[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 998 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 998

   Celebrating 200 years of United States diplomatic relations with 
                               Colombia.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 18, 2022

  Mr. Sires (for himself, Mr. Diaz-Balart, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Mr. 
Gallego, Mr. Vela, Mr. Cuellar, Mr. McCaul, Ms. Salazar, Mr. Waltz, Mr. 
   Crenshaw, Ms. Titus, Mr. Rogers of Alabama, Mr. Palmer, Mr. Tony 
 Gonzales of Texas, Ms. Castor of Florida, Mr. Gimenez, Mr. Crawford, 
Mr. Carl, Mr. Aderholt, Mr. Valadao, Mr. Green of Tennessee, Mr. Moore 
of Alabama, Mrs. McClain, Mrs. Torres of California, Mr. Crist, and Mr. 
  Smith of New Jersey) submitted the following resolution; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Celebrating 200 years of United States diplomatic relations with 
                               Colombia.

Whereas, on August 7, 1819, Colombia (formerly known as The Great Colombia) 
        concluded their independence campaign from Spain with the Battle of 
        Boyaca;
Whereas, on March 18, 1822, the House of Representatives approved two 
        resolutions recognizing the independence of Colombia, and allocated 
        funds for the establishment of a diplomatic mission;
Whereas, on June 19, 1822, the United States and Colombia formally established 
        diplomatic relations, and the accreditation of Colombia's Manuel Torres 
        marked the first Charge d'Affaires from a Latin American country to the 
        United States;
Whereas, on December 16, 1823, the United States appointed its first Charge 
        d'Affaires to The Great Colombia, Richard Clough Anderson, Jr.;
Whereas, on October 3, 1824, the United States and Colombia signed their first 
        commercial agreement, the Anderson Gual Treaty, which entered into force 
        in May 1825;
Whereas, in 1943, during World War II, Colombia declared war on the Axis Powers, 
        fighting in cooperation with the United States and the Allies;
Whereas Colombia was one of the 51 nations to participate in the San Francisco 
        Conference in 1945, agreeing upon the Charter of the United Nations;
Whereas, in 1947, during the Ninth International Conference of American States 
        meeting in Bogota, Colombia, 21 countries, including the United States 
        and Colombia, adopted the Charter of the Organization of American 
        States, the American Treaty on Pacific Settlement, and the American 
        Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man;
Whereas, from 1950 to 1954, Colombia was the only country from Latin America 
        that sent Armed Forces to South Korea to join the United Nations effort 
        against North Korea;
Whereas, on December 4, 1991, the United States enacted the Andean Trade 
        Preference Act and on October 31, 2002, the Andean Trade Promotion and 
        Drug Eradication Act, granting duty-free access to a wide range of 
        exports from Colombia and other Andean countries, with the objective of 
        promoting commercial relations and combating illicit narcotics 
        production and trafficking;
Whereas, in 2000, the United States and Colombia launched Plan Colombia, a 
        transformational security and economic development initiative that 
        reduced crime, narcotics trafficking, and violence and strengthened 
        state capacity in Colombia;
Whereas, in April 2012, the United States and Colombia launched the United 
        States-Colombia Action Plan on Regional Security Cooperation, using the 
        lessons learned from Plan Colombia to counter the proliferation of 
        transnational criminal organizations throughout the Western Hemisphere;
Whereas, on May 15, 2012, the United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement 
        entered into force, which expanded commercial ties, economic growth, and 
        employment opportunities in both the United States and Colombia;
Whereas the United States is Colombia's leading trade partner;
Whereas, on June 25, 2013, Colombia signed an agreement with the North Atlantic 
        Treaty Organization (NATO) on security cooperation and information 
        sharing and in May 2018, became its first and only global partner 
        country in Latin America;
Whereas, since 2018, Colombia and the United States have led the Orion 
        International Naval Campaign to combat maritime narcotics trafficking 
        and the jointly led campaign has strengthened the narcotics interdiction 
        capabilities of 38 countries and 88 institutions, including in northern 
        Central America;
Whereas, on April 28, 2020, Colombia became the 37th member and 3d country in 
        Latin America to join the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and 
        Development;
Whereas Colombia is one of the United States most consistent and reliable allies 
        through its support for shared diplomatic and security objectives;
Whereas Colombians and Colombian Americans residing in the United States have 
        greatly contributed to enriching the social, cultural, economic, and 
        scientific landscape of the United States and helped further strengthen 
        the ties between the United States and Colombia;
Whereas during an official visit by President Ivan Duque to the White House on 
        March 10, 2022, President Biden referred to Colombia as the ``linchpin'' 
        of the Western Hemisphere, asserting, ``Colombia is the keystone to our 
        shared efforts to build a hemisphere that is prosperous, secure, and 
        democratic''; and
Whereas during that trip, the United States announced it would designate 
        Colombia as a major non-NATO ally: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) celebrates the 200th anniversary of diplomatic 
        relations between the United States and Colombia;
            (2) recognizes the critical role that Colombia plays in 
        promoting stability and prosperity in the Western Hemisphere;
            (3) recognizes the vital strategic alliance between the 
        United States and Colombia, built on a shared commitment to 
        democracy;
            (4) celebrates the contributions made by Colombians and 
        Colombian Americans to the United States;
            (5) reaffirms the steadfast support of the Government and 
        people of the United States for the people of Colombia in their 
        pursuit of peace, stability, and prosperity; and
            (6) encourages strengthening cooperation with Colombia in 
        areas such as technology, education, energy transition, and 
        nearshoring, as well as in joint efforts toward the protection 
        of democracy in the Western Hemisphere.
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