December 10, 2007

**[Republic of Macedonia Deserves Thanks]{.underline}**

**[For Doubling Its Troop Commitment in Iraq]{.underline}**

Dear Colleague:

We write today to thank one of our great allies in southeastern
Europe---the Republic of Macedonia---for its recent commitment to double
the number of Macedonian troops serving alongside our brave men and
women in uniform in Iraq, and to acknowledge the successes Macedonians
have recently achieved in their country.

Earlier this year, without hesitation and without conditions, the
Government of Macedonia made a commitment to double its troop commitment
in Iraq. Since 2003, our ally Macedonia has had troops in Iraq serving
with U.S. and other coalition forces. The late President Boris
Trajkovski, a staunch ally and friend of the United States,
unhesitatingly agreed to commit troops to Afghanistan and later Iraq,
when asked. The current government, led by Prime Minister Nikola
Gruevski, continues with that spirit of friendship and commitment to
helping a people who want to share in democracy's benefits and
blessings.

The Republic of Macedonia has shown us that it is a true friend of our
nation. Macedonia's increase is needed, welcome and consistent with its
friendship and partnership with the United States of America. We thank
the government and people of Macedonia for their continued support and
friendship.

At the same time, we want to acknowledge Macedonia's successes at home
as a result of reforms and actions taken by the Macedonian government.
As Macedonia, together with our friends Albania and Croatia, expect an
invitation to join NATO at the Bucharest Summit in April of next year,
it is important to recognize and reaffirm their commitment to
transforming their country into a dynamic one oriented to the
free-market, pluralistic democracy, and the rule of law.

Recently, the World Bank's Doing Business in 2008 Report ranked
Macedonia fourth among top-10 reformers in 2006-07. According to the
report, Macedonia undertook several measures to bolster economic
activity so that it's now easier for businesses to start up and get
going. The corporate and individual tax rate is a flat 12 percent this
year, and it will be lowered to 10 percent on January 1, 2008. Tax
payment procedures have been simplified. At the same time, the
"regulatory guillotine" (as it has been called) is now slicing through
unnecessary bureaucratic barriers creating even more opportunities for
business to flourish.

In addition, Transparency International noted that Macedonia has made
significant movement toward eliminating corruption, giving Macedonia a
score of 3.3 in 2007 in their Corruption Perception Index. This is a
significant improvement from 2.7 in 2006, and Macedonia now ranks fifth
in the region, up from twelfth in 2006. Overall, Macedonia jumped 21
places, from 105 in the world (2006) to 84 (2007).

The bottom line in all this is that our friend Macedonia is now a
producer of stability in southeastern Europe, at home, regionally and
abroad. A friend like Macedonia is worth celebrating, acknowledging and
helping and today, we extend our hands of thanks in friendship.

Sincerely,

> Bill Pascrell, Jr. Mark E. Souder
>
> Member of Congress Member of Congress