A Statement on the Late United States Senator Frank Lautenberg by Assemblyman Alec Brook-Krasny

June 5, 2013

The late Senator from New Jersey leaves behind a very distinguished and admirable legacy of public service to the people of the United States. He was an example of the kind of leadership and dedication that Americans both deserve and expect that their democratic system will produce. The last veteran of World War II to serve as a Senator, his career was marked by decades of advocacy for public interests, general health and safety. Some of his legislative accomplishments include tougher laws against drunk driving and expansions of benefits for veterans.

Senator Lautenberg is also well-known for the Lautenberg Amendment, which greatly expanded the immigration rights of Jews from the Soviet Union at the time of its collapse. The late Senator deserves credit and praise for helping to make many lives easier, and fulfill the aspirations of many people, through this landmark legislation. The purpose of the Lautenberg Amendment was to ease the burden of proof for historically oppressed peoples by allowing applications for refugee status for humanitarian reasons. Overtime, this program has been expanded from resettlement of Soviet and former Soviet Jews to include religious minorities in Iran, Vietnam, and other countries. Hundreds of thousands of lives have been saved or greatly improved thanks to this important piece of legislation, in no small part because it has been continually added to appropriations bills in the Senate and continues to inspire current efforts to expand immigrant rights in the United States."

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