Tom Lantos

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution. I strongly welcome this resolution to establish a commission in the House of Representatives to assist parliaments in emerging democracies. At the outset, I want to pay tribute to the distinguished gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price), who has been a consistent and steadfast advocate of the establishment of this commission. I also want to commend the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier), my fellow Californian and friend, who is the author of this resolution, and the gentleman from Illinois (Chairman Hyde) for his leadership in moving the resolution through committee. I also want to commend the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Barrett), our new colleague, for his work on this matter. Mr. Speaker, our country has been the leading promoter of democracy from the very beginning of our Nation. It defines who we are as Americans, and it is rightfully a key and continuing element of our foreign policy. In 1789, the year our Constitution went into effect and the year that George Washington was sworn in as our first President, the young United States supported the French Revolution. In 1848, the United States supported the uprising of the people of Hungary against the Hapsburg monarchy; and after Russia and Austria crushed that revolution, we welcomed to our shores Kossuth Lajos, the great leader of the forces of democracy in Hungary whose statue adorns our Capitol in perpetuity. In 1918, our President Woodrow Wilson expressed the idea that it is in the national interest of the United States to encourage free and open and democratic governments. President Bush echoed that sentiment in his inaugural address earlier this year. Mr. Speaker, this legislation provides for the establishment of a House commission to assist the new parliaments in emerging democracies. It is similar to the commission which was established by the House of Representatives in 1990 as the former communist states of Central and Eastern Europe were emerging from Soviet dominance. Under the able leadership of our former colleague, Congressman Martin Frost of Texas, and then our late colleague, Congressman Gerald Solomon of New York, this commission worked with the Congressional Research Service and the Library of Congress to provide technical assistance and information to these new democracies in Central and Eastern Europe. Our Commission played an important role in assisting the parliaments of these newly democratic states. This legislation establishes a Commission with a similar mandate to assist parliaments in newly emerging democracies in areas throughout the Middle East where we have recently seen the winds of democracy beginning to stir. There are also parliaments in other parts of the world where assistance from the Congress can help to establish free and open and democratic practices that will strengthen the rule of law. Mr. Speaker, we all know the need to break the grip of dictatorship wherever it exists, but that is merely the first step on a long journey. Without assistance to help in the establishment of institutions of democracy, countries in transition to a more pluralistic political culture will be subject to the risk of falling short of the aspirations of their citizens who promoted democratic values. We in this body have a role, along with our democratic friends and allies, to help those who want assistance in strengthening legislative assemblies in many forms. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this resolution. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I invite my colleagues to join me today in paying tribute to Ms. Mary E. McClymont, the current President and CEO of InterAction, the largest alliance of U.S.-based, international development and humanitarian nongovernmental organizations. InterAction's members range from large organizations like CARE, Save the Children, Catholic Relief Services, and World Vision, to smaller organizations such as the International Medical Corps which is based in my own home state of California. After four years of tireless service to the humanitarian community, Mary is relinquishing the helm of InterAction. She will be deeply missed not only by the many NGOs that InterAction serves but also by many of us in Congress who have come to rely on her and InterAction as advocates of humanitarian, human rights, and development concerns. Her knowledge, commitment, and professionalism have established InterAction as a leading resource of information and expertise on a myriad of issues ranging from Iraq and Afghanistan to the Millennium Challenge Account. InterAction also has grown tremendously under Mary's leadership, nearly doubling its operating budget and expanding its membership. Additionally, Mary launched the Global Partnership for Effective Assistance--a multiyear advocacy campaign to help save lives and build self-sufficiency in poor countries by increasing the amount of development and humanitarian assistance, improving the effectiveness of foreign aid, and fostering international partnerships. Leading an organization as large and diverse as InterAction during these tumultuous times requires an individual of tremendous fortitude, integrity, and dedication. Mary undoubtedly has excelled in meeting that challenge. Mr. Speaker, it has been a great pleasure for me and the Democratic staff of the International Relations Committee to work closely on a wide range of issues with InterAction and with Mary. I want to commend her for her outstanding service and commitment to improving the effectiveness of our nation's humanitarian and development assistance. And I want to extend our best wishes to her as she leaves the presidency of InterAction.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, earlier today, my good friend and co- chairman of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, Frank Wolf, introduced the Advance Democratic Values, Address Nondemocratic Countries, and Enhance (ADVANCE) Democracy Act of 2005. I am delighted to be the principal Democratic cosponsor of this bill. This landmark legislation, which we have been working on for more than a year, was developed in response to ideas that have emerged from outside the government, especially the thoughts and writings of Mark Palmer, who was the U.S. Ambassador to Hungary from 1986 to 1989 during that country's amazingly swift transition from totalitarianism to freedom. Mr. Speaker, Hungary, where I was born, faced the twin scourges of fascism and communism in the 20th century. Somehow I survived both of these soul-killing political systems and came to the United States, which was then a beacon of hope for those of us living in the darkness of Stalinist-controlled Central Europe. As a Member of Congress in the intervening years, and as founding co- chair of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, I have dedicated myself to the cause of human rights, working to eliminate the threats posed by the vestiges of fascism and the encroachment of totalitarianism in this world. It has been my privilege to help promote democracy around the globe--a tradition started by President Wilson at the beginning of the last century and enshrined as a central tenet of U.S. foreign policy since the Carter administration. In the last few years, we have seen all too clearly how the lack of democracy can create safe havens for nihilistic forces that do not value human life, and this lack of democracy can help extremism flourish. But recently we also have been given fresh reason for optimism. Who would have predicted in the summer of 2004 that the rule of law would prevail in Ukraine and an ``Orange Revolution'' would force the creeping influence of authoritarianism to retreat to the East? And just last month, who would have predicted that Syria would begin to lose its grip so quickly on the people of Lebanon? We must do more to show that the United States is on the side of those who want peaceful change toward democracy and fundamental freedoms, and we must devise new ways to work with our friends around the globe to fan the embers of freedom. That is what our new bill seeks to do. We are starting by proposing reforms to the State Department and other parts of the U.S. Government so that promoting democracy is a fundamental and central component of our foreign policy. This legislation: Declares that it is the policy of the United States to promote freedom and democracy as a fundamental component of U.S. foreign policy, to see an end to dictatorial and other non-democratic forms of government, and to strengthen alliances with other democratic countries to better promote and defend shared values and ideals. Establishes in statute the Under Secretary for Global Affairs with a strong mandate to promote democracy and fundamental freedoms; expands the duties of the Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor to specifically include democracy promotion; and enhances the Human Rights and Democracy Fund controlled by that Bureau. Establishes a new Office of Democracy Movements and Transitions and separate Regional Democracy Hubs to be points of contact for democracy movements and to promote democratic transitions and democratic consolidation, and creates a Democracy Promotion Advisory Board to provide outside expertise to the Department of State on democracy promotion and to conduct a study on the efficiency and effectiveness of current U.S. democracy assistance. Requires the Secretary of State to prepare an annual report on democracy that will include a specific action plan, developed in consultation with local organizations, individuals and movements, to promote and achieve transition to democracy in non-democratic countries. Provides for U.S. embassies to be ``islands of freedom'' and encourages U.S. ambassadors to promote democracy in non-democratic countries, including by meeting with representatives of democracy movements and speaking out on democracy and human rights in such countries, particularly at universities. Provides training for State Department personnel on democracy promotion and links promotion and performance awards to effective advocacy and promotion of democracy, particularly in non-democratic countries. Establishes a Congressional Democracy Award for U.S. government officials who have made an extraordinary effort to promote democracy. Provides for increased efforts to work with other democratic countries to promote democracy including bilaterally, with the UN and related organizations, the Community of Democracies, and the new Democracy Transition Center being established by European counties in Hungary. Requires translation of the annual report on democracy, the country reports on human rights practices, the Annual Report on International Religious Freedom, and the annual Trafficking in Persons Report, and requires the creation of a democracy and human rights Internet web site collecting these and other materials related to the promotion of democracy and human rights. Let me be clear--there are many fine members of the Foreign Service at the Department of State and many dedicated civil servants that are relentless on issues of promoting democracy and protecting human rights, but we can do better. We hope that this legislation will change the Department's culture into one that focuses on freedom, not feel good relationships, and will give a framework and direction to our diplomats as they pursue the promotion of democracy around the world. Mr. Speaker, in 1956, Hungary was in the midst of a national uprising. The Hungarian people had a real hope of freedom from the yoke of Soviet-installed communism. Then the West stood by while the Soviet Union invaded and extinguished the sparks of revolution in one aggressive wave. In 1989, we did not make that mistake. The United States and our democratic friends and allies stood with the Hungarian people and helped them and others confront their communist masters and achieve freedom. The central question of today is whether we will stand with the reformers, as we did in 1989, or stand by as the oppressors take action against them. This legislation will help ensure that we make the right choice and stand with the reformers. Make no mistake, the achievement of universal democracy is not an easy task, and we have no illusions about that. But as the only remaining superpower and the beacon of hope for so many people around the globe even now, the United States must find a way to promote democracy in this complex world. It in our own interest, it is consistent with our principles and our history, and it is the right thing to do.