[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 124 (Tuesday, July 30, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5588-S5589]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    SENATE RESOLUTION 776--RECOGNIZING THE 49TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 
    INDEPENDENCE OF THE REPUBLIC OF CABO VERDE AND CELEBRATING THE 
CONTRIBUTIONS OF CABO VERDEAN-AMERICANS TO DEMOCRACY IN CABO VERDE AND 
                           THE UNITED STATES

  Mr. MARKEY (for himself, Mr. Reed, Mr. Whitehouse, Ms. Warren, and 
Mr. Welch) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 776

       Whereas the archipelago of Cabo Verde was the first 
     permanent European settlement in the tropics, the Portuguese 
     arrived in 1456 and settled in Cidade Velha on the Island of 
     Santiago in 1462, and Cabo Verde became an epicenter of the 
     beginning of the transatlantic slave trade;
       Whereas Kriolu Kabuverdianu, the maternal language of Cabo 
     Verde, a mix of Portuguese and various African languages, 
     became the world's first European and African creole language 
     and is the oldest living and widely spoken creole language;
       Whereas British influence significantly shaped the 
     archipelago's economic development and cultural landscape, 
     particularly through the establishment of trade routes and 
     maritime commerce facilitated by British traders and 
     merchants;
       Whereas the spirit of Cabo Verdeans' resistance to the 
     colonial rule of Portugal was embodied by the Badiu community 
     and culture on the Island of Santiago, which was made up of 
     escaped formerly enslaved Africans who lived removed from the 
     Portuguese colonial administration;
       Whereas the United States and the archipelago of Cabo Verde 
     share strong historical links dating back to the whaling 
     trade in the 18th century, with people-to-people ties 
     potentially dating back even earlier;
       Whereas the emigration of Cabo Verdeans to the United 
     States began in the 18th century and continues today, with 
     communities primarily concentrated in Massachusetts, Rhode 
     Island, and Connecticut;
       Whereas, in 1818, the first consulate of the United States 
     in sub-Saharan Africa opened in what is now the Republic of 
     Cabo Verde;
       Whereas, in the 19th century, the archipelago of Cabo Verde 
     was the base of the Africa Squadron of the United States 
     Navy, which worked to suppress the transatlantic slave trade 
     across West Africa to the Americas and beyond;
       Whereas the archipelago of Cabo Verde has long been a 
     refuge for communities seeking a better life, as exemplified 
     by an embrace of Jewish heritage following the persecution of 
     Sephardic Jews during the Inquisition and Moroccan and 
     Gibraltarian migration during the 19th century, an integral 
     part of Cabo Verde's national heritage;
       Whereas the State Ship of the Commonwealth of 
     Massachusetts, the schooner Ernestina-Morrissey, originally 
     launched in 1894 as the Effie M. Morrissey, was the last 
     sailing vessel to bring immigrants to the United States from 
     the archipelago of Cabo Verde and was designated as a 
     National Historic Landmark by the Department of the Interior 
     in 1990;
       Whereas, between 1800 and 1921, more than 70 percent of all 
     Cabo Verdean immigrants to the United States arrived via the 
     Port of New Bedford, Massachusetts;
       Whereas the labor of Cabo Verdeans became integral to the 
     commercial cultivation of cranberries in the 19th century as 
     the whaling industry declined and remains so today;
       Whereas, with the decline of the whaling industry, Cabo 
     Verdean-American mariners developed a strong packet trade 
     between the archipelago of Cabo Verde and New England, 
     bringing goods and thousands of immigrants with them;
       Whereas, on January 20, 1973, Amilcar Cabral, the founder 
     and leader of the African Party for the Independence of 
     Guinea and Cabo Verde, was assassinated;
       Whereas, on July 5, 1975, the archipelago of Cabo Verde 
     gained independence from Portugal;
       Whereas, on July 19, 1975, the United States established 
     diplomatic relations with the Republic of Cabo Verde;
       Whereas the Government of the Republic of Cabo Verde was 
     under one-party rule until 1992, when the first multiparty 
     elections were held;
       Whereas Kriolu Kabuverdianu can still be heard today in 
     various towns and cities across New England;
       Whereas the Republic of Cabo Verde has several sister city 
     and town relationships with counterparts in the United 
     States, such as Praia with Boston, Massachusetts, and 
     Providence, Rhode Island, Mosteiros with Brockton, 
     Massachusetts, and Mindelo with New Bedford, Massachusetts;
       Whereas Cabo Verdean-Americans continue to contribute to 
     the social fabric of the United States, particularly in New 
     England, in industries such as politics, entertainment, 
     sports, academia, and others;
       Whereas many Cabo Verdean-Americans were involved in the 
     civil rights movement in the United States and Cabo Verde's 
     struggle for independence during the 20th century;
       Whereas more than 150 Peace Corps volunteers served in the 
     Republic of Cabo Verde from 1988 to 2013, and in 2019 the 
     Government of the Republic of Cabo Verde formally invited the 
     Peace Corps to return;
       Whereas Jose Maria Pereira Neves, the former Prime Minister 
     and current President of the Republic of Cabo Verde, met with 
     United States President Barack Obama in the Cabinet Room of 
     the White House in 2013 to discuss and strengthen bilateral 
     relations, emphasizing mutual interests in economic 
     development, democracy, and regional security;
       Whereas the Pedro Pires Institute for Cape Verdean Studies 
     at Bridgewater State University in Bridgewater, 
     Massachusetts, is the only academic research institute in the 
     world solely dedicated to the archipelago of Cabo Verde and 
     Cabo Verdeans and serves as a bridge between Massachusetts, 
     the archipelago of Cabo Verde, and the Cabo Verdean diaspora;
       Whereas the Republic of Cabo Verde upholds the principles 
     of freedom and democracy;
       Whereas the Republic of Cabo Verde enjoys relatively high 
     literacy rates, high per capita income, and positive health 
     indicators;
       Whereas, in 2021, New Hampshire and the Republic of Cabo 
     Verde agreed to the State Partnership Program administered by 
     the National Guard Bureau, which deepens United States-Cabo 
     Verde relations and encourages exchanges between government 
     and military personnel;
       Whereas, in 2019, the traditional Cabo Verdean musical 
     genre Morna, popularized by the world-renowned late singer 
     and ``Barefoot Diva,'' Cesaria Evora, was inscribed on the 
     Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of 
     Humanity of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and 
     Cultural Organization;
       Whereas, in June 2022, according to the World Food 
     Programme of the United Nations, almost ten percent of the 
     Republic of Cabo Verde's population faced acute food 
     insecurity as a result of drought, the COVID-19 pandemic, and 
     the upheaval in global food and energy markets caused by the 
     Russian Federation's illegal invasion of Ukraine;
       Whereas, in December 2023, the Board of Directors of the 
     Millennium Challenge Corporation selected the Republic of 
     Cabo Verde as eligible to develop a regional compact for the 
     purpose of regional economic integration;
       Whereas the selection was made in recognition of the 
     Republic of Cabo Verde's clear commitment to democratic 
     governance, consistent, strong passage of the Millennium 
     Challenge Corporation scorecard, successful prior 
     partnerships with the Millennium Challenge Corporation, 
     lingering development and poverty reduction needs, and the 
     potential opportunities to strengthen regional economic 
     integration with a committed and engaged former partner of 
     the Millennium Challenge Corporation;
       Whereas the Republic of Cabo Verde's initial $110,000,000 
     compact with the Millennium Challenge Corporation, which 
     closed in 2010, included the construction of several new 
     roads and bridges and expanded and modernized the Port of 
     Praia, which boosted its competitiveness by decreasing cargo 
     processing times and shipping costs, and the Republic of Cabo 
     Verde's subsequent $66,000,000 compact, which concluded in 
     2017, improved access to clean water and sanitation, 
     strengthened land rights, and facilitated ambitious policy 
     and institutional reforms to improve the country's overall 
     investment climate;
       Whereas, in December 2023, the Prime Minister of the 
     Republic of Cabo Verde, Jose Ulisses Correia e Silva, met 
     with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to 
     emphasize Cabo Verde's support for the territorial integrity 
     of Ukraine dating back to

