[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 129 (Wednesday, November 15, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2063]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      DUTCH AMERICAN HERITAGE DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 15, 2006

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, today, on Dutch American Heritage Day, I 
rise to recognize the history of warm relations the Dutch and American 
people have shared for over 400 years and also to celebrate the many 
contributions of Dutch Americans to U.S. history. Americans of Dutch 
descent include Theodore, Franklin, and Eleanor Roosevelt, whose 
courage and strength helped lead the American people through difficult 
times in our Nation's past. Their ranks also include President Martin 
Van Buren, Walt Whitman, and Thomas Edison--and Senator Arthur 
Vandenberg who helped shape U.S. foreign policy after World War II.
  The Dutch were deeply involved in the exploration of the New World 
and the settlement of the early colonies. In 1609, while searching for 
an easy route to Asia, Captain Henry Hudson discovered the river that 
bears his name. Soon after, Dutch settlements began springing up 
throughout and beyond modern-day New York State into what is now 
Connecticut, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. 
Today, Americans of Dutch descent live in concentrations in Michigan, 
California, Florida, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Washington, Texas, Ohio, and 
Illinois.
  The ties between the United States and the Netherlands date back to 
the earliest days of the Republic. It was the Dutch who first 
recognized the United States of America and The Hague was home to the 
first American embassy in the world. The American people will not soon 
forget how on November 16, 1776, as the American warship, Andrew Doria, 
entered the harbor of the Dutch island of St. Eustatius in the West 
Indies, the fort fired a salute, recognizing the flag of the United 
States of America--the first of such acts by any country. This salute 
heralded the beginning of a relationship that would persist, unbroken, 
for three centuries.
  Today we also celebrate the people of the Netherlands who have stood 
beside us in good and bad times since the War of Independence. The 
Dutch granted the U.S. Congress its first loan, helping to sustain a 
struggling Nation at one of its lowest points; in the wake of Pearl 
Harbor, the Dutch were among the first nations to align themselves with 
the U.S. and they fought proudly with the 82nd and 101st Airborne 
Divisions in the occupied Netherlands during the Second World War. 
Today, the Dutch stand by us still in the ranks of NATO and among our 
troops in the ongoing efforts to combat terrorism in Afghanistan.
  Dutch American Heritage Day is a special day not only because it 
celebrates the heritage and contribution of Americans of Dutch descent 
but because the day is also a celebration of a friendship that has 
helped shape and sustain our Nation from the days of its infancy. We 
are thankful to the people of the Netherlands and we look forward to 
continued strong ties and goodwill for years to come.

                          ____________________