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share with my colleagues an excellent letter that I recently received from his Excellency Andras Simonyi, Ambassador of Hungary to the United States, which provides specific detail of his country's support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Hungary has been particularly supportive of U.S. military efforts in Iraq in implementing training programs for Iraqis and donating millions of dollars in necessary supplies. Such efforts have furthered U.S. objectives in Iraq, and contributed to efforts to bring peace and stability to the region. Hungary was among the first countries to support Coalition efforts in Iraq, including the training of Free Iraqi Forces (FIF) in Taszar, Hungary in Fall 2002 and the deployment of a transportation battalion of 300 troops to Iraq. More recently, the Hungarian Government has decided to send 165 troops to the NATO Training and Implementation Mission in Iraq and donate 77 T72 tanks to the Iraqi army. These actions represent the broader goal of the Hungarian Government to support American efforts in Iraq. I urge all my colleagues to read this excellent and informative letter written from Ambassador Simonyi. Mr. Speaker, I also want to pay tribute to my dear friend Andras Simonyi. He has been an outstanding representative of Hungary in the United States and has personally made an important contribution to the relations between our two countries. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the letter of Ambassador Simonyi be placed in the Record, and I urge my colleagues to read it. The Ambassador of Hungary, Washington, March 1, 2005. Hon. Tom Lantos, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC. Dear Congressman Lantos: As I am sure that you might be interested, allow me summarize for you to the extent possible Hungary's contribution to the Iraqi stabilization process so far. As you well know, Hungary was among the first to support Coalition efforts in Iraq, including by training the Free Iraqi Forces (FIP) in Taszar, Hungary in Fall 2002 and by deploying a 300-strong transportation battalion to Iraq who served in Al-Hillah. Recently the Hungarian Government decided to send 165 troops to the NATO Training and Implementation Mission in Iraq. Hungary donated 77 T72 tanks to the Iraqi Army. 14 high ranking officers are in Iraq to train Iraqi officers in command and control. In March 2004 the Hungarian Government sent an aid supply of medical equipment to Basra, total value of appx. 300,000.00 USD. Donation of 80 cardio-equipment to the Iraqi Ministry of Health in March 2004 for a total value of 1,000,000.00 USD and a training program for experts in 2005. In October 2004 training of 20 experts in drink-water purification, waste-water and waste management. Training program for the Iraqi Police for 2004-2005 for a value of 500,000.00 USD. Training program for 25 Iraqi diplomats starting from March 2005 at Corvinus University. Training program for Iraqi conductors starting from the first quarter of 2005 to form experts in the well-known Hungarian method to help the development of handicapped children. Training program for 20 civil servants in Hungary for a period of 10 days in the field of privatization, small business promotion, and banking system in the first quarter of 2005. 50 day training program in Hungary for 20 Iraqi experts in the field of fresh-water fish-breeding. Four-week training program for 10 Iraqi veterinaries in Hungary starting in the first semester of 2005. Water management training for 10 Iraqi expert starting from the first semester of 2005. Financial aid for the Iraqi elections. Sincerely yours, Andras Simonyi.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to mourn the loss of a tremendous community leader in San Francisco, Mr. Stanley E. Warren. Stan Warren sadly lost his battle against a brain tumor on January 31, 2005. He led our community with great distinction as the Secretary-Treasurer of the San Francisco Building and Construction Trades Council. Stan Warren dedicated his professional career to helping his fellow workers build a better life for themselves, their families, and their communities. Born in Fresno, Stan moved to the Bay Area where he attended Sequoia High School and Canada College in Redwood City. At 18, he became an apprentice with the Roofers and Waterproofers Union, Local 40, in San Francisco and worked his way up to Journeyman. Dedicating his efforts to union affairs, Stan was elected business manager for Local 40 in 1994. In 2000, he was elected Secretary-Treasurer of the San Francisco Building and Construction Trades Council with 30 affiliated union locals. We were all stunned when Stan was diagnosed with a life threatening brain tumor a few years ago. He fought back valiantly and we were encouraged by the improvement he showed. Yet, in recent months the struggle overcame him. Stan was a powerful advocate for labor in the Bay Area and worked in Washington as an effective voice in support of worker safety, better health care, protecting pensions and the Davis Bacon Act ensuring prevailing wages in federal contracts. I have always been proud to represent working people in the Bay Area and have worked closely with organized labor. My job has been made easier because I have had the privilege of representing and working with dedicated citizens and leaders like Stan Warren. Many friends and neighbors recently shared our loss at a memorial service for Stan in Redwood City, CA. Stan's wife Geri, their three sons, Tren, Spencer, and Gage and Stan's parents Troy and Maria Warren proudly know him as a wonderful husband, father, and son. I was proud to know him as a friend. I extend to his family and friends our deepest condolences and ask my colleagues to join me in this expression of sympathy.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this legislation. I would first like to thank my good friend and distinguished colleague, the ranking member of the Committee on International Relations Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Delahunt), for being the principal author of this critically important legislation. I would also like to express my thanks to my friend, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith); the majority leader, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay); and the distinguished chairman of the House Committee on International Relations, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), for their outstanding work on this legislation. Mr. Speaker, the humanitarian instincts of the American people run deep, and each year the United States helps tens of millions of refugees and internally displaced people in conflict zones around the globe. When Afghans streamed back to their homes after the fall of the Taliban, the United States was on hand to help rebuild homes and villages. When the tsunami struck Southeast Asia, the United States, and particularly our military, led the way in providing emergency help, food, medicine and shelter to hundreds of thousands of people who had lost their homes in that horrible tragedy. Mr. Speaker, I want specifically to commend former Presidents Bush and Clinton for their efforts in this very important undertaking. As we speak today, the United States is helping more than 20,000 Sudanese refugees who have fled their country for the neighboring country of Chad to escape the bloodshed in Darfur. In acting on our humanitarian impulses, the United States greatly enhances the image of our Nation abroad, but only if these activities are carried out correctly. Avoiding any linkage between the United States assistance and sexual abuse must be a cornerstone principle of our Nation's foreign assistance program. Over the past year, the United Nations has investigated over 150 allegations of sexual abuse by United Nations peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Women have charged that they have been raped by U.N. peacekeepers, the very military forces specifically sent there to protect and to defend them. There have been charges that children as young as 12 and 13 were bribed with food for sex. Women trying to feed their families were forced to trade sex for money or food or jobs. While most peacekeepers in the Congo obviously did not participate in these despicable practices, I strongly agree with United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan who has stated that ``the behavior of a few has undermined the contributions of many.'' In response to the outrages committed in the Congo, Secretary General Annan has wisely instituted a non-fraternization policy between United Nations Peacekeepers and the local population. This ban forbids United Nations personnel and Peacekeepers from engaging in sex with girls younger than 18, from engaging in commercial sex of any kind, and imposes a curfew of U.N. military contingent. We further understand that the United Nations, under Secretary For Peacekeeping Operations, is engaged in a far-reaching review that will increase enforcement of sexual abuse laws, providing additional training of peacekeeping troops before they are deployed in the field, and providing better investigatory capacity to ensure that those who violate the guidelines are properly punished. I commend the United Nations for taking these measures and for making it clear that a new zero tolerance policy will apply to all United Nations peacekeeping troops abroad. In light of the problems faced by the United Nations as it has carried out its humanitarian mission, the United States must follow suit. We must ensure that all humanitarian organizations receiving American money have firm policies which prevent their employees from sexually abusing the people they were sent to help. Mr. Speaker, the Humanitarian Assistance Code of Conduct Act of 2005 prohibits funding for refugee, disaster and other humanitarian assistance to humanitarian organizations that failed to adopt a code of conduct consistent with principles adopted by the U.N. interagency standing committee on protection from sexual exploitation and abuse in humanitarian crisis. It is long past time for us to ensure that humanitarian organizations that receive U.S. funding fully comply with these principles. The time for voluntary acceptance is over and mandatory compliance must now begin. The United States is a most generous Nation, Mr. Speaker, and American humanitarian organizations provide invaluable expertise and hands-on assistance in crisis zones around the globe. With the passage of our legislation, refugees and internally displaced people can have even more confidence that American assistance is distributed according to the highest standards of conduct. I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Delahunt), the distinguished author of the bill and my good friend.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. We have no additional requests for time; but before yielding back, I want to join the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Delahunt) in paying tribute to the majority leader and to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) for their invaluable work on this issue. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, today's debate is an extremely important conversation on the future of Social Security. The simple facts of the matter are that Social Security is not in a state of crisis, it will not go bankrupt and it will always be there for those who contribute to it. Unfortunately, the plans promoted by this Administration and my Republican colleagues do nothing to address the core issues related to the Trust Fund's solvency. Instead, the issue has been draped in rhetoric in pursuit of an ideological agenda that will not save Social Security but in fact will put it at greater risk. Americans across the country, from Kansas to California and from New Hampshire to New Mexico, whether black or white, man or woman, will have their benefits cut and the financial safety net removed from their retirement. While Republican proposals will hurt everyone, women are particularly at risk. As Republicans regale us with misleading statements and flowery predictions, the cold hard facts of reality reveals a somber picture. More than 24 million women receive Social Security benefits. They make up 58 percent of seniors who receive Social Security and without it, 53 percent of all senior women would be poor. In 2000, Social Security saved seven million women from poverty. More than seven million women receive disability or survivor benefits. These numbers deserve our undivided attention. The current proposal would cut these benefits by more than 40 percent over the coming decades. If the President's plan were put in to effect, trillions of dollars would be taken out of Social Security, endangering the benefits of current retirees and people with disabilities. These are Americans who have contributed to the Trust Fund their entire working lives and now their guaranteed benefits are endangered. For years we have looked out for our fellow Americans, to lift them up and prove to them that no man, woman or child, regardless of race, religion, or socio-economic status, will be left behind. Never in my 24 years in Congress have I seen such disregard for our countrymen and women. In a time when we are asking so many to sacrifice so much, this Administration appears ready to dismantle an incredibly successful and equitable program. At the same time, the President's tax policy will cost 3 to 5 times as much as the shortfall predicted by the Social Security Administration (SSA). The Medicare Program is already running a shortfall that is almost 8 times as much as Social Security. This effort will do nothing to address the real problems facing the Social Security Trust Fund. Social Security plays a unique role in the lives of women. We know women live longer than men and make less in the workplace. Rather than ensure that the Social Security Trust Fund can provide for these women and their families, the Administration wants to cut benefits and create a risky privatization plan that does not guarantee a livable rate of return. Social Security is truly one of our greatest success stories, virtually eliminating poverty for the aged. While we all agree that important concerns about Social Security should be effectively addressed, I do not believe turning this matter into a crisis should force us to accept what would otherwise be unacceptable. I am concerned that the scenarios suggested by the Administration do not serve us well as we conduct this domestic policy debate. Manufacturing a crisis with an ideological agenda is unacceptable. Social Security is the core of old-age support and was intended as an income supplement and a crucial safety net for seniors, not a money making scheme. We must preserve Social Security through sound fiscal discipline and legitimate policy adjustments to meet the demands of future generations. Instead of weakening Social Security I believe that it should be strengthened and made more secure ensuring its success for generations to come. We cannot turn Social Security into Social Insecurity.