IV 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 619 
Expressing the support of the House of Representatives for the people of 
Honduras. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 8, 2009 
Mr. MACK (for himself, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, 
Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr. FORTENBERRY, Mr. POE of Texas, Mr. LIN-
COLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida, Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida, Mr. 
MCCOTTER, Mr. WAMP, and Mr. BILIRAKIS) submitted the following res-
olution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing the support of the House of Representatives for 
the people of Honduras. 
Whereas in November 2005, Jose Manuel Zelaya Rosales was 
elected as President of Honduras; 
Whereas shortly after being inaugurated as President of 
Honduras, Zelaya forged close ties with Venezuelan 
President Hugo Cha´vez and Cuban rulers Fidel and Raul 
Castro; 
Whereas, on October 9, 2008, Honduras joined the 
Bolivarian Alternative of the Americas (ALBA), an ini-
tiative launched by Cha´vez which includes Bolivia, Cuba, 
Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Venezuela; 
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•HRES 619 IH 
Whereas in March of 2009, President Zelaya issued a decree 
calling on the National Statistics Institute to hold a pop-
ular referendum to determine if the country should in-
clude a fourth ballot box during the general elections 
scheduled to be held on November 29, 2009; 
Whereas the fourth ballot box would consult Hondurans 
about whether the country should convene a national con-
stituent assembly to amend the constitution; 
Whereas the Honduras Constitution forbids a president from 
seeking re-election; 
Whereas, on May 21, 2009, the Attorney General of Hon-
duras recommended that the Honduran courts hold that 
President Zelaya’s proposed referendum was illegal and 
unconstitutional; 
Whereas, on May 27, 2009, a Honduran lower court judge 
declared President Zelaya’s proposed referendum illegal; 
Whereas, on June 17, 2009, a Honduran Appeals Court 
upheld the lower court ruling declaring President 
Zelaya’s proposed referendum illegal; 
Whereas, on June 19, 2009, the Honduran Supreme Court 
ordered the Honduran security forces not to provide any 
support for the proposed referendum; 
Whereas, on June 23, 2009, the Honduran National Con-
gress passed a plebiscite and referendum law that pre-
vents referendums from occurring within 180 days of a 
general election; 
Whereas, on June 24, 2009, President Zelaya dismissed the 
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Defense 
Minister for refusing to provide support for the proposed 
unconstitutional referendum; 
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•HRES 619 IH 
Whereas, on June 25, 2009, the Honduran Supreme Court 
ruled that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and 
the Defense Minister were to be reinstated; 
Whereas, on June 25, 2009, the Honduran National Con-
gress began debate on whether to censure President 
Zelaya for pushing ahead with his proposed illegal ref-
erendum; 
Whereas, on June 27, 2009, President Zelaya led a violent 
mob that stormed a military base to seize and distribute 
ballots for the illegal referendum; 
Whereas several sectors of Honduras were opposed to this 
referendum, including the legislature, the judiciary, the 
Attorney General, the Human Rights Commission, the 
Catholic Church, evangelical groups, business associa-
tions, and four of the five political parties represented in 
the National Congress, including President Zelaya’s own 
party; 
Whereas, on June 28, 2009, just hours before the polls were 
to open for the illegal referendum, the Honduran military 
arrested President Zelaya pursuant to a court order, and 
later exiled him from the country; 
Whereas the Honduran Supreme Court has stated that the 
military acted on its orders, and the Honduran Congress 
passed a decree removing President Zelaya from office 
and replacing him with the President of Congress, Ro-
berto Micheletti; 
Whereas since his removal, Mr. Zelaya has been flown around 
the hemisphere by Hugo Cha´vez’s private jets; and 
Whereas since Mr. Zelaya’s inaugural, Honduras has been 
plagued by lowered living standards as poverty, violence, 
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•HRES 619 IH 
unemployment, and inflation, which has remained high: 
Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) expresses its strong support for the people 
of Honduras; 
(2) condemns Mr. Jose Manuel Zelaya Rosales 
for his unconstitutional and illegal attempts to alter 
the Constitution of Honduras; and 
(3) calls on all parties to seek a peaceful resolu-
tion that is both legal and constitutional. 
Æ 
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