[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 197 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 197

 To commend the American Sail Training Association for its advancement 
      of character building under sail and for its advancement of 
                        international goodwill.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 26, 2009

 Mr. Kennedy submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to 
   the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 To commend the American Sail Training Association for its advancement 
      of character building under sail and for its advancement of 
                        international goodwill.

Whereas the American Sail Training Association (ASTA) is an educational 
        nonprofit corporation whose declared mission is ``to encourage character 
        building through sail training, promote sail training to the North 
        American public and support education under sail'';
Whereas since its founding in 1973, ASTA has promoted these goals through--

    (1) support of character building experiences aboard traditionally 
rigged sail training vessels;

    (2) a program of scholarship funds supporting such experiences;

    (3) a long history of tall ship races, rallies, and maritime festivals 
dating back as far as 1976;

    (4) the Tall Ships Challenge series of races and maritime festivals 
which--

    G    (A) have been conducted each year since 2001;

    G    (B) have reached an aggregate audience to date of some 8,000,000 
spectators;

    G    (C) have had a cumulative economic impact of over $400,000,000 for 
over 30 host communities; and

    G    (D) involve sail training vessels, trainees, and crews from all 
the coasts of the United States and around the world;

    (5) support of its membership of more than 200 sail training vessels, 
embracing barks, barques, barkentines, brigantines, brigs, schooners, 
sloops, and full-rigged ships, which carry the flags of the United States, 
Canada, and many other nations and have brought life changing adventures to 
thousands and thousands of young trainees;

    (6) a series of more than 30 annual sail training conferences to date, 
conducted in numerous cities throughout the United States and Canada and 
embracing the Safety Under Sail Forum and the Education Under Sail Forum;

    (7) extensive collaboration with the United States Coast Guard and with 
the premier sail training vessel of the United States, the square-rigged 
barque USCGC Eagle;

    (8) publication of ``Sail Tall Ships'', a periodic directory of sail 
training opportunities; and

    (9) supporting the enactment of the Sailing Schools Vessel Act of 1982, 
Public Law 97-322, on October 15, 1982;

Whereas ASTA has ably represented the United States as its national sail 
        training organization as a founding member of Sail Training 
        International, the recognized international body for the promotion of 
        sail training, which itself carries forward a series of international 
        races amongst square-rigged and other traditionally rigged vessels 
        reaching back as far as the 1950s; and
Whereas ASTA and Sail Training International are collaborating with port 
        partners around the Atlantic Ocean to produce Tall Ships Atlantic 
        Challenge 2009, an international fleet of sail training vessels 
        originating in Europe, voyaging to North America, and returning to 
        Europe: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) commends the American Sail Training Association for its 
        advancement of character building experiences for youth at sea 
        in traditionally rigged sailing vessels and its advancement of 
        the finest traditions of the sea;
            (2) commends the American Sail Training Association as the 
        national sail training association of the United States, 
        representing the sail training community of the United States 
        in the international forum; and
            (3) encourages all citizens of the United States and of 
        nations around the world to join in the celebration of Tall 
        Ships Atlantic Challenge 2009 and in the character building and 
        educational experience that it represents for the youth of all 
        nations.
                                 <all>