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in celebration of the Peace Corps' 44th anniversary. Since 1961, over 178,000 Peace Corps volunteers in 138 countries have counseled teenagers and adults in HIV/ AIDS education and prevention, guided entrepreneurs in the basic skills of small business development, worked with women to expand their access to credit, conducted curriculum development training for teachers, helped to bridge the divide between those who can afford access to technology and those who cannot, and effectively completed many other notable development projects. Among this legion of volunteers are twenty residents of my congressional district in San Mateo County, California. They are Corrine Basanez, James Choy, Emily Doan, Michael Henley, Brian Jungwiwattanapo, Andrew Kerfoot, Adam Ko, Joshua Kroot, Cynthia Lai, Anna Lee, Matthew Lewis, Andrew Lind, Theresa Nagan, Joshua Nagler, Aida Navarro, Michael O'Donnell, Michelle Pena, Doreen Peterson, Dino Saldajeno, and Victoria Wilson. I commend all of them for their dedication, commitment, and service to our country. Mr. Speaker, this body in the 108th Congress passed with overwhelming bipartisan support the Peace Corps Expansion Act of 2003 and the Health, Safety, and Security of Peace Corps Volunteers Act of 2004. Unfortunately, our colleagues in the other body were not as successful in considering companion legislation. Notwithstanding this fact, the needs of Peace Corps Volunteers and the Peace Corps as an agency remain pressing. Consequently, I look forward to working with my friend and colleague Chairman Hyde as well as other Members to reintroduce authorizing legislation that will strengthen Peace Corps' ability to fulfill its congressionally mandated mission of conducting diplomacy through development. I am also committed to ensuring that Peace Corps Volunteers, as our best ambassadors in remote villages throughout the globe and particularly in countries with significant Muslim populations, reflect the diversity of our great nation. Mr. Speaker, I again salute the many thousands of Peace Corps Volunteers who have dedicated on average two years of their lives to proudly continuing the arduous yet vastly rewarding work of the nearly 180,000 volunteers that have come before them. I am proud to represent twenty of these extraordinary individuals who are currently separated from their families, friends, and neighbors in the pursuit of service to country and others.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I invite my colleagues to join me in celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the A.P. Giannini Middle School of San Francisco, which is located in my Congressional district. This extraordinary middle school has long been known for its academic promise and delivering students who are well prepared to area high schools. This school is named after Amaedo Peter (A.P.) Giannini, who started the Bank of Italy in 1904, with the then unheard of concept of providing banking services for the ``little fellows,'' the hard-working immigrants that other banks refused to serve. After the devastating earthquake of 1906, A.P. Giannini immediately set up a temporary bank. Almost every building in the city had been destroyed, and he went about collecting deposits, making loans, and proclaiming to all that San Francisco would rise from the ashes. Mr. Giannini ensured that many hard working immigrants could get their piece of the American dream by loaning them money when no other banks would. Under his watchful eye, this little bank, which started in a converted saloon, expanded rapidly throughout the State of California and in 1930 he renamed his institution the Bank of America. Mr. Speaker, the middle school, which now bears his name, was opened in the Sunset District of San Francisco in September of 1954, but renamed after Mr. Giannini on January 26, 1955. Although Mr. Giannini had passed away six years earlier, both his widow and daughter Claire were present for the ceremony to dedicate the school. Today the school serves children from grades 6 to 8, with an average enrollment of 1,300 students. It routinely tests well above the California and national average, and over a quarter of the students study in the Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) program. A.P. Giannini Middle School provides students with a diverse learning environment and as well as a lesson of tolerance. Like A.P. Giannini back in the early 1900's, A.P. Giannini Middle School gives their students a chance to achieve the American dream. The staff of A.P. Giannini Middle School deserves credit for providing their students with the tools they will need in high school and throughout life. Mr. Speaker, throughout the last 50 years, A.P. Giannini Middle School has proven what dedicated staff members, counselors and teachers can do. The students are exemplars in the community and should be commended. I would also like to thank the Giannini family for their continued support of the school that shared so much of the vision of Mr. Giannini. I urge all of my colleagues to join me in recognizing the A.P. Giannini Middle School Day, with me on February 17, 2005.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, it is clear that the role of the National Guard and Reserve in our military forces has changed. The days of these forces simply providing replacement manpower for active duty personnel in the event of a conflict are no more. Since September 11, 2001 more than 400,000 members of the Reserve Component have been activated for either homeland security or overseas missions. As of January 5, 2005 there are 180,000 citizen soldiers currently on active duty and it is well documented that the Guard and Reserve comprise more than 40% of the American forces in Iraq. The Guard and Reserve have performed their patriotic services admirably. However, as these forces were utilized more there was an initial concern that increased mobilizations would lead to a fall off in recruitment and retention. Now, after three years, these fears are coming true. This past January the Army National Guard failed to achieve its recruiting goal by falling shy of its target by 44% and last year the Army Reserves fell about 10% short of its recruiting goal. Equally distressing was a memo written in early January 2005 by Lt. General James Hemly, Chief of the Army Reserves, that stated his belief that the United States Army Reserve was degenerating into a broken force because of dysfunctional military policies. While the problems that are causing these drops in recruitment and retention are varied, one complaint that has been voiced is that the activations are occurring more frequently and for longer periods of time, and that the resulting stress on the soldier's family is causing him or her to leave the force. In particular, it is the lost income that many citizen soldiers encounter as a result of their activation that places significant stress on families. Mr. Speaker, as you are aware, our citizen soldiers are asked to make many sacrifices; sometimes they make the ultimate sacrifice in defense of freedom. In addition for each National Guardsman and Reservist serving abroad, there is also a family at home who is also making sacrifices for their country. Husbands and wives, sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers--all are asked to endure the temporary absence of a loved one and the fear that they may not return. Unfortunately, many of these families also suffer from a loss of income. This is because when a National Guardsman or Reservist is called to active duty, their civilian job--and civilian salary--is placed on hiatus and they begin receiving military pay for their service, an amount that is often significantly less than their civilian salary. According to the General Accountability Office (GAO) more than 40% of the Guard and Reserves suffer from a loss in income as a result of their activation. This ``pay gap'' forces National Guard and Reservists' families to pinch to make ends meet. Grocery budgets are trimmed, rent or mortgage payments are paid late, credit cards are run up, and other important purchases are postponed. Many family members of Reservists are forced to work overtime, dip into savings, borrow, or even go on welfare to pay the bills. Mr. Speaker, too many members of our reserve components are faced with the difficult choice of defending their country or providing for their family, a choice that I am certain you will agree with me is unconscionable. This pay gap, which is causing so much unnecessary stress, can be easily mitigated if the employer of the activated soldier suffering from a pay gap contributes differential payments to their employee. Already there are over 500 conscientious employers who have taken it upon themselves to commence these payments and Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld was correct in applauding them in an open letter dated September 11, 2002, a copy of which I am placing in the Congressional Record. Unfortunately, it was recently reported that many of these employers are now being forced to scale back or even to cease making these payments to their activated employees. Mr. Speaker, in order to help those employers, to encourage others, and to protect the financial security of more than 40% of our citizen soldiers, I am pleased to be joined by my distinguished colleagues, Sam Graves, Jim McGovern and Chris Shays in introducing bipartisan common-sense legislation to fix the problem of the pay gap. Our legislation, H.R. 838, entitled the Help Our Patriotic Employers at Helping our Military Employees, or HOPE at HOME Act provides numerous incentives to all of the employers in our country to make it financially attractive to make up any pay gaps that their citizen soldier employee faces as a result of his or her activation. Furthermore, by eliminating the pay gap and protecting the financial security of the families of activated Reservists and National Guard our legislation will reduce the stress of activation and ensure that our nation's military reserve components are able to maintain appropriate retention and recruitment levels. Mr. Speaker, H.R 838 is designed to provide hope for the citizen soldier that is suffering from a pay gap. The hope is that his home will remain financially secure in his absence. In order to accomplish this, the legislation provides numerous tax incentives to non-federal employers. As I previously mentioned, there are numerous private employers that have taken the conscientious initiative of paying their employees the difference between their civilian and military salary. In fact, according to the Employee Support for Guard and Reserve--an outreach organization run by the Office of Secretary of Defense--there are currently over 500 private employers, state governments and municipal jurisdictions that have undertaken differential payments for their employees. As a reward for these conscientious employers and as an incentive for others to join them, The HOPE at HOME Act creates a tax credit equal to 50% of the amount the