[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 96 (Monday, June 25, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Page S4594]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SUPPORTING A MINUTE OF SILENCE AT THE 2012 OLYMPICS OPENING CEREMONY

  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate 
proceed to S. Res. 504, submitted earlier today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The bill clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 504) expressing support for the 
     International Olympic Committee to recognize with a minute of 
     silence at the 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony the athletes 
     and others killed at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the resolution 
be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be 
laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any 
statements be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 504) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 504

       Whereas, in September 1972, in the midst of the Munich 
     Olympics, the core spirit of the Olympics was violated when 
     members of the Black September Palestinian terrorist group 
     murdered eleven members of the Israeli Olympic Team 
     consisting of athletes, coaches, and referees;
       Whereas one West German police officer was also killed in 
     the terrorist attack;
       Whereas the international community was deeply touched by 
     the brutal murders at the Munich Olympics and memorials have 
     been placed around the world, including in Rockland County, 
     New York, United States; Manchester, United Kingdom; Tel 
     Aviv, Israel; and Munich, Germany;
       Whereas the International Olympic Committee has an 
     obligation and the ability to fully and publicly promote the 
     ideals embodied in the Olympic Charter, which states, ``The 
     goal of Olympism is to place sport at the service of the 
     harmonious development of humankind, with a view to promoting 
     a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human 
     dignity.''
       Whereas no opening ceremonies of any Olympics since 1972 
     have marked an official recognition of the terrorist attack 
     that brutally betrayed the vision of the Olympic Games; and
       Whereas the London Olympic Games in 2012 will mark four 
     decades since this act of terror took place without a full 
     and public commemoration of the gravity of this tragic event 
     for all Olympians and all humankind: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) should observe a minute of silence to commemorate the 
     40th anniversary of the 1972 Munich Olympics terrorist attack 
     and remember those who lost their lives;
       (2) urges the International Olympic Committee to take the 
     opportunity afforded by the 40th anniversary of the 1972 
     Munich Olympics terrorist attack to remind the world that the 
     Olympics were established to send a message of hope and peace 
     through sport and athletic competition; and
       (3) urges the International Olympic Committee to recognize 
     with a minute of silence at the 2012 Olympics Opening 
     Ceremony those who lost their lives at the 1972 Munich 
     Olympics in an effort to reject and repudiate terrorism as 
     antithetical to the Olympic goal of peaceful competition.

                          ____________________