[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 222 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 222

  Expressing the support of the House of Representatives for the Good 
   Friday Agreement, signed on April 10, 1998, as a blueprint for a 
       lasting peace in Northern Ireland, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 7, 2007

Mrs. McCarthy of New York (for herself, Mr. Walsh of New York, Mr. Neal 
of Massachusetts, Mr. Payne, Mr. Gallegly, Mr. McHugh, Mrs. Maloney of 
 New York, Mr. Doyle, Mr. Higgins, Mr. Crowley, Mr. King of New York, 
  Mr. Ackerman, Mr. Meeks of New York, Mr. Tanner, Mr. Hinojosa, Mr. 
 Sires, Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas, Ms. Watson, Mr. Sherman, Mr. Lantos, 
   Mr. Berman, Mr. Engel, Mr. Delahunt, Mr. Smith of Washington, Mr. 
 Carnahan, Mr. Gene Green of Texas, Ms. Woolsey, Mr. Wu, Ms. Linda T. 
   Sanchez of California, Ms. McCollum of Minnesota, and Mr. Wexler) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                           on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing the support of the House of Representatives for the Good 
   Friday Agreement, signed on April 10, 1998, as a blueprint for a 
       lasting peace in Northern Ireland, and for other purposes.

Whereas the Good Friday Agreement, signed on April 10, 1998, sets out a plan for 
        the creation of the Northern Ireland Assembly, and a devolved government 
        in Northern Ireland on a stable and inclusive basis;
Whereas the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive have been suspended since 
        2002;
Whereas the St. Andrews Agreement of October 2006 established a timetable for 
        the restoration of a power-sharing government in Northern Ireland;
Whereas the St. Andrews Agreement required that ``support for policing and the 
        rule of law should be extended to every part of the community'';
Whereas on January 28, 2007, Sinn Fein held a party conference during which it 
        declared its support for the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the 
        criminal justice system, consistent with the terms of the St. Andrews 
        Agreement;
Whereas British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern 
        stated on January 30, 2007, that ``We remain fixed in our determination 
        to see shared government returned to the people of Northern Ireland.'';
Whereas British Prime Minister Tony Blair called for elections in Northern 
        Ireland to take place on March 7, 2007, in adherence to the timeline 
        established in the St. Andrews Agreement; and
Whereas the St. Andrews Agreement set a deadline of March 26, 2007, for devolved 
        government to be restored to Northern Ireland: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved,  That--
            (1) the House of Representatives--
                    (A) reiterates its support for the Good Friday 
                Agreement, signed on April 10, 1998, in Belfast, as a 
                blueprint for a lasting peace in Northern Ireland;
                    (B) declares its support for the St. Andrews 
                Agreement of October 2006;
                    (C) commends British Prime Minister Tony Blair and 
                Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern for their leadership and 
                persistence in seeking a peaceful resolution in 
                Northern Ireland; and
                    (D) commends all parties for abiding by the terms 
                agreed to in the St. Andrews Agreement; and
            (2) it is the sense of the House of Representatives that 
        all political parties in Northern Ireland should--
                    (A) agree to share power with all parties according 
                to the democratic mandate of the Good Friday Agreement;
                    (B) meet all deadlines established by the St. 
                Andrews Agreement; and
                    (C) commit to work in good faith with all the 
                institutions of the Good Friday Agreement, which 
                established the Northern Ireland Assembly and an 
                inclusive Executive, the North-South Ministerial 
                Council, and the British-Irish Inter-Governmental 
                Conference, for the benefit of all the people of 
                Northern Ireland.
                                 <all>