[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 85 (Friday, June 18, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7055-S7057]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

                                 ______
                                 

SENATE RESOLUTION 383--COMMENDING THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE TAMPA BAY 
        LIGHTNING FOR WINNING THE 2004 STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONSHIP

  Mr. NELSON of Florida (for himself and Mr. Graham of Florida) 
submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 383

       Whereas on Monday, June 7, 2004, the National Hockey League 
     Tampa Bay Lightning team won the Stanley Cup, becoming the 
     second team in 30 years to overcome a 3-2 deficit in the 
     National Hockey League finals to win Lord Stanley's Cup;
       Whereas the Tampa Bay Lightning entered the Eastern 
     Conference of the National Hockey League in 1992;
       Whereas the Tampa Bay Lightning is the 86th National Hockey 
     League team to win the Stanley Cup;
       Whereas coach John Tortorella has become the third 
     American-born coach to win the Stanley Cup;
       Whereas left wing Dave Andreychuk has played for and won 
     his first career Stanley Cup during a 22-year career after 
     playing a record 1,758 games and 162 playoff games;
       Whereas center Brad Richards was awarded the Conn Smythe 
     2004 National Hockey League Playoff MVP Trophy for finishing 
     the playoffs with 12 goals, including a National Hockey 
     League record of 7 game-winners, and 14 assists in 23 games;
       Whereas Brad Richards led the league in playoff scoring 
     with 26 points and scored 2 power-play goals in Game 6 of the 
     finals, making Game 7 necessary;
       Whereas left wing Fredrik Modin served to assist in 1 of 
     Brad Richards's 2 goals in Game 6;
       Whereas left wing Ruslan Fedotenko suffered a head injury 
     in Game 3, missed Game 4, returned for Game 5, and scored 2 
     goals in Game 7, including the game-winning goal;
       Whereas right wing Martin St. Louis, winner of the Art Ross 
     Trophy, awarded to the player who leads the National Hockey 
     League in scoring points at the end of the regular season, 
     has made significant contributions to the team;
       Whereas goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, a 2-time National Hockey 
     League All-Star, has

[[Page S7056]]

     earned the nickname ``The Bulin Wall'' because of his 
     blockage of countless shots; and
       Whereas the Tampa Bay Lightning, in its 12-year history, 
     has overcome great odds, including 3 ownership groups, 5 
     coaches, 4 general managers, and being last in the league 
     just 3 years ago: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) commends the Tampa Bay Lightning National Hockey League 
     team for winning the 2004 Stanley Cup;
       (2) recognizes the achievements of all the players, 
     coaches, and support staff who were instrumental in assisting 
     the team to win the Stanley Cup and invites them to the 
     United States Capitol Building to be honored; and
       (3) directs the Secretary of the Senate to transmit 1 
     enrolled copy of this resolution to the owner, and 1 enrolled 
     copy of this resolution to the coach, of the 2004 National 
     Hockey League champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning.
  Mr. LUGAR. Mr. President, today I stand to submit a resolution 
focused on the development of self-government in Kosovo. I am pleased 
that Senators Voinovich, Allen, Smith, and Biden have joined me in co-
sponsoring this legislation.
  I believe that Kosovo's future lies in building democracy, respecting 
human rights, and fostering ethnic reconciliation. I am hopeful that 
the United States will remain involved in Kosovo until it is self-
sustaining. I also believe that a successful conclusion to Kosovo's 
status is crucial to Balkan reintegration into Europe and into Euro-
Atlanta institutions.
  It has been 5 years since the signing of the United Nations Security 
Council Resolution 1244 that marked the end of a brutal conflict in 
Kosovo. Much progress has been made, but it is critical to focus on the 
work at hand: developing political processes that are inclusive and 
protect human rights, especially those of minorities. My resolution 
focuses on the process of getting Kosovo to achieve self-governance 
before its future status is determined.
  The United States Senate must continue to support the efforts of 
UNMIK (the United Nations Mission in Kosovo) and KFOR (the NATO-led 
international security forces in Kosovo), and promote steps to foster 
the development of the Kosovo economy through strengthened cooperation 
with the South Central Europe region and Euro-Atlantic institutions. I 
was pleased to co-sponsor a resolution submitted by my colleague, 
Senator Voinovich, that condemned the ethnic violence that erupted in 
Kosovo last March, and that called upon the people of Kosovo to 
cooperate with UNMIK, KFOR and the Kosovo Police to identify and bring 
to justice the perpetrators of the violence.
  I strongly support the Administration's new policy initiative for 
Kosovo, which was launched last November. It foresees periodic review 
of progress by Kosovo's autonomous institutions of self-government on 
establishing rule of law, multi-ethnic democracy, market economic 
reform, and stable relations with neighbors. My resolution calls upon 
the leaders of the Provisional Institutions of Self-Governance in 
Kosovo, and upon the leaders of the political parties and communities 
of Kosovo, to renew their efforts in cooperation with UNMIK, KFOR, and 
the international community to achieve political and economic 
stability. A critical step in Kosovo's development is a stable 
relationship with Belgrade. I urge both sides to engage in direct 
dialogue.
  I believe that it is critical for the U.S. to continue to play a 
central role in Kosovo and provide strong assistance in achieving the 
benchmarks, and at an appropriate time, in determining a process 
leading to final status. I urge my colleagues to lend their support to 
U.S. policy in the Balkans and ask their support for this resolution.
                                 ______
                                 

   SENATE RESOLUTION 384--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE ON THE 
                DEVELOPMENT OF SELF-GOVERNMENT IN KOSOVO

  Mr. LUGAR (for himself, Mr. Voinovich, Mr. Allen, Mr. Smith, and Mr. 
Biden) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 384

