May 11, 1999 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD Ð Extensions of Remarks E911 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS INTRODUCTION OF THE BIOMASS ADDRESS OF THE HONORABLE its people have the courage to acknowledge ENERGY EQUITY ACT OF 1999 MILES LERMAN AT THE NA- its mistakes of the past and draw lessons for TIONAL CIVIC COMMEMORATION the future. This virtue is reflected in today's OF THE DAYS OF REMEMBRANCE program. HON. WALLY HERGER The theme of today's commemoration is to OF CALIFORNIA remember the St. Louis, a ship with more HON. TOM LANTOS than 900 Jewish refugees who were promised IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF CALIFORNIA safe harbor in Cuba but as the ship ap- Tuesday, May 11, 1999 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES proached Havana, their entry visas were re- jected. The desperate pleas of the passengers Mr. HERGER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to Tuesday, May 11, 1999 not to be sent back to Germany and to be join with my colleague, Mr. MATSUI, and our Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, granted temporary entry to the United cosponsorsÐMr. MCCRERY, Mr. CAMP, Mr. April 13, Members of Congress joined with States fell on deaf ears. FOLEY, Mr. WELLER, Mr. NEAL, and Mr. THOM- representatives of the diplomatic corps, execu- When all pleas were exhausted, the St. Louis with its passengers had to return to ASÐto announce the introduction of H.R. tive and judicial branch officials, and Holo- caust survivors and their families to com- Europe where many of them eventually per- 1731, The Biomass Energy Equity Act of ished in the Holocaust. 1999, legislation that will help sustain the eco- memorate the National Days of Remembrance Very few countries in the World would lend nomic and environmental benefits provided to in the Rotunda of the United States Capitol. their national rotunda to recall a moment in the public by the biomass power industry in The ceremony coincided with the 60th anni- their nation's history, which should have the United States. This bill is a new and im- versary of the voyage of the SS St. Louis, been different than it was. proved version of H.R. 4407 that we intro- which set sail from Germany in April 1939, This is what makes America the great duced in the 105th Congress. Also, I am carrying more than 900 Jews away from Nazi country that it is because it understands pleased to announce that a companion bill, S. terror. Denied entry to both Cuba and the that nations must have the strength to come to terms with their own history. 984, has been introduced in the Senate by United States, the St. Louis was forced to send its frightened passengers back to Europe America clearly understands that if it is to Senators COLLINS and BOXER. be the world leader among nations, it must The biomass power industry is a unique just months before the onset of World War II. lead the way in acknowledging its own short- source of renewable electricity. It generates Many of them were eventually murdered in comings. It must be the first among nations electricity by combusting wood waste and Auschwitz, Treblinka, and the other death to acknowledge the fact that standing by other nonhazardous, organic materials under camps of Hitler's Holocaust. idly while genocidal crimes are being com- environmentally controlled conditions as an al- While we cannot rectify the wrongs of gen- mitted, is tantamount to being a partner to these crimes. ternative to disposal or open-incineration of erations ago, we can apply the lesson of the St. Louis to the crises of today. In the Europe When we look back to the early years of these materials. In effect, the biomass power of 1999, innocent civilians are once again Hitler's rise to power, it becomes clear that industry makes constructive use of waste ma- being deported, abused, raped and murdered. had the leaders of the Western nations of terials that would otherwise become a public those days been more decisive in their ac- While the scale of Serbian atrocities in Kosovo liability. tions, the outcome of history could have does not approach the enormity of the Holo- been quite different. Mr. Speaker, the organic materials used as caust, the precedent that would be set by ig- fuel by this industry are gathered from the ag- These are facts that the world can never noring this ethnic cleansing cannot be toler- forget. ricultural and forest-related sectors of our ated. Remembering the tragic lessons of the past economy and from our urban waste streams. Miles Lerman, the Chairman of the United can only have meaning if we apply these les- In addition to the jobs that are generated by States Holocaust Memorial Council since sons to today and to the future. this activity, a range of quantifiable benefits 1993, eloquently expressed the moral cost of It is encouraging to know that our nation arise: the risk and severity of forest fires is di- inaction at