[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 171 (Tuesday, October 29, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6255-S6256]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   REAFFIRMING THE VITAL ROLE OF THE UNITED STATES-JAPAN ALLIANCE IN 
 PROMOTING PEACE, STABILITY, AND PROSPERITY IN THE INDO-PACIFIC REGION 
                  AND BEYOND, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

  Mr. CASSIDY. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 233, S. Res. 183.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 183) reaffirming the vital role of 
     the United States-Japan alliance in promoting peace, 
     stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and 
     beyond, and for other purposes.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution, which had been reported from the Committee on Foreign 
Relations, without amendment and with an amendment to strike the 
preamble, and insert the part printed in italic, as follows:
       Whereas the United States and Japan granted each other 
     formal recognition on March 31, 1854, with the signing of the 
     Treaty of Peace and Amity, and established full diplomatic 
     relations in 1858;
       Whereas, for the past 70 years, the alliance between the 
     United States and Japan has played a vital role in ensuring 
     peace, stability, and economic development in Asia and 
     beyond;
       Whereas the United States and Japan are deeply committed to 
     the common values of freedom, democracy, rule of law, and 
     free market economics;
       Whereas the United States-Japan alliance, forged nearly six 
     decades ago with the signing of the Treaty of Mutual 
     Cooperation and Security, is the cornerstone for advancing a 
     free and open Indo-Pacific region, and contributes 
     internationally to peace and stability;
       Whereas the United States and Japan are indispensable 
     partners in combating the proliferation of weapons of mass 
     destruction, improving global health, countering human 
     trafficking and promoting human rights, assisting the victims 
     of conflict and disaster worldwide, and contributing to 
     global economic development;
       Whereas the alliance is a testament to the ability of great 
     nations to overcome the past and jointly work to create a 
     more secure and prosperous future;
       Whereas our two countries, coming from different cultural 
     backgrounds, have created an active and dynamic relationship 
     beneficial to both peoples; and
       Whereas cultural and people-to-people ties between the 
     United States and Japan are long-standing and deep, as 
     exemplified by the 1912 gift from the People of Japan to the 
     People of the United States of the beautiful cherry trees 
     that grace our Nation's capital, signifying the unbreakable 
     bond between the two nations: Now, therefore be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) reaffirms the endorsement of long-standing United 
     States policy to pursue close and cooperative ties with Japan 
     in the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018 (Public Law 
     115-409), signed into law on December

[[Page S6256]]

     31, 2018, and the vital role of the United States-Japan 
     alliance in promoting peace, stability, and prosperity in the 
     Indo-Pacific region and beyond;
       (2) underscores the importance of the close people-to-
     people and cultural ties between our two nations;
       (3) calls for the strengthening and broadening of 
     diplomatic, economic, and security ties between the United 
     States and Japan; and
       (4) further calls for the continued cooperation between the 
     Governments of the United States and Japan in addressing 
     global challenges that threaten the security of people 
     everywhere in the new Reiwa era of ``beautiful harmony''.
  Mr. CASSIDY. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent the resolution 
be agreed to, the committee-reported amendment to the preamble be 
agreed to, the preamble, as amended, be agreed to, and that the motions 
to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 183) was agreed to.
  The committee-reported amendment to the preamble was agreed to.
  The preamble as amended was agreed to.
  (The resolution, with its preamble, is printed in the Record of May 
2, 2019, under ``Submitted Resolutions.'')

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