[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 611 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 611

Recognizing that for 50 years, the Kingdom of Tonga has worked with the 
 United States toward stability, prosperity, and peace in the Pacific 
  and beyond, and expressing the sense of the Senate that the United 
 States will continue to remain a strong, reliable, and active partner 
                            in the Pacific.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              June 8, 2020

   Mr. Gardner (for himself and Ms. Hirono) submitted the following 
  resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Recognizing that for 50 years, the Kingdom of Tonga has worked with the 
 United States toward stability, prosperity, and peace in the Pacific 
  and beyond, and expressing the sense of the Senate that the United 
 States will continue to remain a strong, reliable, and active partner 
                            in the Pacific.

Whereas Tonga's Queen Salote Tupou III negotiated for the end of British 
        protectorate status for her nation and transition to Commonwealth 
        membership, which bore fruit in 1970;
Whereas Tonga is a valued security partner of the United States, and the Tongan 
        Defense Services deployed four contingents to Iraq between 2004 and 
        2008;
Whereas, in the coming year, the United States is committed to deepening this 
        relationship through security cooperation, including hosting Tongan 
        defense forces for International Military Education and Training (IMET) 
        programs;
Whereas the United States Government supports many cooperative activities with 
        the Government of Tonga in sustainable fisheries management and 
        development assistance, including those authorized by the Asia 
        Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-409);
Whereas section 1252 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 
        2020 (Public Law 116-92) expands the number of countries that receive 
        assistance under the Indo-Pacific Maritime Security Initiative, 
        including Tonga;
Whereas a peaceful, prosperous, and open Indo-Pacific rooted in a rule-based 
        order that promotes security, opportunity, and dignity to all peoples 
        benefits the people of both the United States and the Kingdom of Tonga;
 Whereas the Kingdom of Tonga, a constitutional monarchy, took steps towards 
        democratic governance beginning in 2010;
 Whereas over 50,000 United States citizens trace their roots to the Kingdom of 
        Tonga, and many of these reside in the States of Utah, California, and 
        Hawaii;
 Whereas Tonga has hosted the Peace Corps since 1967; and
 Whereas the Nevada National Guard entered into a State Partnership Program with 
        Tonga in 2014: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) commends the Kingdom of Tonga on a successful 
        transition to a constitutional monarchy and 3 elections deemed 
        to be free and fair by international observers;
            (2) supports and affirms the full implementation of 
        provisions of the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018 
        (Public Law 115-409) with regard to deepening its cooperation 
        with Tonga in areas of mutual interest, including fisheries and 
        marine resource conservation, environmental challenges and 
        resilience, global health, development and trade, people-to-
        people ties, and continuing United States assistance, as 
        appropriate, to support the rule of law, good governance, and 
        economic development; and
            (3) recognizes Tonga's participation in multinational 
        security forces and multilateral institutions including the 
        United Nations, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Asian 
        Development Bank, International Atomic Energy Agency, the World 
        Trade Organization, the Pacific Community, the Secretariat of 
        the Regional Environmental Programme, and the Pacific Islands 
        Forum.
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