[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 865 Introduced in House (IH)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 865

  Commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution and 
   Freedom Fight of 1956 and celebrating the deep friendship between 
                     Hungary and the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 13, 2016

    Mr. Ross (for himself, Mr. Harris, Ms. Kaptur, and Mr. Russell) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                           on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution and 
   Freedom Fight of 1956 and celebrating the deep friendship between 
                     Hungary and the United States.

Whereas, on October 23, 1956, the people of Hungary rose up against Communist 
        tyranny and Soviet occupation to defend their freedom and sovereignty;
Whereas the United States gave moral support and encouragement to the people of 
        Hungary in their struggle for freedom;
Whereas, on October 23, 1956, Hungarian students organized a solidarity 
        demonstration with the people of Poland and presented a 16-point list of 
        demands, the first of which called for an end to Soviet occupation, thus 
        beginning the first mass scale popular uprising against Communism behind 
        the Iron Curtain;
Whereas, on October 24, 1956, Soviet troops attacked the freedom fighters 
        beginning an intense armed struggle that lasted for several months 
        between the freedom fighters and the largest army in the world;
Whereas for the first time under Soviet occupation anywhere, the Hungarian 
        protesters demolished the hated Stalin statue shattering any remaining 
        illusions about Communism globally;
Whereas, on October 27, 1956, Imre Nagy formed a new government accepting the 
        demands of the revolutionaries and the Hungarian Freedom Fighters halted 
        the attacks of the Soviets, paving the way for Hungary to declare its 
        independence from the Soviet bloc and reintroduce democratic multiparty 
        pluralism;
Whereas in reaction to the Hungarian Revolution and Freedom Fight President 
        Eisenhower stated on October 31, 1956, that ``all the world has been 
        watching dramatic events in Hungary where this brave people, as so often 
        in the past, have offered their very lives for independence from foreign 
        masters. Today, it appears, a new Hungary is rising from this struggle, 
        a Hungary which we hope from our hearts will know full and free 
        nationhood'';
Whereas, on November 4, 1956, the Soviet Union's invasion of Hungary began anew 
        with overwhelming force, brutally suppressing the democratic uprising 
        and toppling the legitimate government;
Whereas the events poignantly showed the truth that Communist power can only be 
        maintained through brute oppression and violence;
Whereas 400 people were executed in the ensuing reprisals and over 21,000 were 
        imprisoned;
Whereas President Eisenhower called the acts a ``brutal Soviet repression of the 
        people of Hungary'';
Whereas the United States Embassy sheltered Cardinal Jozsef Mindszenty, head of 
        the Roman Catholic Church in Hungary and an uncompromised moral leader 
        of resistance to Communism for 30 years;
Whereas the United States, recognizing that several thousand freedom fighters 
        were imprisoned and tortured following the Revolution, pursued a 
        concerted and determined policy effort over many years to demand the 
        release of these freedom fighters from imprisonment, thanks to which 
        effort many thousand freedom fighters were ultimately released and could 
        regain their freedom;
Whereas tens of thousands of Hungarians fleeing persecution found a new home in 
        the United States strengthening existing and creating new bonds between 
        the people of Hungary and the United States based on the strongest and 
        most noble value of humankind, that of love of freedom;
Whereas the brutality of the oppression could temporarily halt the advance of 
        freedom, but the Hungarian freedom fighters won the admiration of the 
        world; and
Whereas after 1956, Communism became morally untenable and the Hungarian 
        revolution inspired the 1968 Czechoslovak Spring of Freedom and the 1980 
        Polish march for freedom, thus started the dismantling and the eventual 
        defeat of Communist tyranny worldwide: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) celebrates the 60th anniversary of the Hungarian 
        Revolution and Freedom Fight of 1956 and values the opportunity 
        to remember the historic events with many of the Hungarian 
        heroes of the time still with us today;
            (2) honors the determination, courage, and sacrifice of the 
        people of Hungary, who rose up to fight for what they believed 
        in, advancing the cause of freedom in Hungary, Central Europe, 
        and beyond;
            (3) underlines the strong bonds between Hungary and the 
        United Stated based on our most elevating and common values, 
        love of freedom, and an unquenchable thirst for liberty;
            (4) recognizes the importance of the alliance between the 
        United States and Hungary in--
                    (A) common security and defense;
                    (B) an enduring shared commitment toward our shared 
                values; and
                    (C) promoting peace and shared prosperity;
            (5) expresses appreciation for the commitment of the people 
        of Hungary to democratic ideals and a Europe whole and free; 
        and
            (6) reaffirms the deep and historical friendship between 
        the people of Hungary and the United States based on the most 
        powerful and most noble value of humankind, the love of 
        freedom.
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