[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 8906]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             MARSHALL PLAN

  (Mr. COSTA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, 70 years ago this week, Secretary of State 
George Marshall proposed an ambitious plan to rebuild Europe following 
the devastation of World War II.
  Out of the Marshall Plan's transatlantic spirit of shared interests 
and economic cooperation, stronger military integration arose in the 
form of NATO. NATO, alongside the European Union, have formed the 
pillars of a safe, secure, and strong Europe while promoting the U.S. 
security and economic interests, our interests.
  We must be firm in our commitment to article 5 of the NATO treaty. If 
America's commitment to the alliance is doubted, either by other NATO 
countries or adversaries of NATO, the peace secured by the United 
States and its allies will be threatened, make no mistake about it.
  This is the longest peacetime period in Europe in over 1,000 years, 
which is really remarkable, and we should not take it for granted. It 
is our responsibility in Congress and in the White House to ensure that 
global order secured by NATO is strengthened, not damaged.
  So it is important that we recognize this 70th anniversary of the 
Marshall Plan.

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