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• Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I invite my colleagues to join me in strong support of H.R. 3662, the Holocaust Assets Commission Act of 1998, which was introduced in the House by our distinguished colleague and my dear friend, the Chairman of the Banking Committee, Congressman Jim Leach of Iowa. The identical legislation, S. 1900, has been introduced in the other body by Senator Alfonse D'Amato of New York.

• This legislation will establish a U.S. Holocaust Assets Historical Commission to examine and locate Holocaust-era assets which came under the control of our Federal government during the tyrannical reign of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich or during the period of U.S. military occupation immediately after World War II.

• For several years, due the principled leadership of the Clinton Administration and its able Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat, our government has worked tirelessly to seek answers to questions about Nazi investments and holdings in wartime neutral nations. Now, as Ambassador Eizenstat has eloquently stated, `the time has come to look more closely at assets here at home--and to do so with sensitivity and urgency.' The U.S. Holocaust Assets Commission will follow through on this important mission. Due to the dwindling population of Hitler's victims, this task becomes more and more pressing with each passing day.

• Under the legislation which has been introduced, the Commission will be composed of 23 Members of Congress, government officials, and private citizens. They will have the broad mandate and the responsibility to research all available information to determine assets which may have come under the control of the Federal government after January 30, 1933--the day Hitler seized power in Germany. It will work with state and local officials to locate dormant bank accounts from this era that may, after years of inactivity, have been taken into the possession of state governments.

• The Commission will also be authorized by this legislation to coordinate its efforts with other fact-finding endeavors currently being pursued through private and public sector channels, and to carefully review studies which may overlap with its mandate. Finally, the Commission will detail its findings in a final report to President Clinton to be issued no later than December 31, 1999. It is my sincere hope that, in cooperation with the efforts of other nations which are reviewing similar wartime issues, we can finally close this most sorry chapter of the last century before the birth of the new millennium.

• Mr. Speaker, this legislation builds on the dedicated efforts of Ambassador Eizenstat to seek justice for Holocaust survivors. A man of outstanding intellectual ability, unimpeachable integrity and boundless compassion, Ambassador Eizenstat is one of the finest public servants that I have met during my service as a Member of Congress. He was one of the first to champion this cause during his tenure as United States Ambassador to NATO, and he has since worked ably and devotedly to reinforce our nation's role as a moral leader on this critical matter.

• Last May, Ambassador Eizenstat authored a ground-breaking report issued by the Clinton Administration which analyzed and made recommendations regarding U.S. policy towards the wartime neutral countries, and in particular Switzerland. A second report, due to be released later this month, will no doubt shed an even brighter light on those bodies that did Hitler's bidding and fed his war machine and his murderous genocidal policies.

• In addition to these significant efforts, Ambassador Eizenstat recently joined Chairman Miles Lerman of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council to announce that a Washington Conference on Holocaust-era assets will take place at the State Department on November 9-12 of this year. This Conference will further earlier explorations of Nazi-looted assets, including artwork and insurance, and it will work to establish a broad international consensus for future actions. I am truly honored to have the privilege of working with Ambassador Eizenstat on this and other subjects of concern to the American people.

• Ambassador Eizenstat, Congressman Leach, and Senator D'Amato are joined by many of our distinguished colleagues in supporting H.R. 3662 and S. 1900. Original co-sponsors in the House include Congressman Benjamin A. Gilman of New York, Chairman of the House International Relations Committee, as well as Congressman Sam Gejdenson of Connecticut, Congressman Brad Sherman of California, and Congressman Jon D. Fox of Pennsylvania. In the Senate, cosponsors are Senator Barbara Boxer of California, Senator Carol Moseley-Braun of Illinois, Senator Robert F. Bennett of Utah, Senator Wayne Allard of Colorado, Senator Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut, Senator Richard H. Bryan of Nevada, Senator Mike DeWine of Ohio, Senator Lauch Faircloth of North Carolina, Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, Senator Richard C. Shelby of Alabama, and Senator Paul S. Sarbanes of Maryland.

• Mr. Speaker, the Holocaust Assets Commission Act of 1998 is not a partisan issue--members on both sides of the aisle have united to support this legislation. It is not a national issue--over a dozen countries from around the world have formed similar fact-finding bodies to uncover the truth about Nazi-looted assets in their own countries.

• This is a moral issue. This is the final opportunity for justice for many Holocaust survivors who were powerless to defend Hitler's attempts to destroy their families, their culture, and their lives. They are getting older and their population is declining rapidly--the `biological solution' leaves us little time to secure for them a measure of (albeit imperfect) justice during their lifetimes. It is time for America to lead by example. I ask my colleagues to join me in strong support of H.R. 3662 to seek the truth about Holocaust assets in the United States.

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