[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 115 (Tuesday, July 28, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H8943-H8944]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    RECOGNIZING THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL

  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
agree to the resolution (H. Res. 496) recognizing the 20th anniversary 
of the fall of the Berlin Wall, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 496

       Whereas November 9, 2009, marks the 20th anniversary of the 
     fall of the Berlin Wall and the symbolic end of the Cold War;
       Whereas the Cold War was an enduring struggle between 
     communism and democracy throughout the second half of the 
     20th century;
       Whereas the last United States President to speak at the 
     Brandenburg Gate prior to the destruction of the Berlin Wall 
     was President Ronald Reagan, who, in June 1987, stated, 
     ``General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek 
     prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you 
     seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, 
     open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!'';
       Whereas two years later, in September 1989, protests that 
     the East Germans called the ``Peaceful Revolution'' broke 
     out, with protestors at first chanting ``We want out!'', and 
     then gradually changing that protest cry to ``We're staying 
     here!'', demonstrating their desire for democracy in their 
     part of Germany;
       Whereas on November 9, 1989, in response to protests that 
     had grown to include over 1,000,000 people in Berlin's 
     Alexanderplatz, Gunter Schabowski, the communist East German 
     Minister of Propaganda, announced that the border would be 
     opened for ``private trips abroad'';
       Whereas thousands of people in East Berlin immediately 
     flooded the checkpoints at the Berlin Wall and demanded entry 
     into West Berlin causing the overwhelmed East German Border 
     Guards to open the border checkpoints to allow people to 
     cross into West Berlin;
       Whereas people in West Berlin enthusiastically greeted 
     those coming across from East Berlin, dancing atop the Berlin 
     Wall and hammering chunks out of it until a section opened 
     through which more East Germans walked and shouted out 
     ``Freedom! Freedom! Just once, Freedom!'';
       Whereas over 400,000,000 people were freed from the bondage 
     of communism at the end of the Cold War in Russia, Belarus, 
     Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, 
     Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, East 
     Germany, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, 
     Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania;
       Whereas the victory of the United States in the Cold War 
     will signify freedom from oppression for decades to come;
       Whereas Berlin, Germany, will celebrate the 20th 
     anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall with the 
     ``Festival of Freedom''; and
       Whereas the fall of the Berlin Wall was one of the most 
     significant events of the 20th century and symbolized the 
     triumph of democracy over communism: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) recognizes the 20th anniversary of the fall of the 
     Berlin Wall;
       (2) celebrates 20 years of freedom from the bondage of 
     communism with the people of the former communist countries; 
     and
       (3) acknowledges the symbolic triumph of democracy over 
     communism.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. 
Ros-Lehtinen) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from American Samoa.


                             General Leave

  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks 
and to include extraneous material on the resolution under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from American Samoa?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I first want to commend the senior ranking member of 
our House Foreign Affairs Committee and the chairman of our committee, 
Congressman Berman, for their support of this legislation, and I 
commend my good friend, the gentleman from Texas, as the chief sponsor 
of this legislation.
  I rise in strong support of this resolution that recognizes the 20th 
anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
  Twenty-two years ago, in June 1987, President Ronald Reagan spoke at 
the Brandenburg Gate and issued the now legendary call: ``Mr. 
Gorbachev, tear down this wall.'' Just over 2 years later, the wall was 
torn down, chipped away by euphoric citizens from both sides of a 
divided country following months of peaceful protests by brave men and 
women across East Germany.
  Unforgettable to us are all of the pictures which were broadcast 
around the world of East and West Berliners dancing together atop a 
wall that, for over a quarter century, symbolized the tension and 
divisiveness of the cold war.
  The fall of Berlin Wall contributed to a democratic domino effect 
across the Warsaw Pact region. Over the next 2 years, revolution swept 
through Eastern Europe as Communist governments were defeated in 
popular elections and while exuberant citizens reclaimed their freedom 
and democratic liberties.
  On November 9, the people of Germany will commemorate the 20th 
anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall with a Festival of Freedom. 
The United States will happily join with the German people in 
remembering the moving events of that autumn and of the democratic era 
they heralded.
  As President Obama recently noted during his speech in Moscow, ``The 
arc of history shows that governments which serve their own people 
survive and thrive; governments which serve only their own power do 
not.''
  This momentous occasion should not be used as a time for 
triumphalism. Rather, it provides an opportunity to celebrate the 
remarkable progress that has been made in achieving a Europe that is 
whole, free and at peace.
  Indeed, the changes that have occurred in only two decades are 
stunning. East and West Germany have reunified into a single, strong 
and prosperous state. Ten countries that previously laid behind the 
Iron Curtain have joined the European Union and NATO, and democratic 
progress is slowly being achieved across the rest of the former Soviet 
region.
  I support this resolution, and I welcome the opportunity to recognize 
this significant date in European history to reaffirm the strong ties 
between the United States and Germany and to celebrate the enduring 
power of democratic freedom of institutions that relate to a free 
people.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to yield such time 
as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe), the author of 
this measure.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Florida 
for yielding, and I thank the gentleman from American Samoa for his 
support of this resolution, H. Res. 496.
  Madam Speaker, it started with these words: ``General Secretary 
Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet 
Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization, come here to this 
gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this 
wall.''
  Most everyone has heard these famous words spoken by President Ronald 
Reagan on the day he addressed a crowd of about 45,000 people at the 
Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin, Germany. However, it would be 2 years 
later before those fateful words issued that day would actually come to 
pass.
  It happened on the night of November 9 after hearing East German 
Minister of Propaganda Gunter Schabowski announce in a live statement 
that East German citizens now had the right to travel abroad 
``immediately and without delay.'' Thousands of East Berliners charged 
forward towards the border crossings. Upon arrival, they were met by 
guards at the checkpoints, who, due to the massive

