[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 59 (Wednesday, April 22, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4585-S4586]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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SENATE RESOLUTION 108--COMMENDING CAPTAIN RICHARD PHILLIPS, THE CREW OF 
THE ``MAERSK ALABAMA'', AND THE UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES, RECOGNIZING 
   THE GROWING PROBLEM OF PIRACY OFF SOMALIA'S COAST, AND URGING THE 
DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY TO ADDRESS PIRACY AND ITS ROOT 
                                 CAUSES

  Mr. LEAHY (for himself, Mr. Gregg, Mr. Feingold, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. 
Sanders, Mr. Kerry, and Mr. Chambliss) submitted the following 
resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

[[Page S4586]]

                              S. Res. 108

       Whereas Somalia has been without a functioning central 
     government since 1991, resulting in lawlessness and an 
     increasingly desperate humanitarian situation;
       Whereas according to a Somali human rights group, violence 
     during the period from 2007 to 2009 has killed an estimated 
     16,000 people, wounded more than 28,000 people, and displaced 
     more than 1,000,000 people;
       Whereas these grim conditions and the absence of a 
     functioning government have made Somalia an ideal base for 
     piracy operations and a fertile ground for terrorist 
     organizations, including the group al-Shabaab, whose leaders 
     have ties to al-Qaeda;
       Whereas acts of piracy off the coast of Somalia have been 
     on the rise for more than a year, with the International 
     Maritime Bureau reporting an estimated 111 attacks in 2008;
       Whereas on Wednesday, April 8, 2009, Somali pirates used 
     grappling hooks and weapons to board the Norfolk, Virginia-
     based container ship Maersk Alabama, which was captained by 
     Richard Phillips, a resident of Underhill, Vermont, and 
     crewed by 19 other citizens of the United States, and which 
     was delivering food aid from the World Food Programme to 
     hungry people in east Africa;
       Whereas Captain Phillips, a native of Winchester, 
     Massachusetts and a 1979 graduate of the Massachusetts 
     Maritime Academy, bravely led the Maersk Alabama crew in 
     successfully retaking control of the ship by offering himself 
     as a hostage in exchange for the release of the crew;
       Whereas 4 pirates took Captain Phillips into an 18-foot 
     lifeboat, held him captive at gunpoint, and repeatedly 
     threatened to kill him;
       Whereas the United States Central Command dispatched to the 
     scene the destroyer U.S.S. Bainbridge, which was joined in 
     subsequent days by the U.S.S. Halyburton and the U.S.S. 
     Boxer, along with Navy SEAL teams, Marine Corps helicopters, 
     and other joint assets of the United States Armed Forces;
       Whereas hostage recovery experts from the Federal Bureau of 
     Investigation gave guidance to the crew of the U.S.S. 
     Bainbridge, while the Department of State stayed in contact 
     with Captain Phillips' family, including Phillips' wife 
     Andrea and their 2 children, Daniel and Mariah, in Underhill, 
     Vermont;
       Whereas Maersk Limited, based in Norfolk, Virginia, worked 
     diligently with the United States Armed Forces to try to 
     obtain the release of Captain Phillips and the Maersk Alabama 
     crew and to move the ship safely to port in Kenya, while 
     sending personal representatives to Vermont to keep the 
     Phillips family informed;
       Whereas in the late evening of April 9, 2009, Captain 
     Phillips made an escape attempt, jumping into the water of 
     the Indian Ocean to swim for safety, only to be pursued by 
     the pirates and quickly recaptured;
       Whereas the President received regular briefings on the 
     hostage crisis and provided the authority necessary for the 
     United States Armed Forces to resolve it;
       Whereas on April 12, 2009, Easter Sunday, Captain Phillips 
     was rescued after the United States Armed Forces, which 
     throughout the crisis spared no effort to defuse the 
     situation and peacefully rescue Phillips, took the lives of 3 
     of the pirate captors when Phillips was seen to be in 
     imminent danger; and
       Whereas international commerce remains under threat while 
     Somali pirates continue to hold for ransom more than 200 crew 
     members of many nationalities: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) Captain Phillips deserves the respect and admiration of 
     all people of the United States for his brave conduct under 
     life-threatening circumstances;
       (2) the Senate shares the sense of relief and gratitude 
     felt by the family and shipmates of Captain Phillips;
       (3) all members of the United States Armed Forces involved 
     in the rescue operation, in particular members of the Navy 
     and Navy SEAL teams who rescued Captain Phillips, the 
     officials of other Federal Government departments and 
     agencies who contributed, and the crew of the Maersk Alabama, 
     are to be commended for their exceptional efforts and 
     devotion to duty; and
       (4) the President should work with the international 
     community and the transitional government of Somalia to 
     develop a comprehensive strategy to address both the 
     burgeoning problem of piracy and its root causes.

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