Congressional Record—Senate S3143
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March 14, 2007 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S3143 (B) ensure that the Animal and Plant Whereas more than 75 percent of those S. RES. 106 Health Inspection Service has a national deaths occurred in off-campus occupancies; Whereas the Armenian Genocide was con- electronic system with real-time tracking Whereas a majority of the students in the ceived and carried out by the Ottoman Em- capability for monitoring, tracking, and re- United States live in off-campus occupan- pire from 1915 to 1923, resulting in the depor- porting inspection activities of the Service. cies; tation of nearly 2,000,000 Armenians, of (2) FEDERAL AND STATE COOPERATION.— Whereas a number of fatal fires have oc- whom 1,500,000 men, women, and children (A) COMMUNICATION SYSTEM.—The Sec- curred in buildings in which the fire safety were killed, 500,000 survivors were expelled retary shall develop and maintain an inte- systems have been compromised or disabled from their homes, and which succeeded in grated, real-time communication system by the occupants; the elimination of more than 2,500-year pres- with respect to import and entry agricul- Whereas automatic fire alarm systems pro- ence of Armenians in their historic home- tural inspections to alert State departments vide the early warning of a fire that is nec- land; of agriculture of significant inspection find- essary for occupants and the fire department Whereas, on May 24, 1915, the Allied Powers ings of the Animal and Plant Health Inspec- to take appropriate action; issued the joint statement of England, tion Service. Whereas automatic fire sprinkler systems France, and Russia that explicitly charged, (B) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— are a highly effective method for controlling for the first time ever, another government (i) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall or extinguishing a fire in its early stages and establish a committee, to be known as the protecting the lives of the building’s occu- of committing ‘‘a crime against humanity’’; ‘‘International Trade Inspection Advisory pants; Whereas that joint statement stated ‘‘the Committee’’ (referred to in this subpara- Whereas many students are living in off- Allied Governments announce publicly to graph as the ‘‘committee’’), to advise the campus occupancies, sorority and fraternity the Sublime Porte that they will hold per- Secretary on policies and other issues relat- housing, and residence halls that are not sonally responsible for these crimes all mem- ing to import and entry agricultural inspec- adequately protected with automatic fire bers of the Ottoman Government, as well as tion. alarm systems and automatic fire sprinkler those of their agents who are implicated in (ii) MODEL.—In establishing the com- systems; such massacres’’; mittee, the Secretary shall use as a model Whereas fire safety education is an effec- Whereas the post-World War I Turkish the Agricultural Trade Advisory Committee. tive method of reducing the occurrence of Government indicted the top leaders in- (iii) MEMBERSHIP.—The committee shall be fires and the resulting loss of life and prop- volved in the ‘‘organization and execution’’ composed of members representing— erty damage; of the Armenian Genocide and in the ‘‘mas- (I) State departments of agriculture; Whereas students are not routinely receiv- sacre and destruction of the Armenians’’; (II) directors of ports and airports in the ing effective fire safety education through- Whereas in a series of courts-martial, offi- United States; out their entire college careers; cials of the Young Turk Regime were tried (III) the transportation industry; Whereas it is vital to educate future gen- and convicted on charges of organizing and (IV) the public; and erations in the United States about the im- executing massacres against the Armenian (V) such other entities as the Secretary de- portance of fire safety to help ensure the people; termines to be appropriate. safety of young people during their college Whereas the officials who were the chief (3) REPORT.—Not less frequently than once years and beyond; and organizers of the Armenian Genocide, Min- each year, the Secretary shall submit to Whereas by educating a generation of ister of War Enver, Minister of the Interior Congress a report containing an assessment adults about fire safety, future loss of life Talaat, and Minister of the Navy Jemal, of— from fires may be significantly reduced: were tried by military tribunals, found (A) the resource needs for import and entry Now, therefore, be it guilty, and condemned to death for their agricultural inspection, including the num- Resolved, That the Senate— crimes, but the punishments imposed by the ber of inspectors required; (1) designates September 2007 as ‘‘Campus tribunals were not enforced; (B) the adequacy of— Fire Safety Month’’; and Whereas the Armenian Genocide and the (i) inspection and monitoring procedures (2) encourages