On the recordNovember 30, 2010
I rise as an original sponsor of H. Con. Res. 323, a bipartisan resolution conceived with the purpose of ensuring that all Holocaust survivors in the United States are able to live with dignity, comfort, and security in their remaining years. During the Holocaust, an estimated 6,000,000 Jews and other targeted groups were murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators. Approximately 96,000 Holocaust survivors were admitted to the United States immediately after the war. Another 100,000 Holocaust survivors were admitted after 1952. Today, approximately 127,000 Holocaust survivors live in the United States. The majority of Holocaust survivors are at least 65 years old and approximately two-thirds of them are elderly women. Many of them face the risk of isolation and financial insecurity. Holocaust survivors are 5 times more likely to be living below the poverty line than other older people living in the United States. They are more reliant on social service programs and most of them live alone. Living alone puts these survivors at increased risk of institutionalization.
