[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 981 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 981

  Supporting continued political and economic development in Ukraine.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 16, 2009

Mr. Berman (for himself, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. Levin, Mr. Bartlett, Ms. 
Kaptur, Mr. Gerlach, Mr. Hastings of Florida, and Mr. Wexler) submitted 
   the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
                            Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Supporting continued political and economic development in Ukraine.

Whereas in 1991, Ukraine re-established its independence, and began the process 
        of developing democratic institutions and a market economy;
Whereas the Ukrainian people bravely demonstrated their desire for a free, 
        democratic, and prosperous country through nonviolent protest during the 
        2004 Orange Revolution;
Whereas the United States and Ukraine have a strong relationship, as evidenced 
        by the United States-Ukraine Charter on Strategic Partnership, signed in 
        December 2008 by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice with the objective 
        of expanding cooperation on defense, trade, energy, democratic 
        development, and cultural exchange;
Whereas during the July 2009 visit of Vice President Biden to Kyiv, the United 
        States and Ukraine agreed to create the Strategic Partnership Commission 
        to help implement the Charter, which held its inaugural meeting in 
        Washington, DC, on December 9, 2009, during the visit of the Ukrainian 
        Foreign Minister;
Whereas a strong, sovereign, independent, democratic, and economically 
        prosperous Ukraine is important to the interests of the United States 
        and to achieving peace, prosperity and stability in Europe;
Whereas Ukraine has been a staunch partner of the United States and NATO (North 
        Atlantic Treaty Organization) allies, as demonstrated by Ukraine's 
        participation in the International Security Assistance Force in 
        Afghanistan and the NATO Training Mission in Iraq and by NATO's 
        declaration at the Bucharest Summit in April 2008 that Ukraine will 
        become a member of the Alliance;
Whereas the United States and the European Union provide assistance to help 
        Ukraine foster peace and security, strengthen its democratic 
        institutions, further economic growth, and counter HIV/AIDS and other 
        deadly diseases;
Whereas the United States, the United Kingdom, and Russia gave security 
        assurances to Ukraine in the Budapest Memoranda of December 5, 1994, 
        following Ukraine's commitment to eliminate all nuclear weapons from its 
        territory and its accession to the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of 
        Nuclear Weapons as a non-nuclear weapons state as well as the entry into 
        force of the START Treaty;
Whereas the Joint Statement on the Expiration of the START Treaty issued by the 
        United States and Russia on December 4, 2009, affirmed that ``the 
        assurances recorded in the Budapest Memoranda will remain in effect 
        after December 4, 2009'';
Whereas, as Vice President Biden stated when he was in Kyiv, the effort to reset 
        the United States relationship with Russia ``will not come at Ukraine's 
        expense,'' and ``the more substantive relationship we have with Moscow, 
        the more we can defuse the zero-sum thinking about our relations with 
        Russia's neighbors.'';
Whereas Ukraine and the Ukrainian people have suffered from the world financial 
        crisis, and the government has sought and received assistance from 
        international financial institutions, but still needs to overcome 
        internal political and economic stalemates that prevent it from 
        fulfilling its requirements and hinder its ability to achieve greater 
        financial stability;
Whereas Ukraine will hold a presidential election on January 17, 2010, with a 
        possible run-off election on February 7, 2010, if needed;
Whereas the initial 2004 presidential elections in Ukraine were marred by 
        widespread irregularities, including fraud, intimidation, falsification 
        of results, and media bias; and
Whereas it is vital for Ukraine's democratic development that the 2010 elections 
        be free, fair, transparent, and untainted: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) reaffirms the strong relationship between the United 
        States and Ukraine, and encourages continued efforts to 
        implement the provisions of the United States-Ukraine Charter 
        on Strategic Partnership;
            (2) expresses its support for the efforts of the Ukrainian 
        people to consolidate democratic institutions, rule of law, 
        respect for human rights, and economic reforms;
            (3) recognizes the suffering of the Ukrainian people due to 
        the downturn in the world economy, and supports measures by the 
        international financial institutions to assist Ukraine;
            (4) urges all parties in Ukraine to seek resolution of 
        disputes and to take active measures to enable necessary 
        political and economic reforms;
            (5) urges the Government of Ukraine and all political 
        parties to ensure that the 2010 election is conducted freely, 
        fairly, transparently, and without manipulation;
            (6) encourages the Government of Ukraine and all political 
        parties to welcome the participation of the Organization for 
        Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and other 
        international election monitors, cooperate fully with them, and 
        provide them unimpeded access to all aspects of the election 
        process; and
            (7) reiterates its enduring support and friendship for 
        Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.
                                 <all>