[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 476 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 476

Designating March 25, 2008, as ``Greek Independence Day: A National Day 
           of Celebration of Greek and American Democracy''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 7, 2008

 Mr. Specter (for himself, Mr. Stevens, Mr. Levin, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. 
Menendez, Ms. Mikulski, Ms. Murkowski, Mr. Reed, Mr. Reid, Mr. Schumer, 
 Mr. Smith, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Biden, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Allard, Mr. Bennett, 
   Mr. Bingaman, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Carper, Mr. Casey, Mrs. 
 Clinton, Mr. Cochran, Mr. Craig, Mrs. Dole, Mr. Domenici, Mr. Dorgan, 
  Mr. Durbin, Mr. Feingold, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Gregg, Mr. Hagel, Mr. 
Isakson, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Chambliss, 
Mr. Sununu, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. Warner, Mr. Obama, Mr. 
Voinovich, Mr. Coleman, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Lugar, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Brown, 
   Mrs. Murray, Mr. Bayh, Mr. Martinez, Mr. Inouye, and Mr. Salazar) 
 submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Designating March 25, 2008, as ``Greek Independence Day: A National Day 
           of Celebration of Greek and American Democracy''.

Whereas the ancient Greeks developed the concept of democracy, in which the 
        supreme power to govern was vested in the people;
Whereas the Founding Fathers of the United States drew heavily on the political 
        experience and philosophy of ancient Greece in forming a representative 
        democracy;
Whereas Greek Commander in Chief Petros Mavromichalis, a founder of the modern 
        Greek state, said to the citizens of the United States in 1821 that ``it 
        is in your land that liberty has fixed her abode and . . . in imitating 
        you, we shall imitate our ancestors and be thought worthy of them if we 
        succeed in resembling you'';
Whereas, during World War II, Greece played a major role in the struggle to 
        protect freedom and democracy by bravely fighting the historic Battle of 
        Crete, giving the Axis powers their first major setback in the land war, 
        and setting off a chain of events that significantly affected the 
        outcome of World War II;
Whereas Greece paid a high price for defending the common values of Greece and 
        the United States in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Greek 
        civilians during World War II;
Whereas, throughout the 20th century, Greece was 1 of only 3 countries in the 
        world, outside the former British Empire, that allied with the United 
        States in every major international conflict;
Whereas President George W. Bush, in recognizing Greek Independence Day in 2002, 
        said, ``Greece and America have been firm allies in the great struggles 
        for liberty. . . . Americans will always remember Greek heroism and 
        Greek sacrifice for the sake of freedom. . . . [and a]s the 21st century 
        dawns, Greece and America once again stand united; this time in the 
        fight against terrorism. . . . The United States deeply appreciates the 
        role Greece is playing in the war against terror. . . . America and 
        Greece are strong allies, and we're strategic partners.'';
Whereas President Bush stated that Greece's successful ``law enforcement 
        operations against a terrorist organization [November 17] responsible 
        for 3 decades of terrorist attacks underscore the important 
        contributions Greece is making to the global war on terrorism'';
Whereas Greece is a strategic partner and ally of the United States in bringing 
        political stability and economic development to the volatile Balkan 
        region, investing over $20,000,000,000, creating over 200,000 new jobs, 
        and contributing over $750,000,000 in development aid to the region;
Whereas Greece was extraordinarily responsive to requests by the United States 
        during the war in Iraq, immediately granting the United States unlimited 
        access to Greece's airspace and the base in Souda Bay, and many United 
        States ships that delivered troops, cargo, and supplies to Iraq were 
        refueled in Greece;
Whereas Greece actively participates in peacekeeping and peace-building 
        operations conducted by international organizations including the United 
        Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the European Union, and 
        the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe;
Whereas, in August 2004, the Olympic games came home to Athens, Greece, the land 
        in which the games began 2,500 years ago and the city in which the games 
        were revived in 1896;
Whereas Greece received worldwide praise for its extraordinary handling during 
        the 2004 Olympics of more than 14,000 athletes and more than 2,000,000 
        spectators and journalists, a feat Greece handled efficiently, securely, 
        and with famous Greek hospitality;
Whereas the unprecedented security effort in Greece for the first Olympics after 
        the attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, included a 
        record-setting expenditure of more than $1,390,000,000 and the 
        assignment of more than 70,000 security personnel, as well as the 
        utilization of an 8-country Olympic Security Advisory Group that 
        included the United States;
Whereas Greece, located in a region in which Christianity mixes with Islam and 
        Judaism, maintains excellent relations with Muslim countries and Israel;
Whereas the Government of Greece has had extraordinary success in recent years 
        in furthering cross-cultural understanding and reducing tensions between 
        Greece and Turkey, as seen most recently with the January 2008 visit to 
        Turkey by the Prime Minister of Greece, Kostas Karamanlis, the first 
        official visit to Turkey by a Prime Minister of Greece in 49 years;
Whereas Greece is a key energy security hub that delivers gas to Europe via the 
        Turkey-Greece-Italy Interconnector;
Whereas Greece is a world leader in the assimilation of immigrants, with 
        immigrants having grown to more than 10 percent of people employed in 
        Greece;
Whereas Greece and the United States are at the forefront of the effort to 
        advance freedom, democracy, peace, stability, and human rights;
Whereas those and other ideals have forged a close bond between the governments 
        and the peoples of Greece and the United States;
Whereas March 25, 2008, marks the 187th anniversary of the beginning of the 
        revolution that freed the people of Greece from the Ottoman Empire; and
Whereas it is proper and desirable for the people of the United States to 
        celebrate this anniversary with the people of Greece and to reaffirm the 
        democratic principles from which both Greece and the United States were 
        born: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) designates March 25, 2008, as ``Greek Independence Day: 
        A National Day of Celebration of Greek and American 
        Democracy''; and
            (2) encourages the people of the United States to observe 
        the day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
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