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Washington, D.C. Office Congressman Rob Simmons 215 Cannon House Office Building Washington, DC 20515   News From Congressman Rob Simmons FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 21, 2001   CONTACT: JOSEPH BELL PHONE: 860/886-0139     CONGRESSMAN SIMMONS INTRODUCES BILL HONORING SALEM'S HIRAM BINGHAM   NORWICH -- Today Congressman Rob Simmons, R-2nd District, introduce legislation recommending that the U.S. Postal Service issue a commemorative stamp honoring Salem's Hiram Bingham IV. Simmons said, "During World War II, Hiram Bingham used his post as a United States diplomat working in France to secretly save between 2,500 and 5,000 individuals from the Holocaust. It is a wonderful story of someone who was in a position to make a difference, and he chose to do so." As vice counsel at the U.S. consulate in Marseilles from 1939 to 1941, Mr. Bingham wrote thousands of visas against the direction of the State Department and helped covertly plan the escape of Jews and others who were attempting to escape Nazi-occupied Europe. Simmons has long been inspired by the story of Hiram Bingham. As a member of the Connecticut Legislature, Simmons introduced a postage stamp proposal that received the unanimous endorsement of all 151 Connecticut State Representatives and all 36 State Senators - the first time that the entire Connecticut legislature has placed original signatures on a proposal without any dissent. The governor and lieutenant governor of Connecticut and the two United States senators from Connecticut also enthusiastically endorsed the Hiram Bingham stamp proposal, and the measure has widespread support on the local level. Simmons hopes to gain the same overwhelming support in Congress. The bill would recommend that the United States Postal Service issue a commemorative stamp in honor of Bingham's work. On behalf of the postmaster general, the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee (CSAC) is tasked with evaluating the merits of all stamp proposals. The CSAC seeks to select stimulating and educational subjects with national appeal and historical perspective. "I believe Hiram Bingham fits these criteria," Simmons said. Simmons concluded, "Hiram Bingham is now recognized as one of eleven 'righteous diplomats' who saved 200,000 lives from the Holocaust; their descendants total one million survivors today. His quiet selflessness was never recognized during his lifetime. The least we can do is honor his life's work through this commemorative stamp."