[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 99 Introduced in House (IH)]
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115th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. CON. RES. 99
Expressing the sense of Congress on the occasion of the 100th
anniversary of the proclamation of independence of Czechoslovakia, the
25th anniversary of the independence of the Czech Republic and the
Slovak Republic, and reaffirming the bonds of friendship and
cooperation between the United States and the Czech Republic and the
Slovak Republic.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 19, 2018
Mr. Blum (for himself, Mr. Visclosky, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Barton, and
Mrs. Dingell) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of Congress on the occasion of the 100th
anniversary of the proclamation of independence of Czechoslovakia, the
25th anniversary of the independence of the Czech Republic and the
Slovak Republic, and reaffirming the bonds of friendship and
cooperation between the United States and the Czech Republic and the
Slovak Republic.
Whereas President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points, outlined on January 8, 1918,
were the basis for the formation of the Czechoslovak state in 1918;
Whereas, on May 31, 1918, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the representatives of
Slovak and Czech organizations and expatriate communities in the United
States signed the Pittsburgh Agreement, based on the Cleveland Agreement
signed on October 22, 1915, calling for an independent state of
Czechoslovakia in their European homeland;
Whereas the Czechoslovak Legions formed during World War I in Russia, France,
and Italy and supportive of the effort to create an independent state of
Czechs and Slovaks were recognized as Allied forces by the United States
and supported by the Government of the United States in their evacuation
from Siberia in July 2018;
Whereas, on September 3, 1918, the United States Government recognized the
Czecho-Slovak National Council as the official Government of
Czechoslovakia;
Whereas the Declaration of Independence of the Czechoslovak Nation by its
Provisional Government was drafted by Tomas G. Masaryk, the Prime
Minister of the Czechoslovak Provisional Government who later became the
first President of Czechoslovakia, while residing in the United States,
signed by the leaders of the Czechoslovak Provisional Government Tomas
G. Masaryk, Milan R. Stefanik, and Edvard Benes, and submitted to the
Department of State on October 18, 1918;
Whereas the peoples of the present day Czech Republic and the present day Slovak
Republic proclaimed their independence in the common state of the
Republic of Czechoslovakia on October 28 and October 30, 1918;
Whereas, on November 12, 1918, diplomatic relations between the United States
and Czechoslovakia were formally established;
Whereas the Munich Agreement signed on September 30, 1938, permitted Nazi
Germany's annexation of portions of Czechoslovakia, however failed to
prevent World War II and therefore fully discredited the policy of
appeasement of tyrants and dictators;
Whereas between 1938 and 1945, Nazi Germany annexed part of Bohemia, set up a
fascist ``protectorate'' in the rest of Bohemia and in Moravia, and
installed a puppet fascist government in Slovakia;
Whereas during World War II, the Slovak and Czech resistance movements against
Nazi occupation and fascism, with the support of the Czechoslovak
government-in-exile, launched the Slovak National Uprising in August
1944 and the Prague uprising in May 1945, and in their determination to
stand united against hatred and oppression these movements contributed
to the defeat of Nazism and fascism;
Whereas the Communists seized power from the democratically elected government
of Czechoslovakia in February 1948;
Whereas troops from Warsaw Pact countries invaded Czechoslovakia in August 1968,
ousted the reformist leadership of Alexander Dubcek, and restored a
hard-line communist regime;
Whereas in November 1989 the peoples of Czechoslovakia in a nonviolent Velvet
Revolution overthrew 40 years of totalitarian communist rule in order to
rebuild a democratic society, and since then have established vibrant,
pluralistic, democratic political systems based upon freedom of speech,
a free press, free and fair open elections, the rule of law, and other
democratic principles and practices, values embodied for many in the
personality of the first post-communist president Vaclav Havel;
Whereas the Slovak National Council passed the Constitution of the Slovak
Republic on September 1, 1992, and the Czech National Council passed the
Constitution of the Czech Republic on December 16, 1992;
Whereas the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic came into existence on
January 1, 1993, after a peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia;
Whereas the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic joined the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization on March 12, 1999, and March 29, 2004, respectively,
becoming responsible and reliable allies to the United States and other
NATO members;
Whereas committed to the idea of peaceful and prosperous Europe the Czech
Republic and the Slovak Republic became members of the European Union on
May 1, 2004;
Whereas the people of the United States, the Czech Republic, and the Slovak
Republic have maintained a special relationship based on shared
democratic values, common interests, and the strong bonds of friendship,
mutual respect, and close cooperation; and
Whereas the people of the United States have an affinity with the people of the
Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic and regard them as trusted and
important partners and allies: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That Congress--
(1) recognizes the 100th anniversary of proclamation of
independence of Czechoslovakia, as well as the 25th anniversary
of the independence of the Czech Republic and the Slovak
Republic;
(2) commemorates with the Czech Republic and the Slovak
Republic these anniversaries, underscoring the significance and
value of independence and sovereignty based on democratic
principles, values and practices, most of all freedom and
dignity of individual citizens;
(3) commends the peoples of the Czech Republic and the
Slovak Republic for their remarkable achievements over the past
25 years in building free, democratic, and prosperous
societies;
(4) recognizes the importance of the alliance between the
United States and the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic in
common defense, enduring commitment to the free and unified
Europe, and expanding and deepening economic prosperity of our
nations under the rule of law;
(5) appreciates the contribution of the Czech Republic and
the Slovak Republic as members of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization and the European Union to the promotion and
defense of common values of freedom, democracy, and liberty
around the world and for their support in the fight against
violent extremism;
(6) reaffirms the bonds of friendship and close cooperation
that have existed between the United States and the Czech
Republic and the Slovak Republic; and
(7) extends the warmest congratulations and best wishes to
the people of the Czech Republic and the people of the Slovak
Republic for a peaceful, prosperous, and successful future.
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