IV 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 581 

Congratulating the people of the Republic of Turkey and Turkish Americans 

nationwide on Turkish Republic Day. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 24, 2017 

Mr. BACON submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Congratulating the people of the Republic of Turkey and 

Turkish Americans nationwide on Turkish Republic Day. 

Whereas every year on October 29, the people of Turkey and 

Turkish Americans celebrate Turkish Republic Day, commemorating the day when Turkey became a republic; 

Whereas, on October 29, 1923, the Republic of Turkey was 

formally established and Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the visionary leader of modern Turkey, became its first President; 

Whereas Anatolia, home of the Republic of Turkey, has been 

a cradle of civilizations for millennia; 

Whereas James Madison and the Founding Fathers of America took inspiration from Patara, Turkey, the city state 


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•HRES 581 IH 

of the Lycian Confederation, in drafting the Constitution 

of the United States; 

Whereas Turkey has the 17th largest economy in the world; 

Whereas in 2016, United States trade in goods with Turkey 

exceeded $9,300,000,000 in exports and $8,000,000,000 

in imports; 

Whereas Turkey, located in a critical region of the world between East and West with a population of nearly 

80,000,000, commands the second largest military in the 

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and partners with the United States in the fields of energy diversification, counterterrorism, and drug and human trafficking prevention; 

Whereas Turkey is actively contributing to the fight against 

DAESH/ISIS, through providing its military facilities to 

the United States and other coalition partners; 

Whereas the conflict in neighboring Syria has especially burdened Turkey, which has taken in and provided shelter, 

relief, and social services to more than 3,000,000 refugees fleeing the horrors of the Assad regime; 

Whereas, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Turkey is now the highest refugee-hosting country in the world; 

Whereas Turkish Americans are an important part of the 

fabric of the United States, as evinced by their contributions to the arts, science, academia, law, business, and 

political life of this country; 

Whereas Turkish Americans serve as goodwill ambassadors 

promoting greater understanding between the United 

States and Turkey, by informing the people of the United 

States about their rich Turkish cultural heritage, and the 


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•HRES 581 IH 

importance of the strategic partnership to advance mutual interests between the United States and Turkey; and 

Whereas the United States and Turkey have been close 

friends and allies for more than half a century, sharing 

common values of democracy, diversity, tolerance, social 

mobility, and the separation of religious and civic life: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) recognizes the Republic of Turkey as an im3 portant security partner of the United States; 

4 (2) expresses appreciation for Turkey’s con5 tribution to global efforts to combat DAESH/ISIS; 

6 (3) acknowledges the unique political, economic, 

7 and social challenges confronting the people of Tur8 key from the influx of refugees that the ongoing con9 flicts in neighboring Syria and Iraq have caused; 

10 (4) commends the productive contributions of 

11 the Turkish American community to the United 

12 States; and 

13 (5) congratulates the people of Turkey and 

14 Turkish Americans nationwide on Turkish Republic 

15 Day. 

Æ 


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