the Days of Remembrance cere- remembers the wrongs of yesteryear and is leading the way in finding solutions to injus- minished, air pollution from open burning of mony. ``As we remember the victims of the St. agricultural residues is avoided, and landfill tices that have been lingering on for over 50 Louis and all of the eventual victims of the years. space is preserved. In the absence of this $7 Holocaust, we have a better understanding Last December, the State Department billion per year industry, the nation would face why we are in Kosovo and why the free world jointly with the United States Holocaust Me- a series of negative consequences above and cannot afford to stand with their hands folded morial Council, co-chaired an International beyond the loss of the renewable electricity while murder and mass atrocities run rampant. Conference on Holocaust-era assets. itself. This is a lesson that the world has learned in Forty-four nations participated in this Congress recognized the importance of the the past and cannot afford to forget.'' Conference, which produced very encour- biomass power industry when it enacted a bio- In addition to his responsibilities with the aging results. These results can be attrib- mass energy production tax credit in 1992. uted to the fact that the U.S. Government Holocaust Memorial Council, Miles Lerman has set the tone by creating a Presidential Unfortunately, the production tax credit pro- serves as a member of the Advisory Board of Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets in vided by this code sectionÐdue to expire this the President's Commission on the Holocaust. the United States. This Commission was yearÐhas never been accessible to the bio- Prior to his appointment to lead the Council, charged by the President to explore whether mass power industry due to excessively nar- Mr. Lerman directed its International Relations all U.S. agencies have acted judiciously re- row drafting. Our legislation corrects this de- Committee and served as National Chairman garding the restitution of all Nazi-era assets fect in order to recognize and retain the public of the Campaign to Remember. During the to the rightful owners. benefits, including the national security and This Presidential Commission is hard at Holocaust, he fought as a partisan in the for- work to ensure that just and legal proce- system reliability benefits, of this important in- ests of southern Poland. He and his wife, dures will be applied to all cases at hand and dustry. Chris, a survivor of Auschwitz, rebuilt their will not rest until a proper resolution is Mr. Speaker, when I introduced this bill last lives in the United States. They have two chil- found. year I truly believed that this is a ``good gov- dren. However, it is essential that we bear in ernment'' issue whose clear merits and envi- Mr. Speaker, I submit the full text of Mr. mind that no matter how important it is to ronmental benefits transcend partisan and re- Lerman's address to the Days of Remem- deal with the material issues and find a way gional politics. Today, as I reintroduce the Bio- brance ceremony to be placed in the CON- to compensate the rightful owners for what is justly theirs, the last word on the Holo- mass Energy Equity Act, I remain convinced GRESSIONAL RECORD. caust cannot be bank accounts or insurance of the merits of the proposal, and I would urge REMARKS BY MILES LERMAN, DAYS OF policies. all of my colleaguesÐon both sides of the REMEMBRANCE The last word on the Holocaust must be re- aisleÐto cosponsor this important and much- The greatness of the United States of membrance and an ongoing process of Holo- needed legislation. America rests on the fact that America and caust education. · This ``bullet'' symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor. E912 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD Ð Extensions of Remarks May 11, 1999 We must create a global educational initia- chiatric hospital; and the soon-to-open The Association and the Executive Director posi- tiveÐa process that will serve as a lesson Longview, the first non-profit assisted living tion for the Licensed Beverage Information and a warning to future generations to the residence in Bergen County. In addition, the Council. Murchie tirelessly promotes the Vir- dangers of racism, xenophobia and indiffer- ginia wine industry around the world. He is ence. center's Heritage Manor nursing home has re- The Holocaust Memorial Museum and its ceived a perfect score from the state Depart- only the second East Coast wine industry indi- Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies ment of Health and Senior Services, while the vidual to ever receive the coveted ranking of stands ready to lend its expertise in this Ramapo Ridge Psychiatric Hospital has seen Supreme Knight by the Brotherhood of the field and we hope to be one of the leading its accreditation rise to the level of ``accredita- Knights of the Vine.