[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 59 (Thursday, May 2, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E704]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 165 HONORS THE POLISH CONSTITUTION OF 1791 
             AND PROMOTES DEMOCRACY IN EAST-CENTRAL EUROPE

                                 ______


                         HON. LUIS V. GUTIERREZ

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 2, 1996

  Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 205th 
anniversary of Poland's first Constitution on May 3. The Polish 
Constitution of 1791 was the first liberal Constitution in Europe, 
narrowly preceded by our own Constitution in 1787.
  I would also like to announce my cosponsorship of the House 
Concurrent Resolution 165, to honor the Polish Constitution of 1791 and 
to promote democracy in East-Central Europe.
  Throughout our Nation's history, the sons and daughters of Poland 
have immigrated to our shores. In fact, a native son of Poland, 
Thaddeus Kosciuszko, fought alongside General Washington during the 
Revolutionary War. Upon returning to Poland, after his heroic efforts 
for American liberty, Mr. Kosciusko helped draft the Polish 
Constitution. The American concept of constitutional democracy was thus 
born in Europe in 1791.
  However, just as American independence had threatened the colonial 
establishment and balance of power, Poland's early democratic 
experiment threatened the autocratic regimes of its neighbors, imperial 
Russia and the Hapsburg Austro-Hungarian Empire. Two years after Poland 
embarked on its bold path the Russian and Austrian armies conquered 
Poland and ended constitutional rule.
  Today, 205 years after it began, the democratic experiment in Poland 
has been restored. A free Poland has experienced its first real open 
elections in several generations and the positive economic successes it 
has achieved are unparalleled in its history.
  Poland is looking to cement its economic and political achievements 
by joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO] and the 
European Community. Poland's efforts to exercise civilian control over 
its military and its cooperation with the NATO alliance through the 
Partnership for Peace and in Bosnia are important steps toward greater 
military and economic integration with the rest of Europe and the 
United States.
  Today, I salute and congratulate Polish people around the world, 
including the thousands of Polish-Americans in the Fourth Congressional 
District of Illinois and in the Chicago area, as we commemorate the 
adoption of the first Polish Constitution. I also urge my colleagues 
and the people of the United States to recognize Poland's rebirth as a 
free and independent nation in the spirit and legacy of the Polish 
Constitution of 1791.

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