employer pays to the Reservist, capped at $30,000 per employee. H.R. 838 also recognizes that smaller companies are disproportionately adversely affected by an employee's activation, since losing two people of 10-person business is akin to losing 100 people at a 500-person plant. In addition smaller companies often encounter greater difficulty in distributing an activated employees' responsibilities amongst the remaining employees and may need to hire temporary replacement workers. In order to provide relief to these small businesses, which H.R. 838 defines as those with 50 or fewer employees, as well as to ensure that the small business employers can make differential payments for their activated employees the legislation provides an additional tax credit of $12,000 for the costs associated with hiring/training the temporary replacement worker contingent on the small business employer making pay differential payments to their activated employee. The HOPE at HOME act also recognized the difficulties that those reservists who are self employed face when they are activated. These soldiers often face the most grievous setbacks as their carefully built companies lose business, struggle to survive or are forced to close due to their prolonged absence. Mr. Speaker, our legislation creates an important tax incentive designed to assist the self-employed citizen soldier in defraying the costs of hiring someone to keep their business running in their absence. The HOPE at HOME Act also recognizes that because the Federal government is the single largest employer of citizen soldiers it should lead by example. Mr. Speaker, as you are aware, the Federal government is the civilian employer for more than 13% of the Reserve Component. That is why the HOPE at HOME act requires the Federal government to eliminate the pay gap for its employees. Mr. Speaker, the bill also makes some technical changes about how these differential pay payments are to be recorded. Currently the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) treats these payments as benefits requiring reporting on the 1099 form. This is a burden for the employee and the employer, as it requires quarterly filing of estimated tax burdens. Our legislation requires the IRS to treat these payments as wages, which means that employers would be able to use the more accessible W2 form, thereby reducing a possible burden that may have prevented employers from making these types of payments in the past. Finally the HOPE at HOME Act makes it easier for employers to contribute to their activated employees retirement plans while the employee is serving our country. As our colleagues are aware, under The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) the law that governs the activations and deactivations of Guard and Reserves, an employee who is activated to serve is ``separated'' from his civilian employer and therefore, if that employer wanted to contribute to its activated employees' retirement fund (IRA, 401(k) etc) the employer would not receive the tax benefit anymore because of the fiction of the employees separation. The HOPE at HOME act removes this barrier and allows employers to continue to contribute to the retirement funds of their activated citizen soldier employee's. Mr. Speaker, our citizen soldiers are a valuable and essential component of our military and we can ill afford to continue down this path of overextending these brave men and women. Clearly, those citizens who enlist in the Guard or Reserve do so because of an admirable sense of patriotism to our country. However, we cannot ask these citizen soldiers to sacrifice their families' financial security in order to carry out their patriotic duty. I urge all of our colleagues to join Mr. Graves, Mr. Shays, Mr. McGovern and myself in supporting this bipartisan effort and join us in working for its expedited passage. Secretary of Defense, 1000 Defense Pentagon, Washington, DC, September 11, 2003. An Open Letter to America's Employers: Since the tragic events of September 11, 2001, the Department of Defense has mobilized more than 295,000 Reservists and National Guardsmen in response to the ongoing Global War on Terrorism. These dedicated men and women--citizen Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen--have been engaged in and around the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as providing security here at home and in other critical locations around the world. This would not have been possible without the strong backing of America's employers. I want to express my gratitude to all employers who have demonstrated support for this national crisis by swiftly releasing your valuable employees for military service. It is equally gratifying to see how you are welcoming back these returning warriors and reinstating them in their jobs. During the period of mobilization, many of you did more than was required by law by voluntarily offering continued benefits, pay differentials, and additional, creative forms of family support which made the period of separation so much easier to bear. I know of no other time in our nation's history when so many employers have voluntarily offered this level of support and benefits. I recognize that these generous actions have not been without sacrifice. Each of you has earned the deepest appreciation of this Department and the United States Government for your unswerving support of our nation's military. Without this continued support, we could not maintain a strong military or sustain the current effort to overcome the international terrorist threat directed at our country, our citizens, and all who love freedom. You have my deepest thanks. Your direct contributions and support are another illustration of America's greatness as a nation. Sincerely, Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of H. Res. 91, condemning the monstrous terrorist bombing in Beirut, Lebanon that killed the late Prime Minister of Lebanon, Rafik Hariri, and killed and wounded many others. I want to commend the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) for bringing this matter to the floor in such a timely fashion, and I want to thank the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall) and all other colleagues who have worked on this resolution. Mr. Speaker, I met the late Prime Minister Hariri on many occasions. Although I did not always agree with him, I held him in the highest regard because I recognized in him a man who was a true patriot, single-mindedly devoted to healing his nation after 15 years of a bloody civil war. He was a man not only of charm and drive but of vision. He worked a minor miracle in reviving downtown Beirut, and it was characteristically cynical that the murderers chose that particular area of the city as the site for their cruel crime. I knew that part of Beirut very well. I first visited it in 1956 and it was one of the gems of the Middle East. The late Prime Minister Hariri returned that portion of Beirut to its former outstanding aesthetic qualities. Given his immense wealth, he could be alive right now, living the good life somewhere on the French Riviera with a mansion and a private beach. Instead, he threw himself into the treacherous world of Lebanese politics, Lebanese politics played out under a menacing Syrian shadow, and like so many before him, he paid the ultimate price. Among Mr. Hariri's most impressive attributes was his capacity for growth. Over time, he evolved from a Lebanese leader who was close to the Syrians, into one who was wary of them, and finally, in his last days, into one who outright opposed them. Of course it is a near certainty that it was that evolution, particularly the final stage, that led to his demise. A long time ago in a private talk with the President of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, he taught me a lesson. He said, ``Every country has its exports and Syria exports trouble.'' No wiser words were ever said in connection with this latest tragedy. Mr. Speaker, as I stand here, I do not know for certain who murdered Rafik Hariri. I only know that this thuggish action bears all the hallmarks of infamous Syrian-inspired assassinations in Lebanon's past, going back to the then-shocking killing of Druze leader Kamal Jumblatt in 1977. I also know that Syria makes little effort to hide the fact that these assassinations are intended to intimidate other potential opponents. Bashar al-Assad was supposed to represent a new, more humane Syria, but that unfortunately has not been the case at all, and certainly not in Lebanon. Just this past fall, a pro-Hariri cabinet minister who resigned his post over Syrian manipulation of Lebanese politics was the victim of a shooting widely believed to be inspired by Syria. Mr. Speaker, Lebanese politics is highly complex, but I do know that when Rafik Hariri turned decisively against Syria, he cast his lot with the opposition in recent months. Damascus had plenty of reasons to be concerned. With international respect and domestic popularity, and with Lebanese parliamentary elections on the horizon for this spring, Hariri was just the sort of opponent who could make life very uncomfortable for the Syrian occupying overlords. So is Syria guilty of the murder of Rafik Hariri? None of us is certain at this moment, Mr. Speaker, but I share the sentiments of the late Mr. Hariri's son, Saad Eddeen, who when asked why his father was killed replied simply, ``It's obvious, isn't it?'' I believe it is obvious, Mr. Speaker. We do not yet know for certain who is responsible for the brutal assassination of former Prime Minister Hariri, but that brutal act is all too reminiscent of similar murders of Lebanese political leaders by Syrian henchmen over the past three decades, and we cannot ignore the similarities. Our Department of State, Mr. Speaker, took exactly the right step yesterday in recalling our Ambassador from Damascus. And I find myself in the rare position of agreeing with the French, who said that there should be an international investigation of this crime, because I am certain that we cannot trust the Syrian-dominated Lebanese Government to conduct a thorough and impartial inquiry. Whether through international investigation or through other means, Mr. Speaker, the culprits of this heinous crime and their sponsors and their masters must be found and brought to justice and the Lebanese people must now act decisively to truly take their future into their own hands. Mr. Speaker, Syria has an international legal obligation to remove its troops and its security forces from Lebanon. When I met with the Syrian President some time ago, I reminded him of this obligation. So did former Secretary of State Colin Powell. Removing the boot of Syria from the neck of Lebanon would unleash the talents and resources of this beautiful and potentially rich country which has suffered unspeakably under the Syrian yoke. Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this resolution and I call on all my colleagues to support it as well. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall), the principal author of this resolution we are considering.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel), the distinguished senior member of the Committee on International Relations.