S6234 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 8, 1995

‘‘The Cuban Liberty and Democratic

Solidarity Act’’ in order to give Castro

what the supporters of that legislation

refer to as the ‘‘final push.’’

With all due respect to President

Clinton and to many here in Congress,

our policy toward Cuba today is still

captive of the cold war mentality that

created it in the first place. Simply

put, the world has changed, and we

continue to pretend otherwise.

Mr. President, this is 1995. Our 34-

year-old policy of trying to remove or

alter the behavior of Fidel Castro by

isolating him diplomatically, politically, and economically has failed. History has passed that policy by. And the

cold war, which provided much of the

rationale for our policy, is now over.

We have normalized relations with

China—Communist China, I point out.

We have normalized relations with the

countries of Eastern Europe and Russia, and with all the former States of

the Soviet Union.

This morning, President Clinton goes

to Moscow to meet with Boris Yeltsin,

not to find ways to isolate Moscow or

to impose sanctions on Moscow for

their human rights abuses in Chechnya

or elsewhere; our President travels to

Moscow to strengthen our relations

with that important country.

Mr. President, U.S. policy toward

Cuba needs to adjust to this new reality, just as our policy toward those

other nations has adjusted. For over

three decades, we have tried to exclude

Cuba from acceptance by other nations. But our policy of trying to isolate Cuba diplomatically has made the

United States the odd man out in the

world community rather than Cuba. Of

the 35-member nations of the Organization of American States, all but 5 recognize the Cuban Government and have

normal diplomatic relations with it.

The Senator from North Carolina,

who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, argues that the way

out of this absurd situation is to turn

up the pressure on Castro. As he says,

‘‘It is time to give Castro the final

push.’’

Mr. President, the sanctions and the

embargoes and the pressure that we

put on Castro in the past 34 years have

not undermined the support of the

Cuban people for his Government as we

have wished. In fact, a strong case can

be made that the constant menacing by

Uncle Sam has been used very effectively by Castro to divert the attention

of the Cuban people from the shortcomings of his own Government and

his own policies.

Mr. President, this administration

has been slow to face the need to

change in our policy toward Cuba. But

last week, we hopefully saw the beginning of a more rational policy toward

that nation. Last week, the administration announced that in the future,

illegal immigrants from Cuba will be

treated as other illegal immigrants

into this country, and I for one hope

that more steps will follow.

For example, as I stated here in the

Senate several weeks ago, I believe the

President should act to end the travel

ban on Americans who wish to travel

to Cuba. The President should also restore the right of Cuban-Americans to

make small remittances to their families and to their relatives in Cuba. In

my view, the time has also come when

we should begin to normalize trade relations with that country.

Mr. President, I realize that it is politically difficult to change a long-established policy. It is especially difficult given the political posturing that

is preceding our upcoming Presidential

election. But the time has come to acknowledge that our current policy toward Cuba has failed miserably. NEWT

GINGRICH referred yesterday to Cuba as

‘‘a relic of an age that is gone.’’ I agree

that Castro’s Government is an anachronism. But it is no more so than our

own misguided policy for dealing with

that country.

Most agree that President Nixon’s

greatest achievement was his decision

to change United States foreign policy

and move toward normal relations with

Communist China. That was many

years ago, when the cold war was still

very much with us. Now the cold war is

over, and a new and a reasonable policy

for our relations with Cuba is long

overdue.

I for one believe that the responsible

course for us to proceed with is to establish a new policy now.

fV–E DAY

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I

would like to make a few statements

about the occasion of May 8, 1995, V–E

Day.

It is rather difficult to think of any

event in the life of a nation more worthy of commemoration than the end of

a world war. Remembrance and reflection are crucial if we are to maintain

our sense of purpose as a nation, and

our appreciation of what we value

most.

The service and sacrifice of those

who bore the battle at home and overseas in the Second World War can

never be overstated. It was that willingness to give unstintingly not only of

effort but also, in many cases, their

lives, that makes the war years such

an extraordinary period in our Nation’s

history.

