[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 339 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 339

  Expressing the sense of the United States House of Representatives 
   regarding the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama, the kidnapping of 
   Captain Richard Phillips by Somali pirates, the rescue of Captain 
     Phillips by United States Navy SEALs and the crews of the USS 
Bainbridge, USS Boxer, USS Halyburton, and Patrol Squadron (VP) 8, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 21, 2009

  Mr. Welch (for himself, Mr. Langevin, Mr. Akin, Mr. Alexander, Mr. 
Bishop of Utah, Mr. Bishop of New York, Mr. Boccieri, Mr. Boswell, Mr. 
Brady of Pennsylvania, Mr. Braley of Iowa, Mr. Carnahan, Mr. Carson of 
    Indiana, Mr. Castle, Mr. Chaffetz, Mr. Chandler, Mr. Coffman of 
    Colorado, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Conaway, Mr. Costa, Mr. Courtney, Mr. 
Crenshaw, Mrs. Dahlkemper, Mrs. Davis of California, Mr. Delahunt, Mr. 
Foster, Mr. Hall of New York, Mr. Heinrich, Mr. Hinchey, Mr. Hodes, Mr. 
 Holden, Mr. Holt, Mr. Honda, Mr. Israel, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of 
 Texas, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Jones, Mr. Kennedy, Ms. Kilpatrick 
  of Michigan, Ms. Kilroy, Mr. Kirk, Mrs. Kirkpatrick of Arizona, Mr. 
     Kissell, Ms. Kosmas, Mr. Kratovil, Mr. Lamborn, Mr. Larsen of 
   Washington, Mr. LoBiondo, Mr. Maffei, Mrs. Maloney, Mr. Markey of 
Massachusetts, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Massa, Mrs. McCarthy of New York, Mr. 
 McHugh, Mr. McIntyre, Mr. McKeon, Mr. McMahon, Mrs. McMorris Rodgers, 
 Mr. Mica, Mr. Minnick, Mr. Mitchell, Mr. Moran of Virginia, Mr. Nye, 
Mr. Ortiz, Mr. Pallone, Mr. Pascrell, Mr. Peters, Ms. Pingree of Maine, 
Mr. Poe of Texas, Mr. Reichert, Mr. Reyes, Mr. Rodriguez, Mr. Rogers of 
 Michigan, Mr. Rooney, Mr. Rothman of New Jersey, Mr. Sestak, Ms. Shea-
Porter, Mr. Shuster, Mr. Skelton, Mr. Space, Mr. Spratt, Mrs. Tauscher, 
  Mr. Teague, Mr. Tonko, Mr. Walz, Mr. Wilson of Ohio, Mr. Wilson of 
 South Carolina, Mr. Wittman, and Mr. Gerlach) submitted the following 
   resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing the sense of the United States House of Representatives 
   regarding the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama, the kidnapping of 
   Captain Richard Phillips by Somali pirates, the rescue of Captain 
     Phillips by United States Navy SEALs and the crews of the USS 
Bainbridge, USS Boxer, USS Halyburton, and Patrol Squadron (VP) 8, and 
                          for other purposes.

Whereas on April 8, 2009, a group of armed Somali pirates hijacked the Norfolk, 
        Virginia-based Maersk Alabama, a U.S. flagged cargo ship;
Whereas this attack represents the first such attack on a U.S. flagged vessel in 
        modern history;
Whereas Captain Richard Phillips of Underhill, Vermont, commander of the Maersk 
        Alabama, graduated from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy and has over 
        20 years of maritime experience;
Whereas Captain Phillips and the crew of the Maersk Alabama were delivering a 
        life-sustaining USAID shipment of over 8,000 metric tons of food aid to 
        Kenya, Somalia, and Uganda when the ship came under pirate attack;
Whereas the crew of the Maersk Alabama overpowered one of the pirate attackers, 
        and Captain Phillips offered himself up in return for the safe release 
        of his crew and ship;
Whereas four pirates then fled with Captain Phillips to an 18-foot lifeboat;
Whereas the United States Fifth Fleet immediately dispatched Maritime Patrol (P-
        3) Aircraft to locate and positively identify and monitor the Maersk 
        Alabama to vector the closest U.S. Navy ship to the scene;
Whereas the United States Navy destroyer USS Bainbridge, which had been 
        patrolling the region due to increased pirate activities, arrived on the 
        scene;
Whereas the USS Bainbridge, under the command of U.S. Navy Commander Frank 
        Castellano, monitored the conditions on the lifeboat and prevented the 
        pirates from escaping;
Whereas Commander Castellano served as the on-the-scene coordinator for the 
        combined rescue efforts of the State Department, Federal Bureau of 
        Investigation hostage negotiators, and the U.S. Navy;
Whereas U.S. Navy SEALs quickly deployed to the scene;
Whereas, while being held by pirates, Captain Phillips attempted a daring 
        escape, diving into the ocean and trying to swim to safety before being 
        recaptured;
Whereas the pirates held Captain Phillips at gunpoint for 5 days;
Whereas the Navy SEALs once again demonstrated their extraordinary bravery, 
        skill, and professionalism in rescuing Captain Phillips;
Whereas the USS Halyburton assisted the USS Bainbridge with the rescue 
        operation, by skillfully ensuring that the pirates were blocked in their 
        attempt to reach the Somali coast; and
Whereas the USS Boxer assisted in the rescue operation by standing by to provide 
        immediate medical support, which was thankfully not needed in this 
        operation: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) commends the crew of the Maersk Alabama and Captain 
        Phillips, who selflessly placed himself in harm's way to 
        protect his crew;
            (2) recognizes the United States Navy, the crews of the USS 
        Bainbridge, Boxer, Halyburton, and Patrol Squadron (VP) 8 for 
        their role in the rescue;
            (3) congratulates the Navy SEALs on the scene for their 
        decisive action that resulted in the rescue of Captain 
        Phillips; and
            (4) joins all Americans in expressing great relief that the 
        crew has returned home safely.
                                 <all>