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to join me in voting for this resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I invite my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to an extraordinary and remarkable artist, Ms. Gabriella F. Koszorus-Varsa. Ms. Koszorus-Varsa's work has been displayed internationally, from Santa Cruz, California, to Munich, Germany, including being featured prominently in the U.S. Capitol and the Hungarian Embassy in Washington, D.C. and in the Carnegie Hall in New York City. She has been heralded as a master of portraits, and figure compositions as well as sculptures. Ms. Koszorus-Varsa's depiction of the charge of the cavalry during the battle of Charleston in ``Fidelissimus ad Mortem'' is a magnificent painting. Highlighting the contribution of Colonel Michael Kovats de Fabricy in the Revolutionary War, this painting was displayed in my office in the Capitol for many years. Using the closing line of the letter Colonel Kovats wrote to Benjamin Franklin when he offered his expertise in fighting for our independence, ``Fidelissimus ad Mortem'' (most faithful unto death) symbolizes how far a foreign national would go to help us achieve the ideal of freedom. After meeting with General Washington, he was given the charge of training the American Light Cavalry. Colonel Kovats led the light cavalry; the hussars, which were a legion made up of French, German, Poles and other nationalities. Colonel Kovats died in the battle of Charleston, South Carolina, on May 11, 1779. Mr. Speaker, Ms. Koszorus-Varsa displayed her deft touch in creating this magnificent painting. Wanting to replicate the battlefield charge truthfully, she researched everything down to the most intricate detail--from the color of the uniforms to the kind of horses that would have been ridden and the formation that the hussars would use when attacking. The blue cloaks of the men flanking Colonel Kovats came from a book in the Library of the ``Daughters of the American Revolution'' as they paraded through Philadelphia. Colonel Kovats wears the prominent red uniform which he wore in one of his services as commander of the ``Free Hussars'' in the Army of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia. Ms. Koszorus-Varsa, who memorialized the heroic deeds of Colonel Kovats, grew up in Budapest, Hungary as the daughter of the renowned art professor Elemer Fulop de Felsoeor. Following in her father's footsteps, she earned a Master's Degree from the Academy of Fine Arts in Budapest, Hungary, and began teaching at the American University in Heidelberg, Germany in 1947. Ms. Koszorus-Varsa and her husband, Colonel Ferenc Koszorus who was one of the great heroes of the Hungarian Holocaust, immigrated to the United States in 1951 with their son. Mr. Speaker, she was commissioned to paint some of the most important moments and persons in American history. Dr. Robert Hutchings Goddard and his wife's bas-reliefs, commissioned by the Ramsey Fund at the National Air and Space Museum were made by Ms. Koszorus-Varsa. Her ``Composition in Memoriam of the Late Astronauts: Virgil Grissom, Edward H. White, and Roger B. Chaffee'' is currently being exhibited at the Alabama Space and Rocket Center. The Fleetwood Cover Service commissioned three First Day Cover designs from her: ``O! Say, Can You See'', ``Civil War Centennial'', and ``Champion of Liberty, Lajos Kossuth''. I also recall her wonderful painting of the first king of Hungary, Saint Stephen that was displayed at the Hungarian Embassy in Washington, D.C., which also houses her life-sized bust of Lajos Kossuth. Mr. Speaker, Ms. Gabriella F. Koszorus-Varsa's work is inspiring and has the enduring quality that many artists seek. She has ensured that Colonel Kovats is properly remembered, as well as the astronauts who lost their lives in our quest to go to the moon. I invite my colleagues to view all of her wonderful paintings and sculptures.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, at the risk of being as repetitive as the New England Patriots, I rise to extol one of San Mateo, California's favorite sons, the quarterback of the Patriots, Tom Brady. His continued success in the National Football League is a source of great pride for the city of San Mateo, which is located in my congressional district, and for the entire Bay Area as well. After leading the New England Patriots to a spectacular 14-win regular season, Tom continued his winning ways in a post-season that culminated in the Patriots' third Super Bowl victory in four years. As we have come to expect, Tom Brady guided his team to victory with a near flawless performance. He completed 23 of the 33 passes he threw with zero interceptions, and finished with a higher quarterback rating than either of his previous Most Valuable Player performances. Mr. Speaker, Tom Brady's extraordinary play in the Super Bowl is even more remarkable when one considers the great personal grief he had to overcome when his grandmother passed away just five days before the big game. Instead of allowing his loss to overwhelm him, Tom demonstrated his professionalism by remaining focused and played a great game. I am sure that even though she could no longer attend his games, Margaret Brady, known as Peggy to her friends and family, cheered her grandson on as he performed on one of the world's largest stages and proudly cheered him on as she had done since his school yard days. Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to pay tribute to Tom Brady, who has been thrilling football fans since he was the quarterback at Junipero Serra High School, home of the Padres in San Mateo. By leading the New England Patriots to victory in Super Bowl XXXIX, Tom Brady joins Terry Bradshaw, Troy Aikman and his boyhood idol, Joe Montana, as the only quarterbacks to win at least three NFL titles. On behalf of the city of San Mateo and football fans everywhere, I wish him continued success in his already remarkable career.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the centennial of Rotary International. On February 23, 1905, four Chicago businessmen, Paul Harris, Silvester Schiele, Gustavus Loehr and Hiram Shorey, formed the first Rotary Club, which they hoped would foster fellowship and community service. Three years after the first Rotary Club was established, the second club was founded in San Francisco. Rotary now has a presence in 165 countries around the world. Guided by the principle of ``service above self,'' Rotary has devised a four way test for its members. Rotarians ask of the things they say or do: Is it the truth, is it fair to all concerned, will it build good will and better friendships and will it be beneficial to all concerned. Rotarians perform all actions regardless of political affiliation or ethnicity. Our distinguished colleague the Honorable Thomas P. ``Tip'' O'Neill was widely known for his friendly admonition that all politics is local. This is true for Rotary whose global reach begins at the local level. In 1985, local Rotary Club members pledged to stamp out polio with the PolioPlus campaign. Since then, Rotarians have raised hundreds of millions of dollars to vaccinate people all over the world with the goal of eliminating polio by the end of this year. Rotary International is also playing an active role in responding to the tsunami and earthquake victims in South and Southeast Asia. I am proud to announce that Rotary District 5150, of which my Congressional District is part of, has responded by donating over $50,000 to the relief effort in the month following the disaster. Rotary District 5150 has set a noble goal to raise $250,000 for tsunami relief, and is also attempting to establish a ``Rotary village'' of permanent dwellings in Sri Lanka. The Rotary Club is also the largest privately funded source of international scholarships. Each year, over 1,100 university students receive some $26 million in scholarships for the Rotary Ambassador Scholarship. Since its inception in 1947, over 30,000 extraordinary men and women from over 100 nations have benefited from the Rotary Ambassador Scholarship and have used such a wonderful opportunity to promote global understanding and solidarity. Each year, Rotary District 5150 contributes to this deserving program by sending an exceptional student abroad with an Ambassador Scholarship. It is through these generous grants and other scholarships, that the Rotary empowers a new generation of leaders, furthers peace in the global community and upholds service as the highest of ideals. Mr. Speaker, because Rotary International recognizes the importance of a global worldview, it has recently launched Rotary Centers for International Studies at eight prestigious universities worldwide. These Rotary Centers offer graduate degrees in peace and conflict studies to a group of 70 Rotary World Peace Scholars chosen annually in a worldwide competitive selection process. As well as supporting higher education, Rotary is fighting illiteracy worldwide. Of particular note is Rotary's literacy program in Thailand. Lighthouses for Literacy, has proven so successful that the Thai government has adopted Rotary's method fighting mass illiteracy. Mr. Speaker, Rotary has grown exponentially from the humble beginnings of 4 men working to foster fellowship and community service, to a multinational organization of 1.2 million men and women who belong to more than 29,600 clubs worldwide. At home and abroad, Rotary International members are bringing positive change to their communities; I applaud their many efforts to strengthen our social fabric. I would like to extend special congratulations to the clubs in Rotary District 5150, which encompasses much of the Bay Area. Many of these clubs are located in my Congressional District. I have had the pleasure to meet with many members of District 5150 and count Rotarians as my friends. It is a great honor for me today to recognize their many services of goodwill to their communities and celebrate this important milestone. I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Rotary International on their centennial anniversary.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, on January 24 of this year, the United Nations General Assembly commemorated the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Nazi death camps. January 27, 1945, was the date on which Russian troops liberated Auschwitz, the most notorious of the death camps, and the symbol of the Holocaust, in which over 6 million Jews and hundreds of thousands of other nationalities were brutally murdered during World War II. The United Nations commemoration, which was held three days before the anniversary, began with a moment of silence for the victims. Among the major speakers at the General Assembly special session was the distinguished Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Israel, Silvan Shalom. Israel, like the United Nations, was born from the ashes of the Holocaust. Hundreds of thousands of Jews who fled Europe as the Nazi grip was tightening around Europe and hundreds of thousands more who survived the Nazi terror immigrated to Israel. The State of Israel became their refuge, and they became citizens of a state dedicated to remembering and never to allow a repetition of the Holocaust. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Shalom previously served as Finance Minister and Science Minister in the Israeli government. He has been a member of the Knesset since 1992. Born in Tunisia, his family brought him to Israel when he was only a year old. Minister Shalom's address at the United Nations General Assembly session draws upon three millennia of Israeli history and tradition. From the dry bones of the horror of the Holocaust a living Israel has emerged, an Israel that is absolutely and irrevocably committed that such a tragedy shall not happen ever again. Mr. Speaker, I ask that the outstanding address of the Foreign Minister of Israel be placed in the Congressional Record. I urge my colleagues to give thoughtful attention to his statement. Address of Israel's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Silvan Shalom Mr. Secretary-General, Mr. President, Fellow Foreign Ministers, Survivors of the Holocaust, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen: Sixty years ago, allied soldiers arrived at the gates of the Auschwitz concentration camp. Nothing could prepare them for what they would witness there, and at other camps they liberated--the stench of the bodies, the piles of clothes, of teeth, of children's shoes. But in the accounts of the liberators, more than the smell, more even than the piles of bodies, the story of the horror was told in the faces of the survivors. The account of Harold Herbst, an American liberator in Buchenwald, is typical of many, and I quote: ``As I walked through the barracks I heard a voice, and I turned around, and I saw a living skeleton talk to me. He said, `thank God you've come.' And that was a funny feeling. Did you ever talk to a skeleton that talked back? And that's what I was doing. And later on I saw mounds of these living skeletons that the Germans left behind them.'' Thousands of years ago the prophet Ezekiel had a similar vision. In one of the most famous passages of the Bible, the prophet describes how he came to a valley full of bones. The bones, says Ezekiel, are the House of Israel. And the bones are dry, and their hope is lost. Faced with this scene, he asks the questions: shall these bones live? Shall these bones live? Ezekiel asked the question that every liberator of the camps asked himself: Can any hope or humanity emerge from such horror? Shall these bones live? Here with me today, are those who have given life to dry bones, both survivors and liberators. Men like Dov Shilanksy who fought in the ghetto and later became speaker of Israel's parliament, the Knesset; like Yossi Peled, who after being evacuated from the terrors of the Nazis, eventually became a Major-General in the Israeli Defense Forces, to protect his people form the horrors of another calamity; and like David Grinstein, who survived the labor camps, and now heads an organization for restitution for the forced laborers under Nazi rule; and women like Gila Almagor--today the first lady of Israeli stage and screen--who has translated her experiences as the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, into art that has touched millions. When we see what the survivors have managed to create, and build, and contribute to humanity--families, careers, literature, music, even countries--we can only marvel at their strength and courage. At the same time, when we