Americans who fought the war came

from every State in the country, and

my home State of New Mexico certainly did its part. Our own friends and

neighbors were heroic in their actions,

in their service, and in their struggle.

If not for their efforts, what would the

world be like today?

Franklin Roosevelt, whose death 50

years ago we commemorated on the

12th of last month, left a monumental

legacy for this country. Words from a

speech that he wrote for delivery on

April 13, 1945, had he lived to give that

speech, still sound out a challenge, one

rooted in the experience of the war and

pinned to his knowledge of his countrymen. He wrote for that speech:

The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today. Let us move

forward with strong and active faith.

We did that in the Second World War.

So we must, every day, move forward

now from the conflict that threatened

to consume the world half a century

ago. Without the service and the sacrifice that we honor today, we would

have had no future as a nation. It is

our obligation to those who secured

that future for us to build on it as we

approach the new century.

Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the

floor.

Mr. President, I suggest the absence

of a quorum.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The

clerk will call the roll.

The legislative clerk proceeded to

call the roll.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask

unanimous consent that the order for

the quorum call be rescinded.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without

objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, are we

still in morning business?

The PRESIDING OFFICER. We are

still in morning business.

THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF V–E

fDAY

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, today

marks the 50th anniversary of V–E

Day, the day that saw the end of the

Second World War in Europe.

From its European beginning on September 1, 1939, with Hitler’s invasion of

Poland, to the surrender of the German

armies in Italy, on April 29, 1945, the

war that was supposed to usher in the

1,000-Year Reich ended after 6 years of

death, genocide, and destruction on a

scale never seen before or since.

The outcome of the war changed our

world profoundly, with effects that

still resonate today. It left the United

States the sole undamaged world

power. With that status came responsibilities that most Americans had not

imagined at the outset. In the 50 postwar years, those responsibilities have

demanded more in American treasure

and lives than from any other participant.

European and Japanese cities suffered the destruction of repeated artillery fire and massive carpet bombing.

European civilians found themselves

uprooted, fleeing desperately from

their historic hometowns as massive

armies moved back and forth across

frontiers. But Americans paid a price,

too.

By 1990, it is estimated that the total

cost of the Second World War to the

United States had reached $4.6 trillion—including the postwar cost of veterans care and benefits. The cost of

caring for our veterans is a cost of war,

and should be recognized as such, lest

we forget, decades later, the price of
May 8, 1995 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S6235

war in the form of our greatest treasure—our young men and women who

served.

In total, more than 16 million American men and women served their Nation in World War II. More than 291,000

paid the ultimate price on the field of

combat; 113,000 others died of wounds,

accidents, illness—all the risks and

dangers that attend service in wartime.

All told, more than 405,000 American

lives were cut short by the war.

Another 670,000 Americans were casualties in that war—men and women

who returned with their health damaged, their bodies scarred, their lives

changed.

Tens of thousands from every State

in the Nation served in the Second

World War. South Dakota, one of the

Nation’s least populous States, sent an

estimated 60,000 men and women to

fight. A postwar review in 1950 estimated that more than 10 percent of the

South Dakotans who served earned citations for personal bravery, military

valor, and, in three case, the highest

military honor our Nation grants, the

award for service ‘‘above and beyond

the call of duty,’’ the Congressional

Medal of Honor.

The Medal of Honor is the decoration

of which Harry Truman said he would

rather have earned than be President.

Two of the three South Dakotans

who won the Medal of Honor served in

the Pacific War and returned home

after the war. One, Joe Foss, became

Governor of South Dakota. The third

South Dakotan awarded the Medal of

Honor served in the European theater.

He died there, having established a

record that is outstanding, even compared with his peers.

Capt. Arlo L. Olson, of Toronto,

South Dakota, served in the Italian

campaign in 1943. For 26 grueling days

in the mountainous terrain northeast

of Naples, he led his company by foot

across the Volturno River into enemyheld territory, directly into enemy machine gun emplacement in some of the

roughest fighting experienced by any

American units in the war. He was shot

on October 27, 1943, but refused medical

treatment until his men had been

taken care of. He died as he was being

carried down Monte San Nicola.

