[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 78 (Tuesday, May 10, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2406-S2407]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     IRISH-AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration and 
the Senate now proceed to S. Res. 552.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.

[[Page S2407]]

  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 552) designating March 2022 as 
     ``Irish-American Heritage Month'' and honoring the 
     significance of Irish Americans in the history and progress 
     of the United States.

  There being no objection, the committee was discharged, and the 
Senate proceeded to consider the resolution.
  Mr. DURBIN. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution being agreed 
to; that the Murphy amendment at the desk 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 resolution (S. Res. 552) was agreed to.
  The amendment (No. 5029), to the preamble, was agreed to as follows:

                    (Purpose: To amend the preamble)

       In the preamble, in the eighth whereas clause, strike 
     ``Chuck Feeney'' and insert ``William Russell Grace''.

  The preamble, as amended, was agreed to.
  The resolution with its preamble, as amended, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 552

       Whereas, from the earliest days of the United States, the 
     United States has inspired the hopes and dreams of countless 
     individuals from around the world in search of a better life 
     for themselves and their children;
       Whereas more than 31,500,000 United States citizens trace 
     their ancestry to Ireland;
       Whereas, since before the United States was founded, Irish 
     men and women undertook the perilous journey across the 
     Atlantic Ocean to make a home in the United States, a place 
     of hope and promise, and made inestimable contributions to 
     the United States, both during the struggle for independence 
     and after the founding of the republic;
       Whereas 9 of the 56 signatories of the Declaration of 
     Independence, 4 associate justices of the Supreme Court of 
     the United States, and 22 Presidents proudly claim Irish 
     heritage;
       Whereas Irish immigrants who came to the United States 
     during the Great Famine of the 1840s helped transform cities 
     in the United States, building them into dynamic centers of 
     commerce and industry;
       Whereas the cultural, economic, and spiritual contributions 
     of Irish immigrants continue to be evident today throughout 
     the United States;
       Whereas Irish Americans have become deeply integrated into 
     communities with strength, courage, wit, and creativity, 
     making significant contributions in all areas of life;
       Whereas Irish-American writers such as Eugene O'Neill, John 
     O'Hara, and F. Scott Fitzgerald transformed literature in the 
     United States, entrepreneurs like William Russell Grace 
     helped revolutionize industry and philanthropy in the United 
     States, performers such as Gregory Peck, Lucille Ball, and 
     Gene Kelly enriched the arts, and social reformers such as 
     suffragist Leonora Barry and labor organizer Mary Kenney 
     O'Sullivan fought for the rights of others;
       Whereas Irish Americans have served ably in communities in 
     numerous capacities, including in public safety and 
     government at the Federal, State, and local levels, and in 
     the Armed Forces in every war in which the United States has 
     fought since the Revolutionary War, including patriots such 
     as Audie Murphy, the most decorated soldier of World War II;
       Whereas, more than 200 years ago, John Barry, who was born 
     in Ireland, was the first naval hero of the Revolutionary War 
     and became known as the Father of the Navy;
       Whereas the United States played a prominent role in 
     support of negotiations of the Good Friday Agreement (also 
     known as the Belfast Agreement), done at Belfast, April 10, 
     1998, and has taken a leading role in promoting peace on the 
     island of Ireland more broadly;
       Whereas Congress greatly values the close relationships the 
     United States shares with both the United Kingdom and Ireland 
     and is steadfastly committed to supporting the peaceful 
     resolution of any and all political challenges in Northern 
     Ireland; and
       Whereas, on February 28, 2022, President Joseph R. Biden, 
     Jr., proclaimed March 2022 as Irish-American Heritage Month: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) designates March 2022 as ``Irish-American Heritage 
     Month'';
       (2) recognizes the significant contributions of Irish 
     Americans in the history and progress of the United States; 
     and
       (3) supports the full implementation of the Good Friday 
     Agreement (also known as the Belfast Agreement) and 
     subsequent agreements or arrangements for implementation of 
     that Agreement to support peace on the island of Ireland.

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