[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 102 (Wednesday, June 15, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2971-S2972]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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   SENATE RESOLUTION 675--COMMEMORATING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 
         AMERICAN HELLENIC EDUCATIONAL PROGRESSIVE ASSOCIATION

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN (for himself and Mr. Rubio) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 675

       Whereas the American Hellenic Educational Progressive 
     Association (referred to in this preamble as ``AHEPA'') was 
     founded on July 26, 1922, in Atlanta, Georgia, by 8 visionary 
     Greek immigrants to help unify, organize, and protect 
     individuals of all ethnic, racial, and religious backgrounds 
     against the bigotry, discrimination, and defamation 
     perpetrated predominantly by the Ku Klux Klan;
       Whereas the mission of AHEPA is to promote the Hellenic 
     ideals of ancient Greece, which include philanthropy, 
     education, civic responsibility, and family and individual 
     excellence through community service and volunteerism;
       Whereas, since the inception of AHEPA, the organization has 
     instilled in the members of AHEPA an understanding of their 
     Hellenic heritage and an awareness of the contributions that 
     Hellenic heritage has made to the development of democratic 
     principles and governance in the United States and throughout 
     the world;
       Whereas AHEPA has done much throughout the history of the 
     organization to foster patriotism in the United States;
       Whereas members of AHEPA have served in the Armed Forces of 
     the United States to protect the freedom of the people of the 
     United States and to preserve those democratic ideals that 
     are part of the Hellenic legacy;
       Whereas, in World War II, members of AHEPA parachuted 
     behind enemy lines in Nazi-occupied Greece to help liberate 
     Greece;
       Whereas AHEPA raised more than $253,000,000 for United 
     States war bonds during World War II, and, as a result of the 
     effort, AHEPA was named an official issuing agent for United 
     States war bonds by the Department of the Treasury, an honor 
     that no other civic organization had yet achieved;
       Whereas, in 1990, the members of AHEPA donated $612,000 
     toward the restoration of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis 
     Island, New York, for which AHEPA received special 
     recognition by the Department of the Interior;

[[Page S2972]]

       Whereas the AHEPA National Housing Program has sponsored 
     safe and dignified affordable housing for vulnerable senior 
     citizens under the Section 202 Supportive Housing for the 
     Elderly program (administered by the Department of Housing 
     and Urban Development and authorized under section 202 of the 
     Housing Act of 1959 (12 U.S.C. 1701q)), and the sponsorship 
     has a portfolio of 4,467 units in 87 communities in 19 
     States;
       Whereas AHEPA has engaged in ``Track Two Diplomacy'' to 
     foster reconciliation and rapprochement in the Eastern 
     Mediterranean, which is in the best interest of the United 
     States, and has enhanced people-to-people ties between 
     countries;
       Whereas AHEPA financially supports scholarships, natural 
     disaster and humanitarian relief, medical research, and 
     countless other charitable and philanthropic causes by 
     contributing more than $2,200,000 annually from the national, 
     district, and local levels of AHEPA;
       Whereas generations of Greek American women and 
     Philhellenes have worked to strengthen society through 
     service organizations, such as the Daughters of Penelope, in 
     order to--
       (1) provide affordable housing for older adults;
       (2) sponsor and support domestic violence shelters;
       (3) provide scholarship awards;
       (4) raise awareness and provide financial support for 
     medical research and charitable causes; and
       (5) help those in need of humanitarian assistance or 
     natural disaster relief;
       Whereas, in the spirit of their Hellenic heritage and in 
     commemoration of the Centennial Olympic Games held in 
     Atlanta, Georgia, members of AHEPA raised $775,000 for the 
     Tribute to Olympism and Hellenism sculpture, the fan-like 
     structure of which helped to save lives during the 1996 
     Olympic Bombing at Centennial Olympic Park;
       Whereas members of AHEPA raised $110,000 for the creation 
     of the George C. Marshall Statue erected on the grounds of 
     the United States Embassy in Athens, Greece, in celebration 
     of the historic relationship between the United States and 
     Greece and in tribute to General Marshall, an outstanding 
     statesman and Philhellene;
       Whereas members of AHEPA raised $1,000,000 toward the 
     rebuilding of Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and 
     National Shrine at the World Trade Center, which was the only 
     house of worship destroyed on September 11, 2001;
       Whereas members of AHEPA have been Presidents and Vice 
     Presidents of the United States, United States Senators and 
     Representatives, and United States Ambassadors, and have 
     served honorably as elected and appointed officials at local 
     and State levels throughout the United States; and
       Whereas President George H. W. Bush cited AHEPA as 1 of the 
     ``thousand points of light'' in the United States: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes the significant contributions to the United 
     States of citizens of Hellenic heritage;
       (2) commemorates the 100th Anniversary of the founding of 
     the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association, 
     applauds its mission, and commends the many charitable 
     contributions of its members to communities in the United 
     States and around the world; and
       (3) requests the President to issue a proclamation 
     recognizing the 100th Anniversary and many accomplishments of 
     the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association.

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