The citations honoring South Dakotans are stirring. Harold G. Howey, in

July 1943 in Sicily, faced a cliff fortified by the enemy and fought his way

to the top under intense enemy fire despite his wounds. He won the Distinguished Service Cross and the Bronze

Star Medal for his actions.

David Colombe of Winner leapt into a

German foxhole, armed only with a

knife, seized an enemy rifle and worked

his way behind enemy lines, demoralizing the withdrawing soldiers with

heavy fire and leading to the collapse

of their defense. His Distinguished

Service Cross was well earned.

Like other Americans, South Dakotans were captured. Melvin McNickle,

one of the famous McNickle brothers of

Doland, both of whom earned the Legion of Merit, maintained morale and

discipline and preserved the lives of his

fellow internees for 2 years in Stalag

Luft III in Germany.

The hometowns of the men and

women from South Dakota who fought

in the war span the length and breadth

of the State. They came from Sioux

Falls and Rapid City, Aberdeen and

Buffalo, Belle Fourche and Doland,

Milbank and Spearfish.

They bore names that reflect the history of our State—Jorgenson, Novotny,

Lauer, Kilbride, Rossow, Thompson,

Fischer, Haag, Labesky, McGregor,

Adams, Bianchi, Soissons, Zweifel—the

people who settled South Dakota and

became proud Americans from every

corner of the Earth. Many of them

fought on ground their fathers had

called home.

South Dakotans take special pride in

the heroism and courage of those like

David Colombe of Winner, Vincent

Hunts Horse of Wounded Knee—who

won the Silver Star for the part he

played in helping the United States

Army capture Gondorf in Germany—

and Sampson One Skunk, who took

part in the raid on Dieppe in 1942 and

the first attack on Anzio, and won the

Silver Star for his exploits.

They are part of a proud and honorable tradition of native Americans who

have served courageously and honorably in every U.S. conflict, from the

Revolutionary War onward.

Last year Congress finally approved

legislation to establish a national memorial acknowledging and honoring

the heroism and service of native

Americans in combat. The Native

American Veterans’ Memorial will pay

an overdue tribute to those who served

their Nation, even when their Nation

did not serve them—to those who

fought under the U.S. flag before they

were even granted citizenship themselves in 1924.

Our Lakota-speaking people played

an additional role in the Second World

War, one that is now as well known as

it deserves to be. They, like Navajo and

Choctaw speaking native Americans,

were the famous code talkers of the

war—the people who manned the radio

communications in native languages

that no code-breaker or cipher specialist could decode, because language has

no breakable code.

There is a monument in Phoenix, AZ,

to the code talkers of the Navajo Nation. But there were others besides

them. The Lakota speakers of the

Sioux Nations of South Dakota and

neighboring States were responsible for

the safety and lives of thousands of

their fellow Americans in combat.

Philip LaBlanc, of Rapid City, served

with the 1st Cavalry Division from 1942

to 1945. Others—Baptiste Pumpkinseed,

Oglala or Redbud Sioux, Eddie Eagle

Boy of the Cheyenne River Sioux, Guy

Rondell of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota Nation, John Bear King of Standing Rock—all of them and their comrades manned radio communications

networks, using Lakota, to advise of

enemy troop movements, numbers of

enemy guns, information crucial to

saving the lives of other Americans.

These men worked 24 hours around

the clock in headphones when the action was heaviest, without rest or

sleep. Most famously, they served in

the Pacific theater, but there were

code talkers in the Italian and German

theaters in Europe as well. Their work

saved the lives of countless other

Americans. Along with the Navajo and

Choctaw code talkers, the Lakota code

talkers deserve their own page in our

national memory of the world war.

Philip LaBlanc himself served for 3

years without a single furlough. He left

theater operations only after being hit

and wounded by enemy gunfire.

