[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 328 Engrossed in House (EH)]


H. Res. 328

                 In the House of Representatives, U.S.,

                                                         July 18, 2005.
Whereas, although Victory in Europe on May 8, 1945, resulted in liberty and 
        democracy in many nations, Poland and other countries of Central and 
        Eastern Europe fell behind the repressive Iron Curtain of the Soviet 
        Union;
Whereas for more than four decades Poland and the nations of the Soviet Bloc 
        struggled under authoritarian rule;
Whereas in June 1979, Pope John Paul II, the former Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, 
        returned to his homeland for the first time and exhorted his countrymen 
        to ``be not afraid'' of the Communist regime;
Whereas in July and August of 1980, Polish workers in the shipyards of Gdansk 
        and Szczecin went on strike to demand greater political freedom;
Whereas workers' committees, led by electrician Lech Walesa, coordinated these 
        strikes and ensured that the strikes were peaceful and orderly;
Whereas in August 1980, the Communist government of Poland yielded to the 21 
        demands of the striking workers, including the release of all political 
        prisoners, the broadcasting of religious services on television and 
        radio, and the right to establish independent trade unions;
Whereas the Communist government of Poland introduced martial law in December 
        1981 in an attempt to block the growing influence of the Solidarity 
        movement;
Whereas the Solidarity Trade Union and its 10,000,000 members became a great 
        social movement committed to promoting fundamental human rights, 
        democracy, and Polish independence from the Soviet Union;
Whereas in February 1989, the Communist government of Poland agreed to conduct 
        talks with the Solidarity Trade Union that led to elections to the 
        National Assembly in June of that year, in which nearly all open seats 
        were won by candidates supported by the Solidarity Trade Union, and led 
        soon after to the election of Poland's first non-Communist Prime 
        Minister in the post-war era, Mr. Tadeusz Mazowiecki;
Whereas the Solidarity movement ended communism in Poland without bloodshed, 
        inspiring other nations under Soviet control to do the same and playing 
        an important role in the fall of communism in Central and Eastern 
        Europe;
Whereas on November 15, 1989, Lech Walesa gave an historic speech before a joint 
        meeting of the United States Congress with the opening remarks ``We the 
        People. . .'', which stirred a standing ovation from the Members of 
        Congress;
Whereas on December 9, 1990, Lech Walesa was elected President of Poland;
Whereas the support of the United States and the Polish-American community was 
        essential to the survival and success of the Solidarity movement; and
Whereas a bond of friendship exists between the United States and Poland, which 
        is among the strongest allies of the United States, a contributing 
        partner in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a reliable 
        partner in the Global War on Terrorism, and a key contributor in Iraq 
        and Afghanistan: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes the 25th anniversary of the workers' strikes in 
        Poland that led to establishment of the Solidarity Trade Union;
            (2) honors the struggle and sacrifice of the citizens of Poland who 
        risked their lives to restore democracy to their country and to return 
        Poland to the democratic community of nations; and
            (3) offers Poland as a model for other nations struggling to emerge 
        from authoritarian rule and establish a flourishing representative 
        government.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.