see what the survivors have given to humankind, we can only begin to appreciate, what might have been given to the world by the millions who did not survive. We mourn their loss, to this day. Every fiber of our people, feels their lack. Every family knows pain, including my own--my wife's grandparents and seven of their eight children, were taken and killed. Mr. President, Israel and the Jewish people owe a debt to the liberators of the death camps, and so does all of humankind. In the face of unspeakable evil, these liberators, from many nations represented here today, showed the human capacity for good. In the face of overwhelming indifference to the suffering of others, they showed compassion. And in the face of cowardice, they shoed bravery and resolve. We recognize, too, the courage and humanity of Righteous Among the Nations, we refused to look away. People such as Raoul Wallenberg, who saved thousands of Jewish lives, and whose niece, Nane is here with us today. These heroes helped our dry bones live again. Mr. President, the dry bones have lived again not only in the lives of the survivors, but also in two entities established on the ashes of the Holocaust: the United Nations and the modern State of Israel. The tragedy of the Holocaust was a major impetus in the reestablishment of the Jewish people's home, in its ancient land. As Israel declared in its Declaration of Independence: The Holocaust, which engulfed millions of Jews in Europe, proved anew the urgency of the reestablishment of the Jewish state. A state which would solve the problem of Jewish homelessness, by opening the gates to all Jews, and lifting the Jewish people to equality in the family of nations. And indeed, since its establishment, Israel has provided a haven Jews facing persecution anywhere in the world. At the same time, it has built a society, based on the values of democracy and freedom for all its citizens, where Jewish; life and culture and literature and religion and learning-- all those things which the Nazis sought to destroy--can flourish and thrive. The fact that so many survivors came and played their part in the building of the State of Israel, was itself a remarkable fulfillment of Ezekiel's prophecy. As the prophet said: ``Thus says the Lord: Behold, O my people, I will take you from the graves. I will put my spirit in you, and you shall live in your own land, in the land of Israel.'' Mr. President, if Israel represents one heroic attempt, to find a positive response to the atrocities of the Second World War, the United Nations represents another. The very first clauses of the UN Charter bear witness to the understanding of the founders, that this new international organization must serve as the world's answer to evil, that it comes, and I quote: ``to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war,'' to ``reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights'' and ``the dignity and worth of the human person.'' By convening here today in this historic special session, we honor the victims, we pay respect to the survivors, and we pay tribute to the liberators. We convene here today for those who remember, for those who have forgotten, and for those who do not know. But we also convene to remember that the Charter of this United Nations, like Israel's Declaration of Independence, is written in the blood of the victims of the Holocaust. Unbelievable as it seems, there are those who would delete form history, six million murders. Could anything be worse than to systematically destroy a people, to take the proud Jewish citizens of Vienna, Frankfurt and Vilna and even Tunisia and Libya, to burn their holy books, to steal their dignity, their hair, their teeth; to turn them into numbers, to soap, to the ashes of Treblinka and Dachau? The answer is yes, there is something worse; to do all this and then deny it. To do all this and then take form the victims--and their children and grandchildren--the legitimacy of their grief. To deny the Holocaust is not only to desecrate the victims and abuse the survivors. It is also to deprive the world of its lessons--lessons which are as crucial toady, as they were 60 years ago. These lessons are crucial today for three urgent reasons. First, because today, once again, the plague of anti- Semitism is raising its head. Who could have imagined, that less than 60 years after Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen, the Jewish people and Israel would be targets of anti-Semitic attacks, even in the countries that witnessed the Nazi atrocities. Yet this is exactly what is happening. The Holocaust teaches us that while Jews may be the first to suffer from anti-Semitism's destructive hate. They have rarely been the last. The lessons of the Holocaust are crucial today for a second reason: because today once again we are witnessing, against Jews and other minorities, that same process of delegitimazation and dehumanization, that paved the way to destruction. Let us not forget. The brutal extermination of a people began, not with guns or tanks, but with words, systematically portraying the Jew--the other--as less than legitimate, less than human. Let us not forget this, when we find current newspapers and schoolbooks borrowing caricatures and themes from the Nazi paper Der Sturmer, to portray Jews and Israelis. And finally these lessons are crucial today, because once again, we are witnessing a violent assault on the fundamental principle of the sanctity of human life. Perhaps the greatest single idea that the Bible has given to humanity, is the simple truth that every man, woman and child, is created in the divine image, and so, is of infinite value. For the Nazis, the value of a man was finite, even pitiful. How much work could he do? How much hair did she have? How many gold teeth? For the Nazis, the destruction of one human being, or of a hundred, a thousand, six million, was of no consequence. It was just a means to an evil end. Today again, we are pitted against the forces of evil, those for whom human life--whether the civilians they target, or their own youth who they use as weapons--are of no value, nothing but a means to their goals. Our sages teach us that he who takes a single life, it is as if he has taken an entire world.'' No human life is less than a world. No ideology, no political agenda, can justify or excuse the deliberate taking of an innocent life. Mr. President, for six million Jews, the State of Israel came too late. For them, and for countless others, the United Nations also came too late. But it is not too late, to renew our commitment, to the purposes for which the United Nations was founded. And it is not too late, to work for an international community that will reflect these values fully; that will be uncompromising in combating intolerance against people of all faiths and ethnicities; that will reject moral equivalence; that will call evil by its name. We will never know whether, if the United Nations had existed then, the Holocaust could have been prevented. But this Special Session today confirms the need for the United Nations, as well as each individual member state, to rededicate to ensuring that it will never happen again. In the context, I wish to commend the Secretary General for his moral voice and leadership in bringing this Special Session to fruition, and my colleague foreign ministers, for their presence here today. As the number of survivors shrinks all the time, we are on the brink of that moment, when the terrible event will change--from memory, to history. Let all of us gathered here pledge, never to forget the victims, never to abandon the survivors, and never to allow such an event to be repeated. As the Foreign Minister of Israel, the sovereign state of the Jewish people, I stand before you, to swear, in the name of the victims, the survivors, and all the Jewish people: Never again.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, on January 24 of this year, the United Nations General Assembly commemorated the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Nazi death camps. January 27, 1945, was the date on which Russian troops liberated Auschwitz, the most notorious of the death camps, and the symbol of the Holocaust, in which over 6 million Jews and hundreds of thousands of other nationalities were brutally murdered during World War II. Most of those individuals who spoke on this solemn and somber occasion were high government officials representing the United Nations or its member countries, but one of the most important and thoughtful speeches was given by Elie Wiesel, who like me is an American citizen by choice. He was welcomed to this incredibly generous nation as the American people reached out to those who were the victims of Nazi brutality, and our country has been enriched many times over by his talents and genius. Probably more than any other individual, my friend Elie Wiesel has given more serious thought and scholarly attention to how in the twentieth century a civilized nation such as Germany could execute in a brutal and mechanically efficient fashion over six million human beings. He has not only probed why, but he has also focused on the question of why and how we must prevent such violence and evil again. Mr. Speaker, Elie Wiesel has contributed a great deal to our nation as a professor and scholar, and as a man of action as the Founding Chair of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council. The U.S. Holocaust Museum just a few blocks from this Capitol Building is an enduring testament to his vision, his understanding, and his commitment. I ask, Mr. Speaker, that the outstanding address of Professor Elie Wiesel be placed in the Congressional Record, and I urge my colleagues to read his thoughtful remarks. Address of Professor Elie Wiesel Mr. President of the General Assembly, Mr. Secretary General my friend, excellencies: The man who stands before you this morning feels deeply privileged. A teacher and a writer, he speaks and writes as a witness to a crime committed in the heart of European Christendom and civilization by a brutal dictatorial regime--a crime of unprecedented cruelty in which all segments of government participated. When speaking about that era of darkness, the witness encounters difficulties. His words become obstacles rather than vehicles; he writes not with words but against words. For there are no words to describe what the victims felt when death was the norm and life a miracle. Still whether you know it or not, his memory is a part of yours. I speak to you as a son of an ancient people, the only people of Antiquity to have survived Antiquity, the Jewish people which, throughout much of its history, has endured exile and oppression yet has never given up hope of redemption. As a young adolescent, he saw what no human being should have to see: the triumph of political fascism and ideological hatred for those who are different. He saw multitudes of human beings humiliated, isolated, tormented tortured and murdered. They were overwhelmingly Jews but there were others. And those who committed these crimes were not vulgar underworld thugs but men with high government, academic, industrial and medical positions in Germany. In recent years, that nation has become a true democracy. But the question remains open: In those dark years, what motivated so many brilliant and committed public servants to invent such horrors? By its scope and magnitude, by its sheer weight of numbers, by the impact of so much humiliation and pain, in spite of being the most documented tragedy in the annals of history, Auschwitz still defies language and understanding. Let me evoke those times: Babies used as target practice by SS men . . . adolescents condemned never to grow old . . . parents watching their children thrown into burning pits . . . immense solitude engulfing an entire people . . . infinite despair haunting our days and our dreams even sixty years later. When did what we so poorly call the Holocaust begin? In 1938, during Kristallnacht? In 1939 perhaps, when a German ship, the St. Louis, with more than a thousand German Jewish refugees aboard, was turned back from America's shores? Or was it when the first massacres occurred at Babi Yar? We still ask: what was Auschwitz? An end or a beginning, an apocalyptic consequence of centuries-old bigotry and hatred, or was it the final convulsion of demonic forces in human nature? A creation parallel to god's--a world with its own antinomian United Nations of people of different nationalities, traditions, cultures, socio-economic spheres, speaking many languages, clinging to a variety of faiths and memories. They were grown ups or young but inside that world there were no children and no grandparents; they had already perished. As have said many time: not all victims were Jewish, but all Jews were victims. For the first time in recorded history to be born became a crime. Their birth became their death sentence. Correction: Jewish