Auschwitz and the concentration camps, I was struck by the fact that it was truly a miracle that anybody had survived, because there I was sitting with four pairs of socks, boots, a hat, two pairs of gloves, four sweaters, a warm jacket and sitting under a blanket and freezing wondering how these people, how these extraordinary people managed to survive one day. Forget the gas chambers, forget the gruesome medical experiments, forget the random acts of man's inhumanity to man, the incredibility cruelty. Surviving day to day with no clothes, with no blankets, with no food is truly a testament to those people who managed to survive.

The ceremony we are authorizing today honors Holocaust survivors and those lost loved ones. It will also serve as a reminder that we must continue as a civilized people to battle hate and prejudice and violence and demand justice and humanity to all. It does not matter culture, ethnicity, religion, color of our skin. We all deserve to be treated as human beings with dignity. We must not allow this tragedy to ever be repeated again.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting passage of this concurrent resolution.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 63) 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, it is an honor to be on the floor here today with the gentlewoman from Nevada on an important resolution, H. Con. Res. 63.

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. As a Nation, we do this on the National Days of Remembrance. The purpose of the Days of Remembrance is to ask all Americans to reflect on the Holocaust, to remember the victims and renew our commitment to democracy and human rights for every person.

House Concurrent Resolution 63, the resolution before us, will provide this year's national ceremony, which will be conducted on May 5, 2005, in the Rotunda of the United States Capitol building.

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

Outlining the importance of this event, there have been several high- profile keynote speakers in the past, including former Secretary of State Colin Powell, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and President George W. Bush, among others.

The theme of this year's Days of Remembrance commemoration is entitled ``From Liberation to the Pursuit of Justice.'' The commemoration will honor the courageous individuals, as well as the organizations and countries who attempted to rescue them. How appropriate I believe it is, Mr. Speaker, at this time that we remember the victims of the Holocaust.

In remembering those who took a determined stance 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.

Evil persists in the world, Mr. Speaker, but our triumph over the perpetrators of the Holocaust reminds us that evil can and will be defeated, but only if we have the courage to stand up to it. This is a vital lesson, one we must never forget. This ceremony will help us to remember it. This ceremony is important.

Again, I want to thank the gentlewoman for supporting this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to support this resolution.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to note that I do not have any further speakers at this time on this bill, but I would note that due to the weather conditions a lot of people are not here; otherwise, we have many, many Members who support this and would be speaking on this. Even though they could not get here in time, many Members' thoughts in support of this resolution are with us now on the floor.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my support of H. Con. Res. 63, 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 6 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. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H. Con. Res. 63, which was received from the House.

I ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements be printed in the Record.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H. Con. Res. 63.