[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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