[[Page H8944]]

numbers of crowds of people, had no choice but to allow the East German 
citizens to pass through, and pass through they did. They charged to 
freedom through checkpoints, including the famous U.S. Checkpoint 
Charlie.
  Once across, East Germans were greeted by their friends, the West 
Germans, who danced on top of the Berlin Wall in celebration while 
others hammered away at the wall on both sides until a section came 
down, at which point more East Germans walked through and shouted, 
``Freedom. Freedom. Just once, freedom.''
  November 9, 1989, was that date. It did go down in history as an 
important day for world peace and for world liberty.
  Madam Speaker, today, we stand here to recognize the 20th anniversary 
of the fall of the Berlin Wall. It continues to live in history, not 
just in the pages of books or in resolutions but in the hearts and 
minds of people all over the world who were freed that night because 
that wall came down. They will continue to remember and to celebrate 
the day that democracy, freedom of the people, triumphed over 
Communism--the day the Berlin Wall fell and was torn down.
  And that's just the way it is.

                              {time}  1915

  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Madam Speaker, that's just the way it is.
  I commend my good friend from Texas for his most eloquent statement 
and am in support of his resolution.
  I have no additional speakers at this time, and I reserve the balance 
of my time.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  The Berlin Wall has fallen, Germany will be reunited, the Communist 
regimes in East Germany and across East Europe are falling. For decades 
during the Cold War, to hear those words spoken was the greatest hope 
and the most powerful dream of millions of people living behind the 
Iron Curtain. Today, that hope and that dream are indeed a reality, but 
we ought to recall why they were so powerful for so many people in 
those days.
  Perhaps some of us have not given thought for some time to the 
powerful images from the night of November 9, 1989, when thousands of 
people in East Berlin pushed past overwhelmed border guards at the 
Berlin Wall and began tearing down the concrete and barbed wire 
barrier. Their expression of joy as they embraced friends, family, and 
even strangers on the other side of that wall indeed moved us all who 
witnessed it.
  Why were those people so desperate for freedom on that night almost 
20 years ago? Well, the oppressive totalitarian aspect of Communist 
East Germany had been clearly articulated by the long-time leader of 
that regime, Walter Ulbricht, in his favorite saying, ``It has to look 
democratic but we must have everything under our control.''
  So while claiming to be democratic, the Communists had, in 1961, 
begun to literally wall in their own citizens. That regime began 
constructing the Berlin Wall in the dead of night on August 12, 1961. 
Behind the new prison wall in Berlin and across all of East Germany, 
the regime's secret police worked to infiltrate every institution and 
everyone's personal lives, creating an atmosphere of mistrust, 
oppression, and insecurity among the people in East Germany.
  Under that totalitarian rule, there were at least 15 different 
separate definitions of who was an enemy of the state. Many living in 
East Berlin and East Germany were so desperate to escape to freedom 
that they risked their lives in those attempts. Over the years, a total 
of 238 people were killed while trying to escape to the West, 120 were 
injured, and approximately 100,000 were arrested and sent to prison for 
their attempts.
  However, on November 9, 1989, just as the construction of the Berlin 
Wall in August 1961 marked the beginning of the Communist consolidation 
of power, so did the destruction of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 
mark the beginning of the collapse of the East German Communist regime 
and ultimately the collapse of the Soviet Union itself.
  With this resolution, we commemorate November 9, 1989, as the day 
when freedom so clearly broke free of oppression. We honor the brave 
men and women who lost their lives in the pursuit of liberty.
  I urge my colleagues to support passage of this important resolution. 
I commend my colleague, my friend from Texas, for its introduction.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers at this 
time, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega) that the House suspend 
the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 496, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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