Never Again Education Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. SUOZZI. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 943, the bipartisan Never Again Education Act, of which I am a cosponsor.

Never again is, sadly, not assured. Today, as we mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and honor the memory of 6 million Jews murdered in the Holocaust, it is more important than ever that we come together to fight anti-Semitism.

Anti-Semitism is real, and it is growing. I have seen it in my own community. Overall crime is down dramatically, but hate crimes are rising. Anti-Semitic graffiti was found sprayed not once but twice at the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center in my hometown of Glen Cove in Nassau County.

Why is it happening? Divisive rhetoric is one cause. Nefarious use of social media by the haters and by our foreign adversaries who wish to foment civil unrest is another. But most important is ignorance.

The ignorance regarding the Holocaust is shocking, with over 50 percent of Americans ignorant of the fact that over 6 million Jews were killed during the Holocaust.

We must recognize that education is the best tool to fight ignorance. That is why the Never Again Education Act is so very important.

I recently traveled to Belgium to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge. In preparation, I read the book ``Band of Brothers.'' In the book, it described how soon after the Battle of the Bulge, literally miles away from the concentration camps they were about to liberate in just a few weeks, the soldiers were debating whether the Holocaust was real. Or, ``Was it just propaganda?''

Think of it: literally miles away from the camps just weeks before liberation, after millions of people had already been killed, and they were questioning whether or not it was real. Imagine how more dangerous the ignorance is 75 years later, how much scarier that ignorance is 75 years later.

If we do not use the lessons of history to make enlightened moral choices, we risk turning a blind eye to the same hatred and anti- Semitism that formed the permissive foundation for genocide in the first place. Let's teach our children about the dreadful consequences of hate and intolerance. We can help ensure that ``never again'' is assured for future generations.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this important, bipartisan legislation.

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