As well as the men who manned the

combat fronts in the war, the Second

World War was the first one in which

American women played a significant

role. They did so both at home and

abroad.

Although the myth is that the enemy

declared total war, it was America

who, in fact, declared total war. While

Hitler imported slave laborers from

Eastern Europe to work for the German housewife, American women ran

the factories that were the arsenal of

democracy. American women enlisted

in support battalions of all kinds on active duty as well.

South Dakotan women were no exception. Edith Bolan of Rapid City

raised three children, and worked as a

welder during the war. It was her task

to crawl into the small spaces that

men could not reach to put the finishing touches on Navy ships. She made

casings for bombs. She led the life that

so many other American women, from

coast to coast, experienced in the war.

Those who served on the homefront

did not get the medals and citations of

those serving in combat. But their

work and dedication were every bit as

important to the final victory. So was

the work of the women closer to the

frontlines.

Loretta Hartrich, a native of Sioux

Falls, served with the Red Cross in the

so-called clubmobiles that traveled

with the frontline troops, serving coffee, doughnuts, and morale to the men

at the front. The clubmobiles were

often in harm’s way, and the women

who ran them risked death and entrapment when a fast-moving front shifted.

Loretta remembers being asked to sing

the ‘‘Indian Love Call’’ and having

every repetition of ‘‘when I’m calling

you’’ punctuated by German artillery.

American women served as nurses in

rear units and on the front, landing on

Normandy 4 days after the first Allied

troops. They served in communications, administrative, and intelligence

work throughout the duration of the

war, and they, too, have earned the

proud title of veteran.

Today, those once-young men and

women are the proud veterans of service in what many have called the last

good war. I understand what those

words are meant to convey, but for
S6236 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 8, 1995

those who saw active duty, who saw

friends die, who felt the sheer brutality

of heavy artillery attack or the random terror of combat on unknown,

rough terrain against a well-trained

and ruthless opponent, there was no

good war.

Our cause was good, and it triumphed. But we triumphed at terrible

personal cost to those Americans who

served.

Some of our Senate colleagues

served, and some bear the outward

scars. Senator INOUYE, of Hawaii,

served with the most decorated unit in

the military in Italy campaign, and

paid a high price for his valor. Senator

DOLE served in Italy with great honor

at enormous personal price. The veterans of the war who still serve in Congress were honored last week at a ceremony at the National Archives.

I am proud to serve in the Senate

with all of them, and I express my

sense of respect for their service, my

gratitude as a citizen for their sacrifices, and my great pride, as an

American, for the spirit they and their

colleagues in arms showed the world

more than 50 years ago.

Great celebrations have occurred in

the old Allied capitals in Europe to celebrate V–E Day. Another great celebration will be held in Moscow, to celebrate the end of what the Russians call

the Great Patriotic War.

In America, there are no huge celebrations. We were the arsenal of democracy in that war, the productive

force without which it might not have

been won by the Allies. Our people suffered death and injury far from home,

for causes and quarrels in which they

had no direct stake.

The distance of 50 years does not

erase the genuine hardship, difficulties,

and pain they suffered or the price

many of them paid. It was not a good

war because there are no good wars for

those in the line of fire. Like every

war, it was vicious, uncaring of life,

random in its accidents and mistakes,

brutal for its participants.

And yet Americans served, and did so

with distinction. We ought to take

pause to take great pride in the kind of

people we are, and to honor the memories of those who paid the ultimate

price. Those who served have done

more for their fellow citizens and for

the future than any words can describe.

They are American heroes, one and all,

and we salute them.

Mr. President, I yield the floor, and I

suggest the absence of a quorum.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The

clerk will call the roll.

The legislative clerk proceeded to

call the roll.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the

quorum call be rescinded.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without

objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, are we still

in morning business?

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Morning

business has not been closed.

THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF V–E

DAY

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, 50 years

ago today, the guns were silenced in

Europe, and that continent was at last

freed from the tyrants who had plunged

it into war.

