House Passes Resolution To Remember Holocaust Victims In Capitol Rotunda

WASHINGTON – Committee on House Administration Chairman Vernon J. Ehlers, R-Mich., proudly joined with his colleagues today in passing by unanimous voice vote, House Concurrent Resolution 350, which permits the use of the U.S. Capitol as part of a commemoration of the days of remembrance for victims of the Holocaust.

The ceremony, which will take place on April 27, 2006, has occurred in the Capitol Rotunda since 1979. Chairman Ehlers was an original co-sponsor of this year’s resolution along with his colleagues Reps. Eric Cantor, R-Va., Tom Lantos, D-Calif., and Juanita Millender-McDonald, D-Calif.

“The enormity of the crimes of the Holocaust, and the need to ensure they are never forgotten, make the Rotunda a fitting place for this ceremony,” Chairman Ehlers said on the House floor. “Evil persists in the world, Mr. Speaker, but our prosecution of the perpetrators of the Holocaust taught us that evil can be defeated and justice can be done, but only if we have the courage to stand up to the perpetrators. That is a vital lesson, one we must never forget – this ceremony will help us remember it.”

The theme for this year’s commemoration is “Legacies of Justice,” in honor of the courage of, and precedents set by, those who testified during the trials of Nazi war criminals.