A resolution commemorating the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz extermination camp in Poland.

Mr. President, perhaps more than any other word, Auschwitz is synonymous with evil.

Sixty years ago today, Russian soldiers liberated Auschwitz.

The horrors of Auschwitz are incomprehensible and undescribable.

Over 1 million people lost their lives at Auschwitz--the largest of the Nazi death camps. Ninety percent were Jews. Hundreds of thousands were children.

Auschwitz represented the Germans' campaign to exterminate a people-- the Jews. They almost succeeded--killing 2 out of 3 Jews in Europe.

As a Polish American, I carry the images of Auschwitz in my heart.

The Nazis considered all Poles to be an inferior race. After Poland was conquered, German authorities expelled much of the native Polish population from regions of the newly annexed territories. Polish cities were given German names and German settlers were colonized on Polish land. In occupied Poland, the Nazi Governor, Hans Frank, proclaimed: ``Poles will become slaves in the Third Reich.''

The Nazis set out to destroy Polish culture. Thousands of Polish teachers, politicians, university professors and artists were executed or sent to Nazi concentration camps. Catholic priests were among the main targets of Nazi mass murder in Poland.

In fact, Auschwitz was created as an internment camp for Polish dissidents. And thousands of Poles were murdered alongside the Jews in Auschwitz.

Many Poles risked their lives to save Jews:

Irena Sendler was a young social worker in Warsaw. She used her position to smuggle 200 Jewish children out of the ghetto to safe houses. In 1943, Sendler was arrested by the Gestapo, brutally tortured and condemned to death. On the day of her execution, she was freed with the help of the Jewish underground.

Irena Adamowicz, a Polish Catholic, aided in establishing contacts between the Jewish Underground and the main Polish resistance organization.

Jan Karski, who, while working for the Polish Government in exile, was one of the few outsiders to visit the Warsaw Ghetto. He appealed to the Allies to do something.

As a Polish American, I traveled to Poland in the late 1970s. I was a Congresswoman. And I wanted to see my heritage. I went to the small village where my family came from. It was a very moving and historic experience.

But I also wanted to see the dark side of my history, and I went to Auschwitz.

In touring Auschwitz, it was an incredibly moving experience to go through the gate, to see the sign, to go to see the chambers. I went to a cell that had been occupied by Father

Kolbe, a Catholic priest who gave his life for a Jewish man there.

And then, for those of you who don't know, I am a social worker, I have been a child abuse worker and I don't flinch.

But then I got half way through that tour and I came to a point in that tour where I saw the bins with glasses and the children's shoes, and this 40-something-year-old Congresswoman could not go on.

I became unglued. I had to remove myself from the small tour, go off into a private place in Auschwitz, cry in a way that shook my very soul. And when I left there, I thought, now I really know why we need an Israel.

And that is why I will fight so hard to ensure the survival of Israel. I know its importance. I know why it exists. I will always fight for the survival and the viability of the State of Israel. My support is unabashed and unwavering.

I also know why it is so important for us educate our young people-- about the effects of hatred, about the importance of history.

That is why I have worked with the Polish and Jewish communities in Baltimore to develop a U.S.-Poland-Israel Exchange program. Young people from America, Poland and Israel will join together to learn about each other's history and culture. They will visit Poland and Israel, to visit historical and religious sites, to learn together about history and to work together to build a brighter future.

In closing, I would like to read the words of Eli Weisel:

Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp,

which has turned my life into one long night, seven times

cursed and seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that

smoke. Never shall I forget the faces of the children, whose

bodies I saw turned into wreathes of smoke beneath a silent

blue sky. Never shall I forget those flames which consumed my

faith forever.

Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived

me, for all eternity, of the desire to live. Never shall I

forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and

turned my dreams to dust. Never shall I forget these things,

even if I am condemned to live as long as God himself.

Mr. President, 60 years after the liberation of Auschwitz, let us pledge never to forget. And let us honor those who died in the holocaust by fighting against bigotry, hate crimes, and intolerance.

Mr. President, I rise today with my colleagues, Senators Domenici and Cornyn, to introduce a resolution honoring the life of Yogi Bhajan. Yogi Bhajan, the chief religious and administrative authority for Sikhism in the West, died in Espanola, NM on October 6, 2004 at the age of seventy-five. Born Harbhajan Singh Puri on August 26, 1929 in Northern India, now Pakistan, he began yogic training at age 8 and was proclaimed a master of Kundalini Yoga by age 16. After the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, his family migrated to New Delhi, India where he continued his education. After graduating from Punjab University in economics, he worked for India's Internal Revenue Service and later became head of customs at the New Delhi Airport.