[[Page S5589]]

     the illegal annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014;
       Whereas, on January 22, 2024, Secretary of State Antony 
     Blinken traveled to the Republic of Cabo Verde to highlight 
     how the United States has accelerated the United States-
     Africa partnership since the United States-Africa Leaders 
     Summit held in December 2022;
       Whereas members of the Cabo Verdean-American community have 
     served in every United States conflict, from the 
     Revolutionary War to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan;
       Whereas, in March 2024, the New Hampshire National Guard 
     and the Cabo Verdean Armed Forces held the GRANITE FALCO 
     Combined Exercise, the first major United States-Cabo Verde 
     combined exercise under the bilateral State Partnership 
     Program;
       Whereas, in June 2024, the Prime Minister of the Republic 
     of Cabo Verde, Jose Ulisses Correia e Silva, attended the 
     Summit on Peace in Ukraine in Switzerland and met with the 
     President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and the President 
     of the Swiss Confederation, Viola Patricia Amherd;
       Whereas the Republic of Cabo Verde has a close relationship 
     with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to address common 
     challenges such as small arms proliferation, maritime 
     security, and terrorism;
       Whereas the Republic of Cabo Verde remains an integral part 
     of the Economic Community of West African States, the African 
     Union, the Community of Portuguese Language Countries, and 
     numerous other international organizations; and
       Whereas July 5, 2025, will be the 50th anniversary of the 
     independence of the Republic of Cabo Verde and will be 
     celebrated by diaspora communities across New England and 
     beyond: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) extends sincere congratulations and best wishes to the 
     people of the Republic of Cabo Verde as they celebrate the 
     49th anniversary of the independence of the archipelago of 
     Cabo Verde;
       (2) expresses support for the principles of freedom, 
     democracy, and good governance to which the people and 
     Government of the Republic of Cabo Verde are committed;
       (3) commends the Cabo Verdean-American community for its 
     contributions to the United States and service as a bridge 
     between the two countries before and after independence based 
     on shared history, diaspora, and values;
       (4) notes the important role that the Republic of Cabo 
     Verde has played in African and broader transatlantic affairs 
     since gaining independence on July 5, 1975; and
       (5) commends Cabo Verde's support for the sovereignty, 
     territorial integrity, and people of Ukraine and condemnation 
     of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

                          ____________________