[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Pages 19162-19163]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             WELCOMING HIS EXCELLENCY BRONISLAW KOMOROWSKI

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, on April 10, 2010, as word spread of the 
tragic plane crash that killed President Lech Kaczynski, First Lady 
Maria Kaczynski, and scores of other Polish patriots, Poles gathered by 
the thousands outside St. John's Church in Warsaw, grieving for their 
terrible loss. That loss was also felt around the world. On that 
unspeakably sad day, I visited the Polish Consulate in Chicago to pay 
my respects. People were streaming to the consulate from all over 
Chicago and throughout the Midwest. They drove with Polish flags 
proudly displayed on their cars and waited in long lines to sign the 
condolence book, leave flowers, or simply whisper a prayer.
  Days later, the U.S. Senate observed a moment of silence for all 
those who lost their lives in the Katyn Forest in Smolensk and for the 
heartbroken people of Poland. Some asked then: How will Poland survive 
such a devastating loss?
  The people of Poland did so by relying, as they always have, on 
faith, family and freedom. On July 4, the Polish people chose their 
fourth democratically elected leader. Today, that leader, President 
Bronislaw Komorowski, is making his first visit as President of Poland 
to the United States. We are honored he is here.
  Mr. Komorowski is a descendent of Polish nobility, a historian by 
training, and a lifelong freedom fighter. He took part in his first 
anti-Communist protests as a high school student in 1968. As a young 
man, he defied communist authorities by lighting candles and posting 
banners at the Katyn section of the historic Powazki Cemetery in 
Warsaw, the resting place of many Polish heroes. He served as Poland's 
defense minister in 2000 and 2001 and became Speaker of the Sejm, 
Poland's House of Representatives, in 2007. The day after he was 
elected President, President Obama invited him to visit the United 
States. The two Presidents are meeting in the White House today.
  As a boy growing up in East St. Louis, IL, I knew without a doubt 
that the greatest man on Earth was the son of a Polish Immigrant to 
America. He was born Stanis5aw Franciszek Musia5, but America came to 
know and love him as Stan ``The Man'' Musial. He was the heart and soul 
of the St. Louis Cardinals of my youth and one of the best outfielders 
in baseball history.
  In school, I learned that American history is, in fact, filled with 
Polish and Polish-American heroes--men and women who helped lift this 
country into what it is today.

[[Page 19163]]

  Polish craftsmen were already hard at work helping to build the 
colony of Jamestown when the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. In 1619 
when the Virginia House of Burgesses refused to extend to the Polish 
workers the ``rights of the Englishmen,'' including the right to vote, 
the Polish people began and won the first recorded strike in the New 
World.
  More than a century and a half later, two valiant sons of Poland 
stepped forward and joined America in our effort to gain independence. 
Thaddeus Kosciuszko landed shortly after the signing of the Declaration 
of Independence and, upon learning of the document, decided that he 
must meet the author. He and Thomas Jefferson became friends. He built 
the United States Military Academy at West Point and helped lead 
American troops in their improbable and crucial early victories at the 
Battles of Saratoga and Ticonderoga. Years later, Thomas Jefferson 
called him ``as pure a son of liberty as I have ever known,'' and 
statues of him stand today at West Point and in Lafayette Square across 
from the White House.
  Casimir Pulaski was drawn to the same idea of freedom and became a 
brigadier general in the Continental Army. He was the ``father of the 
US Cavalry,'' saved George Washington's Army at the Battle of 
Brandywine and gave his life for American independence at the Battle of 
Savannah. He has a statue in his honor here in Washington, DC, and is 
held in such high regard by my home State of Illinois that there is a 
statewide holiday so that all residents may pay their respects.
  And when the time came for Poland to seek its freedom in 1989, the 
United States was at its side. It is astonishing to consider the 
changes that took place over these two decades. Poland today is a major 
force in Europe and a brave and indispensible leader in the effort to 
finish the work of making Europe whole, free and at peace with itself. 
Poland stood with its Baltic neighbors--including Lithuania, the land 
of my mother's birth--as they, too, have reached for democracy and 
freedom.
  Poland's historic entry into NATO in 1999 has led to invaluable 
Polish contributions to peace and stability--not only in Europe, but 
around our world. Polish soldiers fought side-by-side with Americans in 
Iraq, standing with us even during the darkest days of that war. Today, 
more than 2,500 Polish soldiers are serving in Afghanistan, and Poland 
is leading a Provisional Reconstruction Team in one of the most 
dangerous and challenging areas in that nation. Poland has also agreed 
to allow a US missile defense base on its territory in order to help 
defend Europe from new security threats from those who may not share 
our values.
  In 2004, Poland joined the European Union, symbolically ending the 
long and unjust Cold War division of Europe. As a member of the EU, 
Poland has also shown great leadership in its transition to a free 
market economy. Indeed, it is the only nation in Europe to have avoided 
a recession during the financial crisis, and its economy is growing 
faster than almost any other nation in Europe. Thirty years after the 
birth of Solidarity in the shipyards of Gdansk, Poland today is at the 
forefront of efforts to build a new cooperative relationship with 
Russia, while also helping other Central and Eastern European nations 
build up their own democratic institutions and market economies and 
find their rightful place in the new Europe.
  The United States and Poland are connected by strong bonds of shared 
history and shared values. We are more than allies; we are family. More 
than 9 million Americans trace their roots to Poland. I am proud to 
represent Chicago, the most Polish city outside of Poland. Even today, 
there are neighborhoods in Chicago where you can scarcely walk a block 
without hearing someone speaking Polish. I am proud to welcome the 
President Komorowski, and I hope for the continued strong relationship 
between Poland and the United States for many years to come.

                          ____________________