       Whereas United Nations Securitv Council Resolution 1244 of 
     June 10, 1999, mandates an international civil presence and 
     an international security presence in Kosovo, ending a brutal 
     conflict in Kosovo;
       Whereas during and immediately after the conflict, the 
     people of Kosovo suffered from ethnic cleansing, war crimes, 
     and crimes against humanity;
       Whereas more than 4 years after the end of the Kosovo 
     conflict, the incidence of ethnic strife in Kosovo remains 
     unacceptably high, and the need for the fundamental work of 
     ethnic reconciliation in Kosovo remains great;
       Whereas the ethnic violence that erupted in Kosovo on March 
     17, 2004, claiming the lives of 19 people, displacing more 
     than 4,000 Kosovo Serbs and other minorities, and resulting 
     in the destruction of more than 500 homes and at least 30 
     churches belonging to Kosovo minorities, serves as a reminder 
     of serious challenges that remain in Kosovo;
       Whereas the United States and the international community 
     strongly condemned the ethnic violence that erupted in Kosovo 
     on March 17, 2004;
       Whereas the Senate adopted a resolution on April 8, 2004, 
     urging political leaders to fulfill their commitment to 
     rebuild property that was destroyed in the violence of mid-
     March 2004 in Kosovo, and to take all possible action to 
     allow the more than 4,000 people displaced during the 
     violence to return quickly and safely to their homes and 
     communities;
       Whereas ethnic crimes and violent reprisals against Kosovo 
     citizens of all ethnic groups harm the victims, their 
     families, and their communities, and impair their common 
     future;
       Whereas the integration of Kosovo into Europe, and into the 
     international community, depends on the ability of the people 
     of Kosovo to overcome the divisions which have too often 
     marked the past in Kosovo;
       Whereas an important goal of the international civil 
     presence in Kosovo established by United Nations Security 
     Council Resolution 1244 is to facilitate a political process 
     to determine the future status of Kosovo, taking into account 
     the Rambouillet accords of 1999;
       Whereas ``Standards'' of democratic self governance and a 
     multiethnic society in Kosovo are embodied in the goals 
     enunciated by the Special Representative of the United 
     Nations Secretary General in April 2002, to include the 
     effective functioning of democratic institutions, the rule of 
     law, the sustainable return of displaced persons, dialogue 
     with Serbia and Montenegro, freedom of movement, a stable 
     free-market economy, property rights, and the further 
     development of the Kosovo Protection Corps;
       Whereas the people of Kosovo have made some important 
     progress toward the fulfillment of these goals while 
     continuing to face challenges, particularly on issues of 
     refugee return and freedom of movement of Kosovo minorities;
       Whereas the United Nations Security Council, in its 
     Presidential statement of December 12, 2003, endorsed the 
     elaboration by UNMIK (the United Nations Interim 
     Administration in Kosovo) of the ``Standards'' in the 
     ``Standards for Kosovo'' document and welcomed the plan to 
     periodically review the progress in Kosovo in implementing 
     the standards;
       Whereas UNMIK has drafted a comprehensive ``Standards 
     Implementation Plan'' to give Kosovo precise guidance on the 
     actions that must be taken to achieve the standards;
       Whereas the United States and UNMIK are currently working 
     together with the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government 
     of Kosovo (PISG) to help Kosovo meet the standards with a 
     view to carry out a comprehensive review of the progress in 
     Kosovo ``around mid-2005''; and
       Whereas considerable further progress toward the 
     realization of the standards remains to be accomplished 
     before the process of determining the future status of Kosovo 
     can begin: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that the 
     United States should--
       (1) intensify its efforts to help Kosovo achieve the 
     ``Standards'', as set out by the Special Representative of 
     the United Nations Secretary General in Kosovo in October 
     2002, and as further elaborated in the UNMIK (the United 
     Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo) ``Standards For 
     Kosovo'' paper of December 10, 2003, to bring about a stable, 
     multiethnic, and democratic society in Kosovo by carrying out 
     the steps called for in the Kosovo Standards Implementation 
     Plan drafted by UNMIK;
       (2) further encourage Kosovo to become a factor for 
     stability in the region by having good relations with its 
     neighbors, and in particular, by engaging in dialogue with 
     Belgrade in an effort to secure a peaceful, long-term 
     solution for peace in the region;
       (3) encourage Belgrade to support the standards 
     implementation process in Kosovo, including by constructive 
     participation in the direct technical talks launched October 
     14, 2003;
       (4) enhance efforts to provide support to KFOR (the North 
     Atlantic Treaty Organization-led international security force 
     in Kosovo), and to call upon the PISG (Provisional 
     Institutions of Self-Government of Kosovo) to ensure the 
     security and freedom of movement for all the people of 
     Kosovo, and the return of refugees and internally displaced 
     persons;
       (5) urge all people in Kosovo to reject the ethnic violence 
     that erupted in Kosovo on March 17, 2004, and work with UNMIK 
     and KFOR to apprehend and prosecute the perpetrators of the 
     violence, to rebuild property destroyed during the violence, 
     and to work to ensure that displaced persons are able to 
     return safely to their homes and communities;
       (6) promote steps to foster the development of the Kosovo 
     economy through strengthened cooperation with the South 
     Central Europe region and Euro-Atlantic institutions,

[[Page S7057]]

     without prejudice to its future political status; and
       (7) call upon the leaders of the PISG, and upon the leaders 
     of all political parties and communities of Kosovo, to renew 
     and enhance their efforts in cooperation with UNMIK, KFOR, 
     and the international community to achieve the matters 
     describe, in paragraphs (1) through (6).

                          ____________________