administrators of institu- failure to carry out the death sentence and facilities in the United States; and tions of higher education and municipali- against Enver, Talaat, and Jemal are docu- (ii) the strategic plan developed under sub- ties— mented with overwhelming evidence in the section (e)(5)(B)(i); and (A) to provide educational programs about national archives of Austria, France, Ger- (C) new and potential technologies and fire safety to all students during ‘‘Campus many, Russia, the United Kingdom, the practices, including recommendations re- Fire Safety Month’’ and throughout the United States, the Vatican, and many other garding the technologies and practices, to school year; countries, and this vast body of evidence at- improve import and entry agricultural in- (B) to evaluate the level of fire safety tests to the same facts, the same events, and spection. being provided in both on- and off-campus the same consequences; (4) FUNDING.—The Secretary shall pay the student housing; and Whereas the National Archives and costs of each import and entry agricultural (C) to take the necessary steps to ensure Records Administration of the United States inspector employed by the Animal and Plant fire-safe living environments through fire Health Inspection Service— holds extensive and thorough documentation safety education, installation of fire suppres- on the Armenian Genocide, especially in its (A) from amounts made available to the sion and detection systems, and the develop- Department of Agriculture for the applicable holdings for the Department of State under ment and enforcement of applicable codes re- Record Group 59, files 867.00 and 867.40, which fiscal year; or lating to fire safety. (B) if amounts described in subparagraph are open and widely available to the public (A) are unavailable, from amounts of the f and interested institutions; Commodity Credit Corporation. SENATE RESOLUTION 106—CALL- Whereas the Honorable Henry Morgenthau, (g) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments ING ON THE PRESIDENT TO EN- United States Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from 1913 to 1916, organized and led made by this section take effect on the date SURE THAT THE FOREIGN POL- that is 180 days after the date of enactment protests by officials of many countries, of this Act. ICY OF THE UNITED STATES RE- among them the allies of the Ottoman Em- FLECTS APPROPRIATE UNDER- f pire, against the Armenian Genocide; STANDING AND SENSITIVITY Whereas Ambassador Morgenthau explic- SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS CONCERNING ISSUES RELATED itly described to the Department of State TO HUMAN RIGHTS, ETHNIC the policy of the Government of the Ottoman CLEANSING, AND GENOCIDE DOC- Empire as ‘‘a campaign of race extermi- SENATE RESOLUTION 105—DESIG- UMENTED IN THE UNITED nation’’, and was instructed on July 16, 1915, NATING SEPTEMBER 2007 AS STATES RECORD RELATING TO by Secretary of State Robert Lansing that ‘‘CAMPUS FIRE SAFETY MONTH’’ the ‘‘Department approves your procedure THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE Mr. BIDEN (for himself, Ms. COLLINS, . to stop Armenian persecution’’; Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. EN- Whereas Senate Concurrent Resolution 12, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. LAUTENBERG, and SIGN, Mr. SCHUMER, Ms. SNOWE, Ms. 64th Congress, agreed to July 18, 1916, re- Mr. MENENDEZ) submitted the fol- STABENOW, Mr. COLEMAN, Mrs. BOXER, solved that ‘‘the President of the United lowing resolution; which was referred States be respectfully asked to designate a to the Committee on the Judiciary: Mr. SUNUNU, Mr. FEINGOLD, Mr. DODD, Mr. KERRY, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. day on which the citizens of this country S. RES. 105 may give expression to their sympathy by LIEBERMAN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Ms. MIKUL- Whereas tragic fires in student housing in contributing funds now being raised for the SKI, Mr. REED, Mr. ALLARD, Mrs. DOLE, Nebraska, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Pennsyl- relief of the Armenians,’’ who, at that time, vania have cut short the lives of college stu- Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. BROWN, Ms. were enduring ‘‘starvation, disease, and un- dents in the United States; KLOBUCHAR, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, and Mr. told suffering’’; Whereas, since January 2000, at least 99 MENENDEZ) submitted the following Whereas President Woodrow Wilson agreed people, including students, parents, and chil- resolution; which was referred to the with such Concurrent Resolution and en- dren, have died in campus-related fires; Committee on Foreign Relations: couraged the formation of the organization VerDate Aug 31 2005 00:33 Mar 15, 2007 Jkt 059060 PO 00000 Frm 00067 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A14MR6.040 S14MRPT1 bajohnson on PROD1PC60 with SENATE S3144 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 14, 2007 known as Near East Relief, which