[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 76 (Thursday, May 4, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S1528]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                           EXECUTIVE CALENDAR

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will 
resume consideration of the following nomination, which the clerk will 
report.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read the nomination of Geeta 
Rao Gupta, of Virginia, to be Ambassador at Large for Global Women's 
Issues.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maine.


             25th Anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement

  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, on April 10, 1998, the governments of the 
United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland signed the Good Friday 
Agreement, giving birth to a new era of peace in Northern Ireland. On 
this 25th anniversary, I join my colleagues in sponsoring a resolution 
commemorating a historic success that marked the end of decades of 
conflict and that remains crucial to peace today and in the future. 
This resolution passed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee 
unanimously just yesterday and will be passed shortly by the full 
Senate.
  The recent celebration of this landmark event in Belfast brought 
together the three leaders of the day: Prime Minister Tony Blair, 
Taoiseach Bertie Ahearn, and President Bill Clinton. The highlight of 
that gathering was the unveiling at Queen's University of a bust of 
Senator George Mitchell, the architect of the Good Friday Agreement--
this Chamber's former majority leader and my fellow Mainer. And I know 
I speak for my fellow Mainers when I say how proud we were of this 
extraordinary accomplishment. And we salute Senator George Mitchell on 
this, the 25th anniversary.
  During the three decades that the Troubles plagued Northern Ireland, 
some 3,500 people were killed and 50,000 injured in sectarian violence. 
In 1996, during one of the many sporadic and ineffective ceasefires, 
George Mitchell, 1 year after his retirement from the Senate, stepped 
forward to serve as America's special envoy to Northern Ireland. He was 
committed, determined to forge a lasting peace. And he did.
  George Mitchell approached this daunting task with the statesmanship 
and dedication to justice that has defined his life. For nearly 2 
years, Senator Mitchell worked with unyielding energy and endless 
patience to bring together the many parties and conflicting interests. 
Despite arguments, controversies, and walkouts, the talks were held 
together by his leadership and by his Mitchell Principles, which, first 
and foremost, held that political issues must be resolved by democratic 
and exclusively peaceful means.
  Finally, on Good Friday, 1998, 1 day and a long sleepless night after 
the deadline Senator Mitchell had set to complete the complex 
negotiations, the agreement was, in fact, reached. Six weeks later, the 
voters in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland endorsed the 
pact with overwhelming margins.
  The Good Friday Agreement has been a remarkable success in meeting 
its primary goal of ending bloodshed and bringing sustainable peace. 
The resolution that I introduced with Senator Menendez, the Chairman of 
the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, calls upon Congress to reaffirm 
its steadfast support for this historic agreement and to the principles 
of peaceful and democratic participation as the only way to settle 
political differences. And, equally important, it recognizes George 
Mitchell's pivotal role.
  Senator George Mitchell himself defined leadership as having the 
wisdom to know what is right, the courage to say what is right, and the 
strength to do what is right. This is not merely a definition he has 
offered throughout an inspiring life of service but also an example he 
set for others.
  I appreciate my colleagues' support of this resolution in his honor 
as we seek to commemorate this historic anniversary of the agreement 
that he forged--an agreement that would not have come about but for 
George Mitchell's endless leadership and patience.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.