[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 4 (Wednesday, January 8, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S80]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   EXPRESSING THE IMPORTANCE OF THE UNITED STATES ALLIANCE WITH THE 
  REPUBLIC OF KOREA AND THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF KOREAN AMERICANS IN THE 
                             UNITED STATES

  Mrs. FISCHER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 366, S. Res. 152.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 152) expressing the importance of the 
     United States alliance with the Republic of Korea and the 
     contributions of Korean Americans in the United States.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution, which had been reported from the Committee on Foreign 
Relations, with an amendment to strike all after the resolving clause 
and insert the part printed in italic and an amendment to strike the 
preamble and insert the part printed in italic, as follows:

                              S. Res. 152

       Whereas the United States and the Republic of Korea enjoy a 
     comprehensive alliance partnership, founded in shared 
     strategic interests and cemented by a commitment to 
     democratic values;
       Whereas the United States and the Republic of Korea work 
     closely together to promote international peace and security, 
     economic prosperity, human rights, and the rule of law;
       Whereas the relationship between the United States and the 
     Republic of Korea goes as far back as Korea's Chosun Dynasty, 
     when the United States and Korea established diplomatic 
     relations under the 1882 Treaty of Peace, Amity, Commerce, 
     and Navigation;
       Whereas, on August 15, 1948, the Provisional Government of 
     the Republic of Korea, established on April 11, 1919, was 
     dissolved and transitioned to the First Republic of Korea, 
     the first independent government;
       Whereas United States military personnel have maintained a 
     continuous presence on the Korean Peninsula since the Mutual 
     Defense Treaty Between the United States and the Republic of 
     Korea (5 UST 2368) was signed at Washington on October 1, 
     1953;
       Whereas, on May 7, 2013, the United States and the Republic 
     of Korea signed a Joint Declaration in Commemoration of the 
     60th Anniversary of the Alliance Between the Republic of 
     Korea and the United States;
       Whereas 63 years ago the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, 
     and Navigation between the United States and the Republic of 
     Korea, with Protocol (8 UST 2217) was signed at Seoul on 
     November 28, 1956;
       Whereas the economic relationship between the United States 
     and the Republic of Korea is deep and mutually beneficial to 
     both countries;
       Whereas the Republic of Korea is the United States seventh-
     largest trading partner;
       Whereas the Republic of Korea is one of the fastest growing 
     sources of foreign direct investment in the United States;
       Whereas the United States is the second largest source of 
     foreign direct investment in the Republic of Korea;
       Whereas, on January 13, 1903, 102 pioneer Korean immigrants 
     arrived in the United States, initiating the first chapter of 
     Korean immigration to America;
       Whereas the over 2,000,000 Korean Americans living in the 
     United States contribute to the diversity and prosperity of 
     our Nation, participate in all facets of American life, and 
     have made significant contributions to the economic vitality 
     of the United States;
       Whereas members of the Korean American community serve with 
     distinction in the United States Armed Forces;
       Whereas Korean Americans continue to build and strengthen 
     the alliance between the United States and the Republic of 
     Korea; and
       Whereas the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act (Public Law 
     115-409), signed into law on December 31, 2018, states that 
     the United States Government--
       (1) is committed to the Mutual Defense Treaty Between the 
     United States and the Republic of Korea and all related and 
     subsequent bilateral security agreements and arrangements 
     concluded on or before the date of the enactment of that Act;
       (2) recognizes the vital role of the alliance between the 
     United States and South Korea in promoting peace and security 
     in the Indo-Pacific region; and
       (3) calls for the strengthening and broadening of 
     diplomatic, economic, and security ties between the United 
     States and the Republic of Korea: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved,
     That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes the vital role the alliance of the United 
     States and the Republic of Korea plays in promoting peace and 
     security in the Indo-Pacific region;
       (2) calls for the strengthening and broadening of 
     diplomatic, economic, and security ties between the United 
     States and the Republic of Korea; and
       (3) reaffirms the United States alliance with the Republic 
     of Korea is central to advancing United States interests and 
     engagement in the region, based on shared commitments to 
     democracy, free-market economics, human rights, and the rule 
     of law.
  Mrs. FISCHER. I ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported 
substitute amendment to the resolution be agreed to; that the 
resolution, as amended, be agreed to; that the committee-reported 
amendment to the preamble be agreed to; that 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 committee-reported amendment, in the nature of a substitute, was 
agreed to.
  The resolution, as amended, was agreed to.
  The committee-reported amendment to the preamble was agreed to.
  The preamble, as amended, was agreed to.
  The resolution (S. Res. 152), as amended, and the preamble, as 
amended, were agreed to.

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