IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 749 

Supporting 30 years of diplomatic relations between the United States and 

the independent Czech Republic and Slovak Republic, highlighting their 

assistance to Ukraine, and supporting continued democratic resiliency. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2023 

Mr. KEATING (for himself and Mr. WILSON of South Carolina) submitted the 

following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Supporting 30 years of diplomatic relations between the 

United States and the independent Czech Republic and 

Slovak Republic, highlighting their assistance to Ukraine, 

and supporting continued democratic resiliency. 

Whereas the United States has been enriched by the Czechs, 

Slovaks, and others who emigrated to the United States 

from the territories of what are today the Czech Republic 

and Slovak Republic, and continues to benefit from the 

strong ties between and among the citizens of our countries; 

Whereas Slovaks and Czechs in the United States called for 

a Czechoslovak state to be established in the 1915 Cleveland Agreement and the 1918 Pittsburgh Agreement; 


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•HRES 749 IH 

Whereas the United States profoundly contributed to the 

founding of an independent Czech-Slovak state when, on 

January 8, 1918, President Woodrow Wilson called for 

the free ‘‘autonomous development’’ of the peoples of 

Austria-Hungary in the ‘‘Fourteen Points’’ address to a 

joint session of Congress; 

Whereas the people of the present-day Czech Republic and 

the people of the present-day Slovak Republic proclaimed 

independence on October 28, 1918, and October 30, 

1918, respectively, forming the common state of the Republic of Czechoslovakia; 

Whereas, on November 12, 1918, the United States and an 

independent Czechoslovakia established formal diplomatic 

relations; 

Whereas Czechoslovakia maintained its democracy throughout the interwar period until the Nazi invasion in 1938; 

Whereas, in February 1948, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia seized power from the postwar democratically 

elected Government of Czechoslovakia; 

Whereas, on August 20, 1968, 20 Soviet-led Warsaw Pact 

military divisions invaded Czechoslovakia to crush the 

‘‘Prague Spring’’, a period of greater political and economic liberty that followed the appointment of Alexander 

Dubcˇek as First Secretary of the Czechoslovakian Communist Party; 

Whereas the independent civic initiative Charter 77 was established in 1977 and called on the Czechoslovak Government to fulfill its human rights commitments under the 

Helsinki Final Act, and many of its members played decisive roles in the Velvet Revolution; 


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•HRES 749 IH 

Whereas, in the nonviolent Velvet Revolution of November 

1989, the peoples of both nations overthrew 40 years of 

authoritarian communist rule and ended two decades of 

Soviet occupation; 

Whereas, on February 21, 1990, Czechoslovak President 

Va ́clav Havel delivered his historic address before a joint 

session of Congress saying, in part, that Czechoslovakia 

is a country ‘‘that has set out on the road to democracy, 

a country where there is complete freedom of speech, 

which is getting ready for free elections and which wants 

to create a prosperous market economy and its own foreign policy’’; 

Whereas, on January 1, 1993, the Czech Republic and the 

Slovak Republic were formally created as independent 

states after a peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia; 

Whereas the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic, with 

the robust support of the United States, joined the North 

Atlantic Treaty Organization on March 12, 1999, and 

March 29, 2004, respectively, and have made significant 

contributions to collective defense and the operations of 

the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as well as international coalitions led by the United States around the 

world; 

Whereas the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic continue to 

demonstrate their strong commitment to advancing 

democratic values, peace, and security through their 

membership in the European Union, the Organization for 

Security and Co-operation in Europe, and other international organizations; 

Whereas the peoples of the United States, the Czech Republic, and the Slovak Republic have forged a special relaVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:49 Sep 30, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR749.IH HR749

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•HRES 749 IH 

tionship based on their shared historic ties, mutual respect, close cooperation, and the shared values of democracy, the rule of law, economic liberty, and individual 

rights and responsibility; 

Whereas vibrant Czech and Slovak diasporas have positively 

contributed to society in the United States; 

Whereas the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic celebrate the 30th anniversary of the National Guard State 

Partnership Program with the Texas, Nebraska, and Indiana National Guards, respectively, which has contributed to military readiness and interoperability between 

the United States and both the Czech Republic and the 

Slovak Republic; 

Whereas the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic have completed significant democratic reforms enabling political 

systems and societies which respect the rule of law, freedom of speech and assembly, free and fair elections, and 

other democratic values; and 

Whereas the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic have 

shown unity in their support for Ukraine’s fight against 

Russia’s unjust and illegal war of aggression, and both 

countries have contributed significant military, humanitarian, and economic assistance to Ukraine in support of 

a free and democratic Ukraine: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) supports a democratic and independent 

3 Czech Republic and Slovak Republic, both of whom, 

4 30 years ago, emerged from decades of communist 

5 rule through the peaceful, nonviolent Velvet RevoluVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:49 Sep 30, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR749.IH HR749

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1 tion to affirm their human rights and democratic as2 pirations; 

3 (2) recognizes actions of the people of the 

4 Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic for over5 throwing totalitarian communist rule in 1989 by 

6 waging a peaceful, nonviolent Velvet Revolution to 

7 affirm human rights and democratic aspirations; 

8 (3) celebrates the lasting contributions of the 

9 peoples of Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic 

10 to science, the arts, culture, music, literature, poli11 tics, trade, and international affairs; 

12 (4) applauds the achievements of the Czech Re13 public and the Slovak Republic in building free, 

14 open, democratic, and prosperous societies over the 

15 past 30 years; 

16 (5) expresses strong support of the Czech Re17 public and Slovak Republic’s role in the North At18 lantic Treaty Organization alliance and calls on both 

19 countries to continue their efforts to meet their 2 

20 percent defense commitment and recognizes the 

21 Czech Republic and Slovak Republic as strong North 

22 Atlantic Treaty Organization partners on the alli23 ance’s eastern flank; 

24 (6) recognizes the efforts of the Czech Republic 

25 and the Slovak Republic to stand with the people of 


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1 Ukraine in their fight for freedom against illegal 

2 Russian aggression and provide significant military, 

3 humanitarian, and economic support to Ukraine; 

4 (7) recognizes the Czech Republic and Slovak 

5 Republic for their constitutions within the European 

6 Union; 

7 (8) reaffirms United States support for the 

8 freedom, human rights, democracy, sovereignty, ter9 ritorial integrity, and prosperity of the Czech Repub10 lic and the Slovak Republic; 

11 (9) supports municipal-level cooperation includ12 ing through organizations like the Pact of Free Cit13 ies, which highlights the importance of cities in pro14 tecting and promoting democratic values, sharing 

15 best practices, and finding practical solutions to best 

16 serve citizens; 

17 (10) supports increased cooperation through the 

18 United States-Czech Strategic Dialogue and the 

19 United States-Slovak Strategic Dialogue to address 

20 common threats and challenges including in the de21 fense and energy sectors, climate change, regional 

22 security, cyber security, and resilience to 

23 disinformation; 

24 (11) supports modernization of the Czech and 

25 Slovak Armed Forces in light of Russia’s illegal agVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:49 Sep 30, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR749.IH HR749

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•HRES 749 IH 

1 gression in Ukraine and increased emerging threats 

2 in the region; 

3 (12) commends the Czech Republic’s and Slo4 vak Republic’s strong support of democratic part5 ners in the face of attempted Chinese malign influ6 ence in Europe and ongoing hostile behavior by the 

7 People’s Republic of China; and 

8 (13) reaffirms the United States commitment 

9 to strengthening and supporting freedom of the 

10 press, civil society, and rule of law in Central Eu11 rope. 

Æ 


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