[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 63 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 63


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                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 22, 1997

        Received and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding the 50th anniversary of 
 the Marshall Plan and reaffirming the commitment of the United States 
    to the principles that led to the establishment of that program.

Whereas on June 5, 1947, in a speech at Harvard University, then-Secretary of 
        State George C. Marshall proposed the establishment of a joint American-
        European program to provide assistance, ``so far as it may be practical 
        for us to do so,'' to assist the countries of Europe to recover from the 
        devastation of World War II, and that program was subsequently called 
        ``The Marshall Plan'' in recognition of the pivotal role of Secretary of 
        State Marshall in its establishment;
Whereas then-President Harry S Truman had earlier enunciated the principle of 
        assisting democratic countries which faced the threat of communist 
        aggression and thus laid the foundation for the Marshall Plan with the 
        ``Truman Doctrine'' which provided economic and military assistance to 
        Greece and Turkey, and this farsighted policy represented a reversal of 
        longstanding United States policy of avoiding peacetime involvement in 
        foreign military and political affairs;
Whereas the Marshall Plan was developed, refined, and enacted with the broad 
        bipartisan involvement of the Congress of the United States, including 
        in particular the efforts of Senator Arthur H. Vandenberg of Michigan 
        and Congressman Christian A. Herter of Massachusetts;
Whereas the Congress provided an estimated $13,300,000,000 to assist the sixteen 
        European countries which participated in the Marshall Plan during the 
        four-year period of its existence, and this material contribution 
        represented a significant sacrifice by the American people;
Whereas the assistance provided under the Marshall Plan served to ``prime the 
        pump'' to stimulate the economies of the participating European 
        countries and resulted in an average growth of 41 percent in industrial 
        production and an average growth of 33.5 percent in per capita gross 
        national product during the four years of the program;
Whereas the spectacular economic revival of the countries of Western Europe 
        would not have been possible without the creativity, technical skills, 
        managerial competence, and hard work of the European peoples; 
        nevertheless, the Marshall Plan was a vital element in assisting the 
        European peoples in the postwar economic recovery;
Whereas the multinational economic cooperation required and encouraged by the 
        Marshall Plan was a significant impetus in fostering transnational 
        European economic cooperation and unity which ultimately helped to pave 
        the way for the North Atlantic Treaty, in developing the multifaceted 
        relationship between the United States and the countries of Europe, and 
        in contributing to the establishment of the European Union; and
Whereas 1997 marks the 50th anniversary of the original speech by Secretary of 
        State George C. Marshall calling for the establishment of the Marshall 
        Plan: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That the Congress--
            (1) urges all Americans on the 50th anniversary of the 
        Marshall Plan to reflect upon the significance of this program 
        as a concrete embodiment of the commitment of the United States 
        to fostering peaceful relations with and the economic 
        prosperity of the countries of Europe;
            (2) reaffirms the commitment that was expressed in the 
        original Marshall Plan (``Economic Cooperation Act of 1948,'' 
        sec. 102, Public Law 80-472) was enacted--namely, that 
        ``intimate economic and other relationships exist between the 
        United States and the nations of Europe,'' that extensive and 
        friendly relations with the nations of Europe and with the 
        community of European nations is vital to the promotion of 
        ``the general welfare and national interest of the United 
        States'' and that the prosperity and security of Europe are 
        essential to ``the establishment of a lasting peace''; and
            (3) acknowledges and commends the efforts of those 
        countries which originally participated in the Marshall Plan to 
        assist the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the 
        newly independent republics of the former Soviet Union in their 
        efforts to develop market economies and democratic political 
        systems as a reflection of the same generous spirit that 
        motivated the people of the United States to help these Western 
        European countries fifty years ago.

            Passed the House of Representatives May 21, 1997.

            Attest:

                                                ROBIN H. CARLE,

                                                                 Clerk.