[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 4990]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       REMEMBERING THE LEGACY OF POLISH PRESIDENT LECH KACZYNSKI

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MICHELE BACHMANN

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 10, 2013

  Mrs. BACHMANN. Mr. Speaker, three years ago, the Air Force TU 154 
plane carrying Polish President Lech Kaczynski, his wife Maria, and 94 
other top Polish officials crashed near Smolensk, Russia. The 
delegation had been on their way to Katyn to commemorate the deaths of 
4400 Polish Army officers who were ruthlessly executed by the Soviets 
in 1943.
   In the 1970s, Kaczynski, a staunch anti-communist, made a name for 
himself as an underground oppositionist, and, in 1980, when the 
Solidarity workers' union was founded, he assisted in the Gdansk 
Shipyard strike and later served as the group's legal adviser. In 1981, 
after the imposition of the martial law, he was put in prison.
   In free Poland, Kaczynski served many roles--Senator, Mayor of 
Warsaw, Attorney General, Minister of Justice, and, in 2001, he was 
elected President.
   President Kaczynski was always supportive of strong Poland-U.S. 
relations, and was skeptical of close relations with the German/French 
dominated European Union. Kaczynski rightly feared that reliance on 
Russian energy supplies would inhibit sober evaluation of Russian 
policies at home and abroad.
   Americans appreciate our country's alliance with this great nation 
in the ongoing fight for freedom across the world. Today, three years 
after the tragic crash, we stand in solidarity with the people of 
Poland and mourn the loss of their President and countrymen.

                          ____________________