Press Release
For Immediate Release
Contact: Stu Loeser mailto:sloeser@pcha.gov
(202) 371-6400, ext. 456
December 10, 1999
President Signs Bill to Extend Holocaust Commission
FINAL REPORT DUE BY DECEMBER 2000
71 PERCENT MORE FUNDS AUTHORIZED
$2.7 MILLION PROVIDED
Washington, DC - As the Independent Association of
Eminent Persons released its “Bergier Commission” report on Swiss handling of
Holocaust refugees, and just days after the Independent Committee of Eminent Persons
released its “Volcker Commission” report on Swiss banks’ handling of
Holocaust-era accounts, President Clinton signed into law last night legislation to extend
and authorize more federal funds for the Presidential Advisory Commission on Holocaust
Assets in the United States.
HR 2401, U.S. Holocaust Assets Commission Extension
Act of 1999, moves the date by which the Commission’s final report is due by 12
months to December 2000 and authorizes an additional $2.5 million for the
Commission’s work, an increase of 71 percent over the original $3.5 million. This
House of Representatives approved this bill unanimously on October 4, and the Senate
approved it unanimously on November 19.
"The Commission's research demonstrates
irrefutably that we in the United States are willing to hold ourselves to the same high
standard of truth about Holocaust assets to which we have held other nations,”
declared President Clinton upon signing the bill. “The extension of the Presidential
Advisory Commission sends a strong message, both at home and abroad, that we are committed
to examining difficult aspects of our history and determining how to build a better world
for our children in the next millennium."
"The Presidential Commission's highest priority is pursuing the truth about
American actions before, during, and after the Holocaust" said Commission Chair Edgar
M. Bronfman. "This action by the President and Congress provides us with the time and
helps make available resources we need to complete our mission."
The President and Mr. Bronfman were referring in part to the Commission’s October
14 progress report on troubling findings related to US handling of Nazi-looted art on the
"Hungarian Gold Train."
The Presidential Commission was created last year to examine -- and advise the
President on -- the fate of Holocaust victims’ assets that came into the control of
the Federal government.
For additional information about this report or the Commission, please visit
www.pcha.gov . |
