III

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. RES. 251

Designating March 25, 2000, as ‘‘Greek Independence Day: A National Day

of Celebration of Greek and American Democracy’’.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

FEBRUARY 2, 2000

Mr. SPECTER (for himself, Mr. TORRICELLI, Mr. ABRAHAM, Mr. BIDEN, Mr.

DEWINE, Mr. DODD, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. KOHL, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. ROBB, Mr. ROTH, Mr. THOMAS, Mr. WARNER, Ms.

LANDRIEU, Mr. MOYNIHAN, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. EDWARDS, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. FITZGERALD, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. DURBIN,

Mr. ROCKEFELLER, Mr. SMITH of Oregon, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. STEVENS,

Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. REED, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. ENZI, Mr. KERRY, Mr.

BREAUX, Mr. REID, Mr. MURKOWSKI, Mr. HAGEL, Mr. LUGAR, Mr.

CRAIG, Mr. HOLLINGS, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. DOMENICI,

Mrs. HUTCHISON, Mr. SHELBY, Mr. INOUYE, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. SESSIONS,

Mrs. BOXER, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mr. GREGG, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. SMITH of

New Hampshire, Mr. BENNETT, Mr. THOMPSON, Mr. JOHNSON, and Mr.

BYRD) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

FEBRUARY 10, 2000

Reported by Mr. HATCH, without amendment

MARCH 9, 2000

Considered and agreed to

RESOLUTION

Designating March 25, 2000, as ‘‘Greek Independence Day:

A National Day of Celebration of Greek and American

Democracy’’.
2

SRES 251 ATS

Whereas the ancient Greeks developed the concept of democracy, in which the supreme power to govern was invested

in the people;

Whereas the Founding Fathers of the United States of America drew heavily upon the political experience and philosophy of ancient Greece in forming our representative democracy;

Whereas the founders of the modern Greek state modeled

their government after that of the United States in an

effort to best imitate their ancient democracy;

Whereas Greece is one of the only 3 nations in the world, beyond the former British Empire, that has been allied with

the United States in every major international conflict

this century;

Whereas the heroism displayed in the historic World War II

Battle of Crete epitomized Greece’s sacrifice for freedom

and democracy as it presented the Axis land war with its

first major setback and set off a chain of events which

significantly affected the outcome of World War II;

Whereas President Clinton, during his visit to Greece on November 20, 1999, referred to modern day Greece as ‘‘a

beacon of democracy, a regional leader for stability, prosperity and freedom, helping to complete the democratic

revolution that ancient Greece began’’;

Whereas these and other ideals have forged a close bond between our 2 nations and their peoples;

Whereas March 25, 2000, marks the 179th anniversary of

the beginning of the revolution which freed the Greek

people from the Ottoman Empire; and

Whereas it is proper and desirable to celebrate with the

Greek people and to reaffirm the democratic principles
3

SRES 251 ATS

from which our 2 great nations were born: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved, That the Senate—

2 (1) designates March 25, 2000, as ‘‘Greek

3 Independence Day: A National Day of Celebration of

4 Greek and American Democracy’’; and

5 (2) requests the President to issue a proclama6 tion calling upon the people of the United States to

7 observe the day with appropriate ceremonies and ac8 tivities.

Æ