(Washington D.C.)- The Senate unanimously approved H.R. 562 last week, a bill introduced by Representative Sander Levin (D-Royal Oak) to allow the Government of Ukraine to donate a memorial in Washington, DC honoring the victims of the Ukrainian Famine-Genocide of 1932-33.  The House of Representatives approved H.R. 562 last November, and the Senate?s action sends the bill to the President for his signature.

"For too long, the tragedy of the Ukrainian Famine-Genocide has been largely unknown to the American people," said Levin, who is Co-Chairman of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus.  "This Act of Congress will authorize a memorial to honor the memory of the millions who lost their lives and remind us that we must work together to prevent such tragedies in the future."

During the Famine-Genocide of 1932-33, 7 to 10 million Ukrainians were deliberately and systematically starved to death by the Soviet Union.  The Soviet Government introduced unrealistically high quotas on grain and other agricultural products, which were strictly enforced by Red Army troops.

"For our community here in Michigan and throughout America the monument to the victims of the Ukraine Famine Genocide is a matter of conscience. It is our responsibility for the millions who perished to be remembered. It is most gratifying to us that Congress understood the profound importance of honoring the victims of this most heinous crime against all of humanity. Let the monument speak to all about the horrors of genocide inflicted on the innocent by the rulers of the Soviet Union," said Borys Potapenko, President of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, Michigan Chapter.
 
H.R. 562 authorizes the memorial as a gift from Ukraine to the people of the United States, and specifies that no federal money will be used to build or maintain the memorial.  The goal is for the memorial to be completed by the 75th anniversary of the Famine-Genocide in 2008.  The President has ten days in which to sign the bill, starting the day he received it, October 2nd.  

"I am proud to have worked with the Ukrainian-American Community, both in Michigan and nationally, in securing Congressional approval for this important memorial. Both Houses of Congress approved this legislation unanimously, and I urge the President to add his support," concluded Levin. 

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