Steve Cohen: “I want to thank the gentleman from Massachusetts for the time. I rise in strong support of the Monuments Men Recognition…”

“I want to thank the gentleman from Massachusetts for the time. I rise in strong support of the Monuments Men Recognition Act. I want to thank the gentlewoman from Texas for her work on this bill, Ms. Granger, and for her kind thoughts and expressions of appreciation. It was a great honor to work with her and the gentleman from Massachusetts on this particular bill. I also had the opportunity to have some interchange with Robert Edsel, and not a finer gentleman and American is there. He wrote the original book that kind of talked about the Monuments Men, and he also, I guess, had something to do with the movie with George Clooney. That helped to bring a measure of fame to these brave men and women, but the United States Congress should go further and bring this official honor to them for their work in preserving our cultural heritage. Over the last few years since I have been in Congress, and my first term was 2007, the Monuments Men seemed to be a continual presence in my service. In 2007, my first year, I was proud to support a resolution honoring them. In a ceremony on the Senate side that I went to, I had the fortune to meet Mr. Edsel, who told their story, but also to meet a few of the surviving Monuments Men. Then I saw the movie this past year and my admiration and interest in what they had done, their courage and their contribution to the world's culture was deepened. I went back and I looked at my book, and I saw Mr.…”