IV 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 981 

Supporting continued political and economic development in Ukraine. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 16, 2009 

Mr. BERMAN (for himself, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. BARTLETT, 

Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. GERLACH, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, and Mr. 

WEXLER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Supporting continued political and economic development in 

Ukraine. 

Whereas in 1991, Ukraine re-established its independence, 

and began the process of developing democratic institutions and a market economy; 

Whereas the Ukrainian people bravely demonstrated their desire for a free, democratic, and prosperous country 

through nonviolent protest during the 2004 Orange Revolution; 

Whereas the United States and Ukraine have a strong relationship, as evidenced by the United States-Ukraine 

Charter on Strategic Partnership, signed in December 

2008 by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice with the obVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:59 Dec 18, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR981.IH HR981

dcolon on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HRES 981 IH 

jective of expanding cooperation on defense, trade, energy, democratic development, and cultural exchange; 

Whereas during the July 2009 visit of Vice President Biden 

to Kyiv, the United States and Ukraine agreed to create 

the Strategic Partnership Commission to help implement 

the Charter, which held its inaugural meeting in Washington, DC, on December 9, 2009, during the visit of the 

Ukrainian Foreign Minister; 

Whereas a strong, sovereign, independent, democratic, and 

economically prosperous Ukraine is important to the interests of the United States and to achieving peace, prosperity and stability in Europe; 

Whereas Ukraine has been a staunch partner of the United 

States and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) 

allies, as demonstrated by Ukraine’s participation in the 

International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan 

and the NATO Training Mission in Iraq and by NATO’s 

declaration at the Bucharest Summit in April 2008 that 

Ukraine will become a member of the Alliance; 

Whereas the United States and the European Union provide 

assistance to help Ukraine foster peace and security, 

strengthen its democratic institutions, further economic 

growth, and counter HIV/AIDS and other deadly diseases; 

Whereas the United States, the United Kingdom, and Russia 

gave security assurances to Ukraine in the Budapest 

Memoranda of December 5, 1994, following Ukraine’s 

commitment to eliminate all nuclear weapons from its 

territory and its accession to the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons as a non-nuclear weapons 


dcolon on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HRES 981 IH 

state as well as the entry into force of the START Treaty; 

Whereas the Joint Statement on the Expiration of the 

START Treaty issued by the United States and Russia 

on December 4, 2009, affirmed that ‘‘the assurances recorded in the Budapest Memoranda will remain in effect 

after December 4, 2009’’; 

Whereas, as Vice President Biden stated when he was in 

Kyiv, the effort to reset the United States relationship 

with Russia ‘‘will not come at Ukraine’s expense,’’ and 

‘‘the more substantive relationship we have with Moscow, 

the more we can defuse the zero-sum thinking about our 

relations with Russia’s neighbors.’’; 

Whereas Ukraine and the Ukrainian people have suffered 

from the world financial crisis, and the government has 

sought and received assistance from international financial institutions, but still needs to overcome internal political and economic stalemates that prevent it from fulfilling its requirements and hinder its ability to achieve 

greater financial stability; 

Whereas Ukraine will hold a presidential election on January 

17, 2010, with a possible run-off election on February 7, 

2010, if needed; 

Whereas the initial 2004 presidential elections in Ukraine 

were marred by widespread irregularities, including 

fraud, intimidation, falsification of results, and media 

bias; and 

Whereas it is vital for Ukraine’s democratic development that 

the 2010 elections be free, fair, transparent, and untainted: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 


dcolon on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HRES 981 IH 

1 (1) reaffirms the strong relationship between 

2 the United States and Ukraine, and encourages con3 tinued efforts to implement the provisions of the 

4 United States-Ukraine Charter on Strategic Part5 nership; 

6 (2) expresses its support for the efforts of the 

7 Ukrainian people to consolidate democratic institu8 tions, rule of law, respect for human rights, and eco9 nomic reforms; 

10 (3) recognizes the suffering of the Ukrainian 

11 people due to the downturn in the world economy, 

12 and supports measures by the international financial 

13 institutions to assist Ukraine; 

14 (4) urges all parties in Ukraine to seek resolu15 tion of disputes and to take active measures to en16 able necessary political and economic reforms; 

17 (5) urges the Government of Ukraine and all 

18 political parties to ensure that the 2010 election is 

19 conducted freely, fairly, transparently, and without 

20 manipulation; 

21 (6) encourages the Government of Ukraine and 

22 all political parties to welcome the participation of 

23 the Organization for Security and Cooperation in 

24 Europe (OSCE) and other international election 

25 monitors, cooperate fully with them, and provide 


dcolon on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HRES 981 IH 

1 them unimpeded access to all aspects of the election 

2 process; and 

3 (7) reiterates its enduring support and friend4 ship for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. 

Æ 


dcolon on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with BILLS