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[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 421 Introduced in House (IH)]

110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 421

Calling on the International Olympic Committee to designate a new venue 
                   for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 18, 2008

Ms. Schwartz (for herself, Mr. Shuster, Mr. Gerlach, Mr. McCotter, Mr. 
 Garrett of New Jersey, Mr. King of Iowa, Mr. Gingrey, Mr. Pitts, Mr. 
Davis of Alabama, and Mr. Lipinski) submitted the following concurrent 
   resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

 
Calling on the International Olympic Committee to designate a new venue 
                   for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.

Whereas, in July 2007, the City of Sochi in the Russian Federation was narrowly 
        selected as the host site for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games;
Whereas the City of Sochi lies approximately 20 miles from the border between 
        the Russian Federation and the Republic of Georgia;
Whereas, on August 8, 2008, only 400 days after the Russian Federation was 
        selected as the host country for the 2014 Games, military forces of the 
        Russian Federation invaded the Republic of Georgia in contravention of 
        international law, the United Nations Charter, the principles of the 
        Olympic Charter, and the Sochi Agreement of 1992, which governs the 
        conduct of Russian peacekeepers in the region of South Ossetia;
Whereas the invasion of the Republic of Georgia by the Russian Federation 
        coincided with the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games 
        in Beijing, China, contributing to the perception that the occasion of 
        the Olympics was utilized to divert international attention away from 
        the invasion of the Republic of Georgia;
Whereas military forces of the Russian Federation have advanced into and 
        attacked the territory of the Republic of Georgia, grossly exceeding any 
        mandate of Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia, and officials of the 
        Government of the Russian Federation have sought to oust the 
        democratically elected Government of the Republic of Georgia;
Whereas the actions of the Government of the Russian Federation contravene the 
        principles of the Olympic Charter, which states that one of the 
        Fundamental Principles of Olympism is to use sport toward ``the 
        harmonious development of man, with a view to promoting a peaceful 
        society'';
Whereas it is politically, economically, and practically untenable to hold the 
        modern Olympic Games in close proximity to a zone of conflict;
Whereas the actions of the Government of the Russian Federation have created a 
        zone of conflict less than 20 miles from the City of Sochi, the proposed 
        site of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games;
Whereas there are other excellent venues available to host the 2014 Winter 
        Olympic Games, including the cities of Salzburg, Austria, and 
        PyeongChang, South Korea, both of which were selected as finalists to 
        host the 2010 Winter Olympic Games and the 2014 Winter Olympic Games;
Whereas the cities of Jaca, Spain, Almaty, Kazakhstan, Sofia, Bulgaria, and 
        Borjomi, Georgia, also submitted bids to the International Olympic 
        Committee to host the 2014 Winter Olympic Games; and
Whereas there is still sufficient time to designate a new host city for the 2014 
        Winter Olympic Games and to allow the new host city adequate time to 
        prepare to host a successful Olympics: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the failure of the Government of the Russian Federation 
        to respect the sovereignty and territorial borders of its 
        neighbors has rendered the country an unacceptable host for the 
        2014 Winter Olympic Games;
            (2) it is practically and financially untenable to hold the 
        2014 Winter Olympic Games less than 20 miles from a zone of 
        conflict, particularly when the prospective host country has 
        played a significant role in the escalation of that conflict;
            (3) the International Olympic Committee would not have 
        selected Sochi as the host city for the 2014 Winter Olympic 
        Games if its members had anticipated that the Russian 
        Federation would invade the Republic of Georgia; and
            (4) the International Olympic Committee should move 
        immediately to designate a new host city for the 2014 Winter 
        Olympic Games.
                                 <all>
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