[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 21 (Thursday, February 4, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S487]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    SENATE RESOLUTION 34--RECOGNIZING THE 200TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 
  INDEPENDENCE OF GREECE AND CELEBRATING DEMOCRACY IN GREECE AND THE 
                             UNITED STATES

  Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself and Mr. Barrasso) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                               S. Res. 34

       Whereas the people of ancient Greece developed the concept 
     of democracy, in which the supreme power to govern was vested 
     in the people;
       Whereas the founding fathers of the United States, many of 
     whom read Greek political philosophy in the original Greek 
     language, drew heavily on the political experience and 
     philosophy of ancient Greece in forming the representative 
     democracy of the United States;
       Whereas Petros Mavromichalis, the former Commander in Chief 
     of Greece and a founder of the modern Greek state, said to 
     the citizens of the United States in 1821, ``It is in your 
     land that liberty has fixed her abode and . . . in imitating 
     you, we shall imitate our ancestors and be thought worthy of 
     them if we succeed in resembling you.'';
       Whereas, in an October 21, 1823, letter to Greek scholar 
     Adamantios Koraes discussing the ongoing Greek struggle for 
     independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote that ``[n]o people 
     sympathise more feelingly than ours with the sufferings of 
     your countrymen, none offer more sincere and ardent prayers 
     to heaven for their success'';
       Whereas, on January 19, 1824, in a speech in support of his 
     resolution to send an American envoy to Greece amid its 
     struggle for independence, then-Congressman Daniel Webster 
     recognized ``the struggle of an interesting and gallant 
     people. . .contending against fearful odds, for being, and 
     for the common privilege of human nature'';
       Whereas individual American Philhellenes, including future 
     abolitionist Dr. Samuel Gridley Howe, future abolitionist 
     Jonathan Peckham Miller, and George Jarvis, traveled to 
     Greece to fight alongside and provide aid to the Greek people 
     in their struggle for independence;
       Whereas the people of the United States generously sent 
     humanitarian assistance to the people of Greece during their 
     struggle for independence, often through philhellene 
     committees;
       Whereas Greece heroically resisted Axis forces at a crucial 
     moment in World War II, forcing Adolf Hitler to change his 
     timeline and delaying the attack on Russia;
       Whereas Winston Churchill said that ``if there had not been 
     the virtue and courage of the Greeks, we do not know which 
     the outcome of World War II would have been'' and ``no longer 
     will we say that Greeks fight like heroes, but that heroes 
     fight like Greeks'';
       Whereas hundreds of thousands of the people of Greece were 
     killed during World War II;
       Whereas Greece consistently allied with the United States 
     in major international conflicts throughout its history as a 
     modern state;
       Whereas the United States and Greece reinforced their 
     commitment to security cooperation by signing an updated 
     Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement on October 5, 2019, that 
     will expand defense ties between the two countries and 
     promote stability in the region;
       Whereas the Prime Minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, 
     visited the United States from January 5 to 8, 2020, and held 
     meetings with members of Congress, including members of the 
     Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, which 
     demonstrated the continued vitality and significance of the 
     United States-Greece relationship;
       Whereas a high-level review of the United States-Greece 
     Strategic Dialogue took place in Greece on September 28, 
     2020, which underscored Greece's importance to the United 
     States as a geostrategic partner in the Eastern Mediterranean 
     and Balkans and as an important NATO ally;
       Whereas Greece is a strategic partner and ally of the 
     United States in bringing political stability and economic 
     development to the Balkan region, having invested billions of 
     dollars in the countries of the region and having contributed 
     more than $750,000,000 in development aid for the region;
       Whereas the Government and people of Greece actively 
     participate in peacekeeping and peace-building operations 
     conducted by international organizations, including the 
     United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the 
     European Union, and the Organization for Security and Co-
     operation in Europe;
       Whereas Greece remains an integral part of the European 
     Union;
       Whereas the United States has demonstrated its support for 
     the trilateral partnership of Greece, Israel, and Cyprus by 
     enacting into law the Eastern Mediterranean Security and 
     Energy Partnership Act of 2019 (title II of division J of 
     Public Law 116-94) and through joint engagement with Greece, 
     Israel, and Cyprus in the ``3+1'' format;
       Whereas Greece received worldwide praise for its 
     extraordinary handling during the 2004 Olympic Games of more 
     than 14,000 athletes and more than 2,000,000 spectators and 
     journalists, a feat the Government and people of Greece 
     handled efficiently, securely, and with hospitality;
       Whereas the Greek-American community has greatly 
     contributed to American society and has helped forge the 
     strong ties between the United States and Greece;
       Whereas the Governments and people of Greece and the United 
     States are at the forefront of efforts to advance freedom, 
     democracy, peace, stability, and human rights;
       Whereas those efforts and similar ideals have forged a 
     close bond between the peoples of Greece and the United 
     States;
       Whereas, in support of the Greece 2021 Committee 
     established by the Government of Greece, the United States 
     Mission in Greece has launched a campaign to celebrate the 
     bicentennial of the independence of Greece and the 200 years 
     of friendship between the United States and Greece; and
       Whereas it is proper and desirable for the United States to 
     celebrate March 25, 2021, Greek Independence Day, with the 
     people of Greece and to reaffirm the democratic principles 
     from which those two great countries were founded: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) extends warm congratulations and best wishes to the 
     people of Greece as they celebrate the 200th anniversary of 
     the independence of Greece;
       (2) expresses support for the principles of democratic 
     governance to which the people of Greece are committed;
       (3) commends the Greek-American community for its 
     contributions to the United States and its role as a bridge 
     between the two countries;
       (4) notes the important role that Greece has played in the 
     wider European region and in the community of nations since 
     gaining its independence 200 years ago; and
       (5) commends the critical role Greece plays in promoting 
     stability in the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Balkans.

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