IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 931 

Congratulating the people of the Republic of Turkey and Turkish Americans 

nationwide on Turkish National Sovereignty and Children’s Day. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 21, 2020 

Mr. COHEN (for himself and Ms. FOXX of North Carolina) 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 National Sovereignty and Children’s Day. 

Whereas, every year on April 23, the people of Turkey and 

Turkish Americans celebrate Turkish National Sovereignty and Children’s Day, commemorating the day 

when the Turkish Grand National Assembly was founded; 

Whereas, on April 23, 1920, the Turkish Grand National Assembly was formally established, and Mustafa Kemal 

Ataturk, the visionary leader of modern Turkey, became 

its first President and led the Turkish national independence movement; 

Whereas the opening of the Turkish Grand National Assembly served, both symbolically and functionally, to ensure 


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•HRES 931 IH 

that sovereignty was taken from religious rule and the 

sultan and given to the people; 

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 

of the Lycian Confederation, in drafting the Constitution 

of the United States; 

Whereas Turkey and the United States resumed diplomatic 

ties, severed by the Ottoman Empire, in February 1927, 

under the respective leaderships of Presidents Mustafa 

Kemal Ataturk and Calvin Coolidge; 

Whereas Ataturk said, in an interview with an American 

journalist in 1922, that ‘‘[t]he American ideal is our 

ideal. As you had a declaration of independence, we also 

have our national pact. Both of these documents are of 

the same nature; like you, we also wanted independence. 

Turkey and America are democratic societies. . . . Lincoln and Washington [b]oth worked for the advancement, 

elevation and prosperity of America. . . . This high service is the service which a person assumes without thinking of himself.’’; 

Whereas Ataturk also said ‘‘now we Turks alone control our 

own homeland, we are the masters of our own house’’, 

and declared that sovereignty belongs to the people without any conditions or restrictions; 

Whereas President John F. Kennedy said, ‘‘Ataturk, with his 

historic achievements, was one of the greatest leaders of 

[the 20th] century. He was a towering figure of human 

ideals. His extraordinary leadership and his military genius accomplished so much for his country; first in batVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:20 Apr 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR931.IH HR931

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tlefields, and then in building his nation, materially and 

in spirit. He created a modern and sovereign state from 

the ashes of a defeated empire. He was a great peacemaker, an ultimate reformer and a torch-bearer of freedom. He won not only the heart of his nation but the 

hearts of the oppressed nations as well. We all miss 

him.’’; 

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; and 

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 

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

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) supports the commemoration of the found3 ing of the Turkish Parliament, which laid the foun4 dation for the future establishment of a democratic 

5 secular, Republic of Turkey; 

6 (2) reiterates its support for democratic institu7 tions, Turkey’s elected representatives, and the legis8 lative and supervisor functions of Turkey’s Par9 liament; 


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1 (3) commends the productive contributions of 

2 the Turkish American community to the United 

3 States; and 

4 (4) congratulates the people of Turkey and 

5 Turkish Americans nationwide on Turkish National 

6 Sovereignty and Children’s Day. 

Æ 


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