[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 177 (Thursday, October 26, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S5217]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   SENATE RESOLUTION 434--COMMEMORATING THE 200TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 
                            MONROE DOCTRINE

  Mr. RISCH (for himself, Mr. Ricketts, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Scott of 
Florida, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Crapo, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Vance, Mr. Rubio, 
and Mr. Scott of South Carolina) submitted the following resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 434

       Whereas, on December 2, 1823, President James Monroe 
     articulated what became to be known as the ``Monroe 
     Doctrine'' in his seventh annual message to Congress;
       Whereas, in the Monroe Doctrine, President Monroe asserted 
     ``a principle in which the rights and interests of the United 
     States are involved, that the American continents, by the 
     free and independent condition which they have assumed and 
     maintain, are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for 
     future colonization'' by foreign powers;
       Whereas the Monroe Doctrine asserted a spirit of solidarity 
     with the newly independent republics of Latin America and 
     established the principle that autocratic influences and 
     depredations by powers outside the region present dangers to 
     the peace, safety, and independence of the free nations of 
     the Western Hemisphere;
       Whereas President Monroe established the defensive 
     character of the Monroe Doctrine by asserting that, ``It is 
     only when our rights are invaded or seriously menaced that we 
     resent injuries or make preparation for our defense.'';
       Whereas President Monroe proclaimed the doctrine after the 
     Russian Empire attempted to claim and colonize territories in 
     present-day Alaska and the Pacific Northwest in 1821, and the 
     seizure of the USS Pearl by the Russian sloop Apollon in 
     1822;
       Whereas, according to the National Archives, the United 
     States Government invoked the Monroe Doctrine in 1865 to 
     exert diplomatic and military pressure in support of the 
     Mexican President Benito Juarez, which enabled Juarez to lead 
     a successful revolt against the Emperor Maximilian, who had 
     been placed on the throne by the French Empire;
       Whereas, according to the National Archives, President John 
     F. Kennedy invoked the Monroe Doctrine when the Soviet Union 
     built missile launch sites in Cuba in 1962, and as part of 
     the successful actions of his administration to see the 
     Soviet missiles withdrawn from the dismantled missile launch 
     sites in Cuba;
       Whereas, on September 17, 1987, the Senate adopted an 
     amendment, by a bipartisan vote of 90 to 2, to S. 1174 (100th 
     Congress), known as the ``National Defense Authorization Act 
     for Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989'', affirming ``the sense of 
     the Senate that the policy of the United States toward 
     Central America should be based on the principles of the 
     Monroe Doctrine'';
       Whereas the National Security Strategy dated October 2022 
     states that ``no region impacts the United States more 
     directly than the Western Hemisphere,'' and acknowledges the 
     threat of external interference or coercion in the Western 
     Hemisphere from the People's Republic of China, the Russian 
     Federation, and the Islamic Republic of Iran;
       Whereas the 2023 Posture Statement of the United States 
     Southern Command acknowledges that external malign actors 
     like the People's Republic of China and the Russian 
     Federation are aggressively exerting influence over 
     neighboring countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and 
     raises concerns about Iranian intelligence and security 
     activities;
       Whereas the 2023 Posture Statement of the United States 
     Southern Command notes that the People's Republic of China is 
     encroaching upon sensitive critical infrastructure in the 
     Western Hemisphere through investments, including in deep-
     water ports, cyber facilities, and space facilities which can 
     have a potential dual use for malign commercial and military 
     activities;
       Whereas the 2023 Posture Statement of the United States 
     Southern Command notes that the Russian Federation undertakes 
     extensive disinformation campaigns in Latin America, bolsters 
     authoritarian regimes like the Republic of Cuba, the Republic 
     of Nicaragua, and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and 
     pursues military engagement and gray zone operations in this 
     region;
       Whereas the posture statement for 2023 of the United States 
     Northern Command asserts ``Our competitors and potential 
     adversaries, particularly the People's Republic of China and 
     Russia, continue to challenge the rules-based international 
     order'' and ``seek to advance their interests and gain global 
     advantages through political intimidation, economic coercion, 
     cyber and information operations, asymmetric attacks on 
     infrastructure, and the direct threat or actual employment of 
     military force''; and
       Whereas the letter and spirit of the Monroe Doctrine 
     continue to inspire the efforts of the people of the United 
     States to--
       (1) maintain robust domestic, economic, and defense 
     capabilities; and
       (2) partner with democratic nations of the Western 
     Hemisphere on a basis of mutual respect and support for 
     shared beneficial diplomatic, commercial, and security 
     endeavors: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) commemorates the 200th anniversary of the promulgation 
     of the Monroe Doctrine;
       (2) reasserts the rights and interests of the United 
     States, in accordance with the Monroe Doctrine, to oppose a 
     foreign power extending malign influence that could endanger 
     or undermine the democracies of the Western Hemisphere; and
       (3) recognizes the principles of hemisphere freedom and 
     independence, as enshrined in the Monroe Doctrine, as an 
     enduring foundational cornerstone of the foreign policy of 
     the United States.

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