IV 
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 fol-
lowing 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 Fed-
eration 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 Re-
public 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 
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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 Rus-
sian Federation coincided with the opening ceremonies of 
the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China, con-
tributing to the perception that the occasion of the Olym-
pics was utilized to divert international attention away 
from the invasion of the Republic of Georgia; 
Whereas military forces of the Russian Federation have ad-
vanced into and attacked the territory of the Republic of 
Georgia, grossly exceeding any mandate of Russian 
peacekeepers in South Ossetia, and officials of the Gov-
ernment 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 Fed-
eration contravene the principles of the Olympic Charter, 
which states that one of the Fundamental Principles of 
Olympism is to use sport toward ‘‘the harmonious devel-
opment of man, with a view to promoting a peaceful soci-
ety’’; 
Whereas it is politically, economically, and practically unten-
able to hold the modern Olympic Games in close prox-
imity to a zone of conflict; 
Whereas the actions of the Government of the Russian Fed-
eration 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 Salz-
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•HCON 421 IH 
burg, 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 success-
ful 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 Rus-
sian Federation to respect the sovereignty and terri-
torial 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 antici-
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pated 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. 
Æ 
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