And across the world on May 8, 1954,

there were moments that are remembered today, and will be remembered

for generations yet to come.

Here in Washington, at the White

House, President Truman spoke to the

American people by radio, with these

dramatic words:

This is a solemn and glorious hour. I only

wish that Franklin Roosevelt had lived to

witness this day. General Eisenhower informs me that the forces of Germany have

surrendered to the United Nations. The flags

of freedom fly all over Europe.

In New York City, a half a million

people crowded into Times Square, and

in main streets and town squares

across America, smaller crowds gathered to celebrate.

In Paris, the boulevards that Hitler

and his armies had once controlled

were free again, and the French people

rallied under the Arc de Triomphe.

And in London, Winston Churchill

spoke before a large crowd, telling the

people of Britain, ‘‘This is your victory.’’ And many in the crowd shouted

back that the victory was his. Later

that night, the floodlights illuminated

Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, and St.

Paul’s Cathedral for the first time in 6

years.

Anniversary celebrations are a time

for remembering the past, but they are

also a time for looking to the future.

And as we celebrate this 50th anniversary of the Allied victory, let us remember the lessons that World War II

taught us—lessons that hold for us

still.

We learned that we cannot turn our

backs on what happens in the rest of

the world.

We learned that we can never again

allow our military to reach low levels

of readiness and supplies.

We learned that we cannot appease

tyrants and despots, and perhaps above

all, we learned the critical importance

of American leadership.

Yes, before our involvement, Britain

courageously fought on against the

odds. And, yes, Russia, after initially

siding with the Axis Powers, helped to

turn the tide when the Nazis turned

against them.

But, the war could not have been won

and would not have been won without

the commitment, the manpower, and

the leadership of the United States. It

is that simple.

It was American leadership that built

the arsenal of democracy which made

victory possible.

It was American leadership that held

the Allies together through the darkest

days of the war.

And it was American leadership

which conquered the forces of tyranny

and restored liberty and democracy to

Europe.

And when I talk about leadership, I

do not mean just the famous names of

Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Marshall, Churchill, and de Gaulle. And I

do not just mean the soldiers who

fought their way across Europe and the

Pacific. For we must also thank those

who served at home—the Gold Star

moms, the factory workers, and the

farmers. Without their contribution

and their sacrifice, the war effort could

not have been successful.

So, today is a day for all of us to celebrate the triumph of democracy, and

to honor those who served and those

who paid the ultimate price on behalf

of their country.

And the best way we can do that is to

rededicate ourselves to the promise

that President Reagan made on behalf

of America on the beaches of Normandy 11 years ago:

We will always remember. We will always

be proud. We will always be prepared, so we

may always be free.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I indicated

ORDER OF PROCEDURE

fearlier, I will have a resolution concerning V–E Day, which I hope we will

be able to submit to the Democratic

leader in the next few moments and

have a discussion on that and, hopefully, have a vote on that about 4

o’clock. We still, as I understand it,

have a cloture vote at 4 o’clock, plus

votes on any amendments that may

occur prior to 4 o’clock. Following

that, it is our intention to take up the

Deutch nomination to be CIA Director,

and have that debate this evening and

then have the vote tomorrow morning

on the nomination.

Mr. President, I suggest the absence

of a quorum.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The

clerk will call the roll.

The bill clerk proceeded to call the

roll.

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I ask

unanimous consent that the order for

the quorum call be rescinded.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without

objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. SPECTER. I thank the Chair.

PRODUCT LIABILITY BILL

fMr. President, I have sought recognition to comment about the pending

legislation on products liability on

which there is a cloture vote scheduled

for 4 o’clock this afternoon, that is, a

vote to cut off debate.

As I have expressed in the prior debate, it is my view that it would be appropriate to have reform on product liability, providing the reform is very,

very carefully crafted.

As I have noted in previous speeches,

I have represented both plaintiffs and

defendants in personal injury cases. I

had one large product liability case,

which I litigated many years ago. Actually, it was ultimately settled. But

the issue in the case concerning privity

and coverage for a passenger in an