Recognizing the National Museum of American Jewish History, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, as the only museum in the Nation dedicated exclusively to exploring and preserving the American Jewish experience.

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

Madam Speaker, I congratulate the gentleman from Pennsylvania for bringing this to the floor.

I rise today in support of H. Res. 1381, recognizing the National Museum of American Jewish History, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, as the only museum in the Nation dedicated exclusively to exploring and preserving the American Jewish experience.

This resolution simply commends and congratulates the National Museum of American Jewish History for its outstanding work in presenting and preserving the Jewish American experience and in teaching all Americans about the importance of freedom, respect, and diversity.

Opening on July 4, 1976, the museum holds the largest collection in the world of Jewish Americana and is currently expanding to a beautiful new facility appropriately located on Independence Mall in Philadelphia near Independence Hall, the National Constitution Center, and the Liberty Bell. There it will continue to showcase how the freedom of America fostered an environment in which Jewish Americans made and continue to make significant contributions to American life.

The National Museum of American Jewish History shares its current site with a Jewish congregation established in the 1740s. This was one of the first organized Jewish congregations in the colonies and was later called the Synagogue of the American Revolution. Indeed, Madam Speaker, our founding documents and the principles upon which our Nation was built reflect our Founding Fathers' adherence to Judeo- Christian values and ethics.

From the 1 million Jews in the United States in 1900, to the 550,000 Jews who served in the U.S. military during World War II, to the Jewish peoples liberated by American forces, to the approximately 6 million Jewish Americans with us today, Jews, Americans, and Jewish Americans have been intertwined in their support for liberty and have been vital to our self-governing and culturally rich Republic.

Madam Speaker, I would be remiss if I didn't say that this resolution comes at a time when current events have subjected the American Jewish community and Jews around the world to greater concern than they have been subjected to for some time. The statements of madmen who have positions of authority in some countries should have us recall the madman of World War II who said similar things.

The descriptions utilized by those who vent hatred today against those of the Jewish faith and Jewish ethnicity, those words of vitriol and hatred can do nothing but foster uncertainty, fear, confusion, and ultimately can incite violence.

We should recall that a good portion of the world, the free world, stood silently some 65 or 70 years ago when those words were uttered by Adolf Hitler, some saying he is nothing but a madman and Germany is such a distinguished, scientifically advanced, culturally progressive society, that certainly these words of a madman will never take real form. Yet, we know they did.

Today, unfortunately, we hear the words of a madman in the country of Iran. In my judgment, too many people say it doesn't mean much, they are just the rantings of someone without real power and, from a country that has the tremendous history of the Persian culture, they certainly would not act on those statements made by that man. Well, we ought to pay attention to history.

I would advise Members of this Chamber, perhaps, to read George Gilder's excellent work that was published a year and a half ago called ``The Israel Test.'' In there, he talks about the tremendous contribution of Israelis who have come to the United States and become American citizens and also Americans who have gone to Israel and become tremendous citizens of that country, and the continuing relationship between our two countries and our

two cultures, which is to the advantage of both, and the fact that over and over again we have to remind ourselves that those in the State of Israel share common values with the United States and that those common values should not be taken for granted. When they have been taken for granted, they have either been lost or they have been destroyed for some period of time.

So, as we today salute this museum for its historic value, we should remember that museums are, in many ways, invitations to study history so that we might not repeat the terrible mistakes of history but, rather, be inspired by the tremendous advances of history.

So I would like to thank my good friend for offering this resolution. I would urge all my colleagues to support it.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I would just say again that I urge my colleagues to support this bill. I hope there is a unanimous vote for it, and I thank the gentleman for bringing it to the floor.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak in support of House Resolution 1381 and have appreciated working with my colleague, Congressman Brady, to bring this to the floor.

This resolution recognizes the National Museum of American Jewish history, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, as you have heard, the only museum in the Nation dedicated exclusively to exploring and preserving the American Jewish experience.

As the museum completes its new, expanded facility on Philadelphia's Independence Mall, the museum will have a greater capacity to inspire people of all backgrounds with a deep appreciation for the diversity of the American Jewish experience and, more broadly, the freedoms and the opportunities to which all Americans aspire.

Freedom, liberty, and the opportunity to thrive in America is the museum's overarching theme that will be a powerful experience for people of all ethnic and racial backgrounds. The new facility will be better able to tell the American immigrant story of the individuals meeting challenges and embracing and often fulfilling the American values of self-determination, equality, and opportunity.

The museum highlights the great contributions of Jewish Americans that were made over the history of our Nation to the sciences, public service, and the arts. I encourage all of my colleagues to visit this remarkable institution when it opens its new building on November 14, 2010.

For me, the experience of the National American Jewish History Museum is marked by the remarkable yet familiar story of one immigrant to America. Over 60 years ago, a young woman named Renee Perl was forced to flee Austria to escape the Holocaust. She arrived alone on the shores of America as a 16-year-old without family or friends. She arrived after years of fear and uncertainty, deeply grateful for the security that America offered and hopeful about her future. Renee Perl was my mother. She instilled in me a deep love for this country and its capacity to provide not only a safe harbor, but also freedom and opportunity.

I thank the gentleman.

Her story and her life are a constant reminder to me of the importance of our democracy and our shared responsibility to meet the goals and ideals of our Nation. The National Jewish American History Museum in its new location honors and elaborates on the stories of Jewish Americans like my mother, both ordinary and extraordinary, which make up the fabric of who we are as Americans. I am proud to honor the occasion of the opening of this new facility and look forward to the role the museum will play in telling a part, and for me a very personal part, of our Nation's history.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1381) recognizing the National Museum of American Jewish History, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, as the only museum in the Nation dedicated exclusively to exploring and preserving the American Jewish experience.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the resolution now under consideration.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, this resolution recognizes the National Museum of American Jewish History, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, as the only museum dedicated exclusively to exploring and preserving the American Jewish experience.

I am fortunate to have this outstanding institution in my district. Founded in 1976, the National Museum of American Jewish History currently has the largest collection of Jewish Americana in the world. Even so, it is expanding to a new building on Independence Mall in Philadelphia.

I cannot think of a more appropriate place for this institution than at the heart of our Nation's birth, just steps from Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. I applaud the museum for its dedication to connecting the Jewish community to their heritage and to reminding Americans of all backgrounds of their freedoms and diversity we all enjoy.

I urge Members to support this resolution.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from the great State of Pennsylvania, Allyson Schwartz.

I yield the gentlelady 1 additional minute.

I thank the gentleman for his support.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time and urge the passage of this resolution.