Supporting the Establishment of a Museum Memorializing Victims of Communism (H. Con. Res. 57)

What is H. Con. Res. 57?

(Updated April 24, 2019)

This resolution would express the sense of Congress that federal agencies and institutions should support the establishment of a museum to memorialize the victims of communism by providing support for the acquisition of underused federal property for the museum in D.C. and supporting the museum in all other respects. The museum would recognize the past, present, and future atrocities committed by totalitarian regimes under the banner of communism should be recognized and condemned, and the contributions of dissidents in the fight against communist oppression.

As a concurrent resolution, this legislation could be passed by both chambers of Congress as an expression of support but wouldn’t be binding. Congress authorized the creation of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation in 1993, which has been raising money since then to design and build a museum near the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Argument in favor

From the famines, purges, and gulags of the Soviet Union to Mao’s Great Leap Forward and the Killing Fields of the Khmer Rouge, communist regimes have killed nearly 100 million people over the past century. Congress should support a museum to memorialize those victims and preserve this history for future generations to learn from.

Argument opposed

There’s no need for a museum to highlight the atrocities committed by communist regimes and honor the victims of, and dissidents who fought against such oppression. Congress has more important things to do than worry about museums that could get built on federal property. This will anger communist regimes in places like China.

Impact

Visitors to the would-be Victims of Communism Memorial; and federal agencies and institutions.

Cost of H. Con. Res. 57

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Sponsoring Rep. Dennis Ross (R-FL) introduced this resolution so that Congress could express its support for a Victims of Communism museum. As the co-chair and founding member of the Victims of Communism Caucus, Ross — whose family suffered under communism in Hungary — explained:

“We should not be lulled into thinking that communism is no longer a threat to freedom in the world, given that many people still toil under its hateful, totalitarian rule. Our caucus will ensure that we do not forget those victims who were forced to choose between their faith and the cruelty of a dictatorship.”

Original cosponsor Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL) added:

“I will never forget my experiences in Berlin at the fall of the Wall in 1989. As we approach the 28th anniversary of that day, we now have about a third of the U.S. population that has lived in a world without the Soviet Union. In my district, there are many people who suffered under communism, watched relatives and friends perish, and were forced to leave their homes and their countries. It is our duty to tell these stories, the truth about communism, and preserve this history for all generations.”

This legislation has the support of 16 bipartisan cosponsors including 11 Republicans and five Democrats.

Of Note: In 1997’s The Black Book of Communism, several European academics attributed 94 million deaths to communism through executions, man-made famine, and forced labor during the 20th century, including:

• 65 million in the People’s Republic of China;

• 20 million in the Soviet Union;

• 2 million in Cambodia;

• 2 million in North Korea;

• 1.7 million in Ethiopia;

• 1.5 million in Afghanistan;

• 1 million in the Eastern Bloc;

• 1 million in Vietnam;

• 150,000 in Latin America;

• 10,000 deaths “resulting from the international Communist movement or Communist parties not in power.”

Media:

• Sponsoring Rep. Dennis Ross (R-FL) Press Release (Context)
  
• Sunshine State News (Context)
  
• Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (Context)