[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 36 (Wednesday, February 27, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H2264]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1600
         175TH ANNIVERSARY OF DOMINICAN INDEPENDENCE FROM HAITI

  (Mr. ESPAILLAT asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. ESPAILLAT. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the 175th 
anniversary of Dominican independence and the birth of the first 
country I call home.
  On February 27, 1844, the founding fathers of the Dominican 
Republican, great statesmen and lovers of freedom and democracy, raised 
the flag of a new republic in Santo Domingo and proclaimed their 
independence from Haiti, bringing another democratic republic into the 
family of nations.
  In the words of Dominican icon and independence leader Juan Pablo 
Duarte: ``Love of country led us to make sacred commitments with the 
next generation,'' and the commitments that he and his fellow patriots 
made 175 years ago live on in the hearts of every Quisqueyano, whether 
they are still on the island of their birth or whether they have made a 
new home abroad.
  Today is the day for all of us to celebrate the contributions of the 
Dominican people, just as my compatriots celebrate their independence 
throughout the country.

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