Hire More Heroes Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. WICKER. Mr. President, I am pleased to join my colleague from New Hampshire today to speak about a moving and important commemoration that she and I attended over the weekend. We were part of the U.S. delegation led by former President Bill Clinton that traveled to Bosnia and Herzegovina to remember the victims of the Srebrenica massacre 20 years ago. We were honored to be joined in this delegation by Representative Peter King from New York, and I think it is significant that former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was part of that delegation.

On July 11, 1995, more than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys were brutalized and murdered by Serbian forces that overran a United Nations safe haven during the Bosnian war. It was the worst massacre on European soil since the horrors of World War II.

Today, Senator Shaheen and I wear green and white flowers on our lapels. These flowers were crocheted by Srebrenica mothers and widows in remembrance of the lives that were lost 20 years ago. The white is said to symbolize innocence, and the green represents hope. It is said to be significant that the center is green because hope remains central to the country's future and to the region's future.

Two decades provide us with a helpful benchmark for reflecting on the progress that has been made and on the progress that needs to be made. The decades have certainly not erased the deep scars left by the atrocities at Srebrenica, but the hurt continues to heal.

International courts have recognized the massacre as a genocide, and a number of the perpetrators have been imprisoned. Peace is now present in the Western Balkans and we need to do what we can to help maintain this peace. The Bosnian and Herzegovinian leadership is now applying for membership in the European Union. We wish them well in making the progress that will be necessary to attain this status.

Tough decisions still need to be made by the leadership, by the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina with regard to governance, corruption, and combating extremes. There is still way too much rhetoric that centers on ethnicity and continues to divide Bosnians rather than unite them. But we can celebrate the fact that this region is no longer home to the suffering and violence that predated the historic Dayton Accords, and we can celebrate the contribution and achievement of the Americans in reaching the Dayton Accords and in getting us to where we are now with two decades of peace.

I know that these views are shared by my colleague from New Hampshire. At this point, perhaps she would like to join in this colloquy.

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