Yogi Bhajan introduced thousands around the world to Sikhism, a religion that carries the message of truthful living and the fundamental unity of humanity, and reaches out to people of all backgrounds to work together for world peace. When he came to North America in 1968 he recognized that the experience sought by many young people through drugs could be alternatively achieved through Kundalini Yoga, which stimulates individual growth through breath, chanting, and meditation among other components. Breaking the centuries old tradition of secrecy surrounding Kundalini Yoga, he began teaching it publicly. Soon after, he founded the Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization, 3HO, a nonprofit private educational and scientific foundation with 300 centers in 35 countries, dedicated to improving physical well-being, deepening spiritual awareness, and offering guidance on matters of health and heart. He later founded 3HO SuperHealth, a successful drug rehabilitation program, blending ancient yogic wisdom of the east with the modern technology of the west. SuperHealth was accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and received its highest commendation. In 1973 it distinguished itself as being in the top 10 percent of all treatment programs throughout the U.S. In 1989 Yogi Bhajan met with then President Mikhail Gorbachev and established addiction treatment programs in Russia based on the 3HO SuperHealth model. Currently a pilot project of SuperHealth is being formed by the Punjab State Government in India. He taught Yoga in Toronto and Los Angeles and finally founded a Sikh Dharma community in Espanola, New Mexico. In 1971, the president of the governing body of Sikh Temples in India gave Yogi Bhajan the title of chief religious and administrative authority for Sikhism in the Western Hemisphere. About 250,000 Sikhs now reside across the United States, including a community of about 500 families in Northern New Mexico.

Yogi Bhajan wrote 30 books and inspired 200 more through his teaching, and inspired the founding of several businesses, including Akal Security, Inc. He had an inclusive view of the world's major religions and considered all of them valid. Throughout his lifetime, he traveled the world and met with world leaders such as Pope John Paul II and the Dalai Lama to discuss world peace and religious unity. In June 1985, Yogi Bhajan established the first International Peace Prayer Day Celebration in New Mexico that still draws thousands of participants annually.

After the events of 9/11/01, Yogi Bhajan reached out to Sikhs across America, encouraging and helping them to educate their fellow citizens about Sikhs, and to work with law enforcement and community leaders to help them protect Sikh populations. His efforts have helped contribute to the opening of some major law enforcement agencies to Sikh employees, including the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Yogi Bhajan established links to human rights advocates nationwide, working to make sure that the issue of Sikh identity is understood and respected. When Balbir Singh Sodhi was murdered in Phoenix 5 days after 9/11 because of his beard and turban, Yogi Bhajan worked with community and government leaders in Arizona to help raise awareness about the Sikh community there.

Yogi Bhajan is survived by his wife, Inderjit Kaur; two sons, Ranbir Singh and Kulbir Singh; a daughter, Kamaljit Kaur; and five grandchildren. He will be missed by his family, followers and his friends, and his contribution to the cause of world peace will be remembered and celebrated for generations to come.

Mr. President, I rise today on behalf of Mr. Wyden and myself to speak about a resolution we are submitting to commemorate the liberation of Auschwitz, where more than 1 million people were murdered at the hands of the Nazis. Sixty years ago tomorrow, allied forces successfully liberated the most notorious of Nazi death camps, freeing those who managed to live in the most deplorable of conditions and yet somehow survive the greatest evil the world has ever witnessed.

For 5 long years at Auschwitz, men, women, and children arrived in cattle cars from all parts of Europe. Whether young or old, rich or poor, they were systematically stripped of their dignity before being murdered because of their religion and their deeply held faith in God. But 60 years ago tomorrow the genocide ended and the gates to freedom were opened.

With the passage of time, people tend to forget the events of the past, particularly if those events occurred well before their birth. The survivors of Auschwitz are elderly and they are dwindling in number, but their stories of how good successfully triumphed over evil will live on in our history and our hearts.

The resolution Senator Wyden and I introduce today commemorates Auschwitz and urges all Americans to remember those who were murdered there, murdered for nothing more than practicing their religion. We owe it to ourselves and to future generations never to forget that horror.

I am pleased to say leaders from around the world, including Vice President and Mrs. Cheney, are traveling to Poland for tomorrow's commemoration ceremony. They will be joined by survivors who are still able to make the trip out into the Polish countryside.

I hope this resolution will serve as a reminder that the Senate, indeed all Americans, remembers the events of 60 years ago tomorrow. It is also my hope that when anti-Semitism rears its ugly head, the world will feel a collective responsibility to stand up and speak out against religious hatred. That at least will give meaning to the sacrifice of those who were murdered and incinerated in the ovens of Auschwitz.

Mr. President, I am informed that the resolution has been cleared on both sides. I am very pleased to hear that. On behalf of the leader, I ask unanimous consent the Senate now proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 18, which was submitted earlier today, the resolution about which I have been speaking.

Mr. President, since I am going to ask on behalf of the leader the resolution be agreed to, I want to express my gratitude to his office and the Democratic leader's office for their expeditious handling of this resolution, and also Senator Wyden and all those who have cosponsored it.

On their behalf, I ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid on the able.

Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

I ask unanimous consent the order for the quorum call be rescinded.