children were condemned to die even before they were born. What the enemy sought to attain was to put an end to Jewish history; what he wanted was a new world implacably, irrevocably devoid of Jews. Hence Auschwitz, Ponar, Treblinka, Belzec, Chelmno and Sobibor: dark factories of death erected for the Final Solution. Killers came there to kill and victims to die. That was Auschwitz, an executer's ideal of a kingdom of absolute evil and malediction with its princes and beggars, philosophers and theologians, politicians and artists, a place where to lose a piece of bread meant losing life, and a smile from a friend, another day of promise. At the time, the witness tried to understand; he still does not. How was such calculated evil, such bottomless and pointless cruelty possible? Had Creation gone mad? Had God covered His face? A religious person cannot conceive of Auschwitz either with or without God. But what about man? How could intelligent, educated or simple law abiding citizens fire machine guns at hundreds of children and their parents, and in the evening enjoy a cadence by Schiller, a partita by Bach? Turning point or watershed, that tremendous catastrophe which has traumatized History has forever changed man's perception of responsibility towards other human beings. The sad, terrible fact is that had the Western nations intervened when Hitler occupied Czechoslovakia and Austria; had America accepted more refugees from Europe; had Britain allowed more Jews to return to their ancestral land; had the Allies bombed the railways leading to Birkenau, our tragedy might have been avoided, its scope surely diminished. This shameful indifference we must remember, just as we must remember to thank the few heroic individuals who, like Raoul Wallenberg, risked their lives to save Jews. We shall also always remember the Armies that liberated Europe and the soldiers that liberated the death-camps, the Americans in Buchenwald, the Russians in Auschwitz and the British in Belsen. But for many victims they all came too late. That we must also remember. When the American Third Army liberated Buchenwald, there was no joy in our heart: only pain. We did not sing, we did not celebrate. We had just enough strength to recite the Kiddish. And now, sixty years later, you who represent the entire world community, listen to the words of the witness. Like Jeremiah and Job, we could have cried and cursed the days dominated by injustice and violence. We could have chosen vengeance. We did not. We could have chosen hate. We did not. Hatred is degrading and vengeance demeaning. They are diseases. Their history is dominated by death. The Jewish witness speaks of his people's suffering as a warning. He sounds the alarm so as to prevent these things being done. He knows for the dead it is too late. But it is not too late for today's children, ours and yours. It is for their sake alone that we bear witness. It is for their sake that we are duty-bound to denounce anti-Semitism, racism and religious or ethnic hatred. Those who today preach and practice the cult of death, those who use suicide terrorism, the scourge of this new century, must be tried and condemned for crimes against humanity. Suffering confers no privileges; it is what one does with suffering that matters. Yes, the past is in the present, but the future is still in our hands. Those who survived Auschwitz advocate hope, not despair; generosity, not rancor or bitterness; gratitude, not violence. We must be enraged, we must reject indifference as an option. Indifference always helps the aggressor, never his victims. And what is memory if not a noble and necessary response to and against indifference? But . . . will the world ever learn?

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 30, supporting the goals and ideals of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. HIV/AIDS is having a devastating affect on the African American community. The statistics given by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are staggering. The cold numbers reveal the stunning human cost of the disease. While African Americans make up less than 13 percent of the population in the United States, they represent almost 40 percent of the diagnosed cases of AIDS since the epidemic started. In 2003, African Americans accounted for almost 50 percent of the estimated cases diagnosed. African American women are currently the most at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS. The rate of AIDS cases among black women is 19 times higher than white women and five times the infection rate of Latinas. The infection rate among black men, while lower, is no less troubling. In 2003, 44 percent of the AIDS cases diagnosed among men were African American males. These numbers are painful to listen to and to read. The painful realities of this world do not always make front-page news, but this issue must be addressed. We must join together in a bi-partisan, bi- cameral effort to eradicate this epidemic. I am pleased to join with my esteemed colleague Ms. Lee in this effort and commend her distinguished and dedicated leadership on this issue. Mr. Speaker, thousands of African Americans are suffering from HIV/AIDS. On this day, National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness and Information Day, we must make a concerted effort to ensure that education, awareness and prevention are a priority in the 109th Congress.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, on January 24 of this year, the United Nations General Assembly commemorated the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Nazi death camps. January 27, 1945, was the date on which Russian troops liberated Auschwitz, the most notorious of the death camps, and the symbol of the Holocaust, in which over 6 million Jews and hundreds of thousands of other nationalities were brutally murdered during World War II. The United States was ably represented by Paul Wolfowitz, our Deputy Secretary of Defense who addressed the General Assembly on behalf of the United States and the American people. Mr. Speaker, I ask that the outstanding statement of Secretary Wolfowitz be placed in the Congressional Record. He addressed ``the larger meaning'' of the Special Session noting: ``We are here to reflect on . . . how totalitarian evil claimed millions of precious lives. But just as important, the member nations attending today are affirming their rejection of such evil and making a statement of hope for a more civilized future, a hope that `never again' will the world look the other way in the face of such evil.'' I urge my colleagues to read Secretary Wolfowitz' thoughtful remarks: Thank you, Mr. President, Mr. Secretary General, distinguished delegates, distinguished guests. Thank you, Mr. President for convening this 28th Special Session and thank you to the member states that supported the request for commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camps. Thank you Mr. Secretary General for your eloquent statement today and for your encouragement of this initiative. Thank you, Sir Brian Urquhart for your service in the war and your witness here today. And our special gratitude goes to Elie Wiesel, not only for his inspiring words today, but for all he has taught us with his life. Elie Wiesel has taught us that ``in extreme situations when human lives and dignity are at stake, neutrality is a sin. It helps the killers,'' he says, ``not the victims.'' Elie Wiesel teaches us that we must speak about unspeakable deeds, so that they will be neither forgotten nor repeated. Most of all, he offers personal witness to all humanity that in the face of the most horrific oppression, there is always hope that the goodness of the human spirit will prevail. That is the larger meaning of why we gather here today. We're here to reflect on the magnitude of the occasion how totalitarian evil claimed millions of precious lives. But just as important, the member nations attending today are affirming their rejection of such evil and making a statement of hope for a more civilized future, a hope that ``never again'' will the world look the other way in the face of such evil. For if there is one thing the world has learned, it is that peaceful nations cannot close their eyes or sit idly by in the face of genocide. It took a war, the most terrible war in history, to end the horrors that we remember today. It was a war that Winston Churchill called ``The Unnecessary War'' because he believed that a firm and concerted policy by the peaceful nations of the world could have stopped Hitler early on. But it was a war that became necessary to save the world from what he correctly called ``the abyss of a new dark age, made more sinister . . . by the lights of a perverted science.'' This truth we also know--that war, even a just and noble war, is horrible for everyone it touches. War is not something Americans seek, nor something we will ever grow to like. Throughout our history, we have waged it reluctantly, but we have pursued it as a duty when it was necessary. Our own Civil War was one of the bloodiest the world had known up to its time. And it too was fought to end a great evil. As that war was nearing its bloody close, President Abraham Lincoln spoke to the nation hoping that the war would end soon, but saying that it would continue if necessary ``until every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid by another drawn with the sword.'' Two months after the Battle of Antietam, where the number of American dead was four times the number that fell on the beaches of Normandy, President Lincoln told members of the U.S. Congress that those who ``hold the power, and bear the responsibility'' could not escape the burden of history, ``We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth.'' Americans have fought often to liberate others from slavery and tyranny in order to protect our own freedom. Cemeteries from France to North Africa, with their rows of Christian crosses and Stars of David, attest to that truth. When Americans have taken up arms, it was believing that, in the end, it is never just about us alone, knowing that woven into our liberty is a mantle of responsibility, knowing that the whole world benefits when people are free to realize their dreams and develop their talents. Today, we remember the people who fell victim to tyranny because of their political views, their heritage or their religion, in places where human slaughter was perfected as an efficient and systematic industry of state. We can only imagine how different our lives would be had those millions of lost souls had the chance to live out their dreams. Today, we also pay tribute to all the soldiers of many Allied nations who participated in the liberation of the Nazi death camps, for their courage and sacrifice and for the care they provided to the survivors. We are proud of the role of our own American soldiers, the so-called ``young old men'' of 19 and 20 years of age, who fought through their own horrors at Anzio and Normandy and Bastogne and who thought that a world of evil no longer held surprises for them, but who were astonished to the deepest part of their souls when they confronted the human ruins of Nazi tyranny in the spring of 1945. Just one week before the end of the war in Europe, the U.S. Seventh Army would reach Dachau. Lt. Colonel Walther Fellenz described what he saw as the 42nd Infantry Division neared the main gate of that concentration camp, it was ``a mass of cheering, half-mad men, women and children . . . their liberators had come! The noise was beyond comprehension,'' he said. And ``our hearts wept as we saw the tears of happiness fall from their cheeks.'' Sensing the approach of victory, General Dwight Eisenhower, the Supreme Commander, was unprepared for what greeted him at the camp at Ohrdruf as he walked past thousands of corpses in shallow graves and saw the instruments of torture used by the SS, he was moved to anger and to action. He cabled Army Chief of Staff George Marshall words which are now engraved at the entrance of the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C.: ``The things I saw,'' Eisenhower wrote, ``beggar description . . . the visual evidence and the verbal testimony of starvation, cruelty and bestiality were so overpowering.'' He insisted on looking into one particular room that contained piles of skeletal, naked men, killed through starvation. ``I made the visit deliberately,'' he said, ``in order to be in a position to give first-hand evidence of these things if ever, in the future, there develops a tendency to charge these allegations to `propaganda.' '' Eisenhower wanted others to see this crime against humanity. So, he urged American Congressmen and journalists to go to the camps. He directed that a film record the reality and that it be shown widely to German citizens. And he ordered that as many GIs as possible see the camps. American soldiers became what one writer called ``reluctant archeologists of man's most inhuman possibilities.'' Jack Hallet was one of the soldiers who liberated Dachau found that it was difficult to separate the living from the dead. As he looked closer at a stack of corpses, he noticed that deep within the pile, he could see sets of eyes still blinking. Dan Evers was in the 286th Combat Engineer Battalion at Dachau: ``The gas chamber door was closed,'' he recalled, ``but the ovens were still open. There was a sign in German overhead which said: `Wash your hands after work.' '' Another soldier wrote to his parents, asking them to keep his letter, because ``it is my personal memorandum of something I personally want to remember but would like to forget.'' From Ebensee, Captain Timothy Brennan of the Third Cavalry wrote to his wife and child: ``You cannot imagine that such things exist in a civilized world.'' From Mauthausen in Austria, Sergeant Fred Friendly wrote to his mother: ``I want you to never forget or let our disbelieving friends forget, that your flesh and blood saw this . . . Your son saw this with his own eyes and in doing so aged 10 years.'' Beyond the shock and horror, American and Russian and other Allied soldiers who liberated the camps were also witnesses to hope. Tomorrow, you will have the opportunity to hear an American GI tell one such story. Tomorrow Lt. John Withers, of the all African-American Quartermaster Truck Company 3512, will speak about how he and his soldiers changed the lives of two young boys forever who were rescued from Dachau. Yet, as proud as we are of the role our soldiers played in the liberation of the concentration camps, we know that we all arrived too late for most of the victims. Just last week, a great Polish patriot passed away. During World War II, Jan Nowak, who was not Jewish, risked his life to leave Poland to bring news of the Nazi genocide to the West. I was privileged to meet Jan Nowak in his Warsaw apartment just three months ago. He recalled that after the war when he was able to see the records of his secret meetings with Western officials, there was no mention of what he had told them about Poland's Jews. Nowak put it down to ``wartime inconvenience.'' He was telling truths that people wanted not to know. And, despite our fervent promises never to forget, we know that there have been far too many occasions in the six decades since the liberation of the concentration camps, when the world ignored inconvenient truths so that it would not have to act, or acted too late. We have agreed today to set aside contemporary political issues, in order to reflect on those events of sixty years ago in a spirit of unanimity. But let us do so with a unanimous resolve to give real meaning to those words ``never forget.'' And with a resolve that even when we may find it too difficult to act, we at least have an obligation at least to face the truth. Last Thursday, as he began his second term in office, President George Bush expressed his belief that our nation's interests cannot be separated from the aspirations of others to be free from tyranny and oppression. ``America's vital interests,'' he said, ``and our deepest beliefs are now one. From the day of our Founding, we have proclaimed that every man and woman on this earth has rights, and dignity, and matchless value, because they bear the image of the Maker of Heaven and earth. Across the generations we have proclaimed the imperative of self-government, because no one is fit to be a master, and no one deserves to be a slave. Advancing these ideals is the mission that created our Nation. It is the honorable achievement of our fathers. Now it is the urgent requirement of our nation's security, and the calling of our time.'' Americans remain committed to working with all nations of good will to alleviate the suffering of our time. And we remain hopeful that when generations to come look back on this time they will see that we in it were dedicated to fulfilling the pledge that arose from the ashes of man's inhumanity toward man--Never again. Never again and never forget. We must keep remembering to continue to speak about unspeakable things. So we commend the United Nations for a remembrance of the Holocaust befitting its significance in human history. In doing so, perhaps we can help avoid such inhumanity and the warfare that is so often the result. Thank you very much.

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, on January 24 of this year, the United Nations General Assembly commemorated the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Nazi death camps. January 27, 1945, was the date on which Russian troops liberated Auschwitz, the most notorious of the death camps, and the symbol of the Holocaust, in which over 6 million Jews and hundreds of thousands of other nationalities were brutally murdered during World War II. The United Nations commemoration, which was held three days before the anniversary, began with a moment of silence for the victims. Those speaking included a number of foreign ministers and other distinguished statesmen from many of the member states of the United Nations, as well as survivors of the Holocaust and liberators of the camps from the Allied military forces who defeated the Nazi regime. Mr. Speaker, I welcome the General Assembly's most appropriate commemoration, and I want to acknowledge and commend Secretary General Kofi Annan for the key role that he played in the convening of this meeting, He personally fought to hold this meeting, and I am certain that without his leadership it would not have taken place. The Secretary General has a special family link to the Holocaust that my wife Annette and I share. Kofi Annan's wife Nan is the niece of Raoul Wallenberg, Swedish diplomat and humanitarian who came to Budapest, Hungary, in the summer of 1944 at the request of the United States to save the lives of Jews who were being sent to Auschwitz to be sent to the gas chambers. Wallenberg saved the lives of tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews, and among those are my wife Annette and me. One comment by the Secretary General is particularly significant and meaningful for all of us, Mr. Speaker. Kofi Annan told the General Assembly, ``The United Nations must never forget that it was created as a response to the evil of Nazism, or that the horror of the Holocaust helped to shape its mission.'' Mr. Speaker, I ask that the outstanding address of the Secretary General be placed in the Congressional Record. As the Secretary General said so well, we must keep in mind that the United Nations was founded to fight the atrocities and evils that were brought about by the Nazi German regime. It is incumbent upon us to continue the fight against brutality, abuse of human rights and the violations of dignity and humanity that marked the Holocaust, but that tragically continue to be with us. I urge my colleagues to read and ponder Secretary General Annan's serious and thoughtful remarks. Address of United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan The date for this session was chosen to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. But, as you know, there were many other camps, which fell one by one to the allied forces in the winter and spring of 1945. Only gradually did the world come to know the full dimensions of the evil that those camps contained. The discovery was fresh in the minds of the delegates at San Francisco, when this Organization was founded. The United Nations must never forget that it was created as a response to the evil of Nazism, or that the horror of the Holocaust helped to shape its mission. That response is enshrined in our Charter, and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The camps, Mr. President, were not mere ``concentration camps''. Let us not use the euphemism of those who built them. Their purpose was not to ``concentrate'' a group in one place, so as to keep an eye on them. It was to exterminate an entire people. There were other victims, too. The Roma, or Gypsies, were treated with the same utter disregard for their humanity as the Jews. Nearly a quarter of the one million Roma living in Europe were killed. Poles and other Slavs, Soviet prisoners of war, and mentally or physically handicapped people were likewise massacred in cold blood. Groups as disparate as Jehovah's Witnesses and homosexuals, as well as political opponents and many writers and artists, were treated with appalling brutality. To all these we owe respect, which we can show by making special efforts to protect all communities that are similarly threatened and vulnerable, now and in the future. But the tragedy of the Jewish people was unique. Two thirds of all Europe's Jews, including one and a half million children, were murdered. An entire civilization, which had contributed far beyond its numbers to the cultural and intellectual riches of Europe and the world, was uprooted; destroyed; laid waste. In a moment, you will have the honour of hearing from one of the survivors, my dear friend Elie Wiesel. As Elie has written, ``not all victims were Jews, but all Jews were victims''. It is fitting, therefore, that the first State to speak today will be the State of Israel--which rose, like the United Nations itself, from the ashes of the Holocaust. The Holocaust came as the climax of a long, disgraceful history of anti-Semitic persecution, pogroms, institutionalized discrimination and other degradation. The purveyors of hatred were not always, and may not be in the future, only marginalized extremists. How could such evil happen in a cultured and highly sophisticated nation-State, in the heart of a Europe whose artists and thinkers had given the world so much? Truly it has been said: ``all that is needed for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing''. There were good men--and women--who did do something: Germans like Gertrude Luckner and Oskar Schindler; foreigners like Meip Geis, Chiune Sugihara, Selahattin Ulkumen, and Raoul Wallenberg. But not enough. Not nearly enough. Such an evil must never be allowed to happen again. We must be on the watch out for any revival of anti-Semitism, and ready to act against the new forms of it that are happening today. That obligation binds us not only to the Jewish people, but to all others that have been, or may be, threatened with a similar fate. We must be vigilant against all ideologies based on hatred and exclusion, whenever and wherever they may appear. On occasions such as this, rhetoric comes easily. We rightly say, ``never again''. But action is much harder. Since the Holocaust, the world has, to its shame, failed more than once to prevent or halt genocide--for instance in Cambodia, in Rwanda, and in the former Yugoslavia. Even today we see many horrific examples of inhumanity around the world. To decide which deserves priority, or precisely what action will be effective in protecting victims and giving them a secure future, is not simple. It is easy to say that ``something must be done''. To say exactly what, and when, and how, and to do it, is much more difficult. But what we must not do is deny what is happening, or remain indifferent, as so many did when the Nazi factories of death were doing their ghastly work. Terrible things are happening today in Darfur, Sudan. Tomorrow I expect to receive the report of the international commission of inquiry, which I established at the request of the Security Council. That report will determine whether or not acts of genocide have occurred in Darfur. But also, and no less important, it will identify the gross violations of international humanitarian law and human rights which undoubtedly have occurred. The Security Council, once it has that report in its hands, will have to decide what action to take, with a view to ensuring that the perpetrators are held accountable. It is a very solemn responsibility. Today is a day to honour the victims of the Holocaust--to whom, alas, no reparation can ever be made, at least in this world. It is a day to honour our founders--the allied nations whose troops fought and died to defeat Nazism. Those troops are represented here today by veteran liberators of the camps, including my dear friend and colleague, Sir Brian Urquhart. It is a day to honour the brave people who risked, and sometimes sacrificed, their own lives to save fellow human beings. Their examples redeem our humanity, and must inspire our conduct. It is a day to honour the survivors, who heroically thwarted the designs of their oppressors, bringing to the world and to the Jewish people a message of hope. As time passes, their numbers dwindle. It falls to us, the successor generations, to lift high the torch of remembrance, and to live our own lives by its light. It is, above all, a day to remember not only the victims of past horrors, whom the world abandoned, but also the potential victims of present and future ones. A day to look them in the eye, and say: ``you, at least, we must not fail''.