110 HCON 421 IH: Calling on the International Olympic U.S. House of Representatives 2008-09-18 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

IV 110th CONGRESS 2d Session H. CON. RES. 421 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 18, 2008 Ms. Schwartz (for herself, Mr. Shuster, Mr. Gerlach, Mr. McCotter, Mr. Garrett of New Jersey, Mr. King of Iowa, Mr. Gingrey, Mr. Pitts, Mr. Davis of Alabama, and Mr. Lipinski) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs CONCURRENT RESOLUTION Calling on the International Olympic Committee to designate a new venue for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.

Whereas, in July 2007, the City of Sochi in the Russian Federation was narrowly selected as the host site for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games; Whereas the City of Sochi lies approximately 20 miles from the border between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Georgia; Whereas, on August 8, 2008, only 400 days after the Russian Federation was selected as the host country for the 2014 Games, military forces of the Russian Federation invaded the Republic of Georgia in contravention of international law, the United Nations Charter, the principles of the Olympic Charter, and the Sochi Agreement of 1992, which governs the conduct of Russian peacekeepers in the region of South Ossetia; Whereas the invasion of the Republic of Georgia by the Russian Federation coincided with the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China, contributing to the perception that the occasion of the Olympics was utilized to divert international attention away from the invasion of the Republic of Georgia; Whereas military forces of the Russian Federation have advanced into and attacked the territory of the Republic of Georgia, grossly exceeding any mandate of Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia, and officials of the Government of the Russian Federation have sought to oust the democratically elected Government of the Republic of Georgia; Whereas the actions of the Government of the Russian Federation contravene the principles of the Olympic Charter, which states that one of the Fundamental Principles of Olympism is to use sport toward the harmonious development of man, with a view to promoting a peaceful society; Whereas it is politically, economically, and practically untenable to hold the modern Olympic Games in close proximity to a zone of conflict; Whereas the actions of the Government of the Russian Federation have created a zone of conflict less than 20 miles from the City of Sochi, the proposed site of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games; Whereas there are other excellent venues available to host the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, including the cities of Salzburg, Austria, and PyeongChang, South Korea, both of which were selected as finalists to host the 2010 Winter Olympic Games and the 2014 Winter Olympic Games; Whereas the cities of Jaca, Spain, Almaty, Kazakhstan, Sofia, Bulgaria, and Borjomi, Georgia, also submitted bids to the International Olympic Committee to host the 2014 Winter Olympic Games; and Whereas there is still sufficient time to designate a new host city for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games and to allow the new host city adequate time to prepare to host a successful Olympics: Now, therefore, be it

That it is the sense of Congress that— (1)the failure of the Government of the Russian Federation to respect the sovereignty and territorial borders of its neighbors has rendered the country an unacceptable host for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games; (2)it is practically and financially untenable to hold the 2014 Winter Olympic Games less than 20 miles from a zone of conflict, particularly when the prospective host country has played a significant role in the escalation of that conflict; (3)the International Olympic Committee would not have selected Sochi as the host city for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games if its members had anticipated that the Russian Federation would invade the Republic of Georgia; and (4)the International Olympic Committee should move immediately to designate a new host city for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.