IV 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 569 
Recognizing the 111th anniversary of the independence of Bulgaria. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 20, 2019 
Mr. WILSON of South Carolina (for himself, Mr. SCHNEIDER, Mr. RICE of 
South Carolina, Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania, Mrs. WALORSKI, Mr. 
THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. TURNER, Mr. POSEY, Mr. WEBSTER of 
Florida, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, Mr. MURPHY of North Carolina, Mr. 
BISHOP of North Carolina, Mr. TIMMONS, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. MCCAUL, 
Mr. DEUTCH, and Mr. GARAMENDI) submitted the following resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Recognizing the 111th anniversary of the independence of 
Bulgaria. 
Whereas on September 22, 1908, Bulgaria proclaimed its 
independence to become a full-fledged sovereign state 
under the name of the Kingdom of Bulgaria; 
Whereas this Act marked the end of a long and dedicated 
struggle the Bulgarian people waged against their ages- 
long foreign occupier, the Ottoman Empire, which con-
quered the medieval Bulgarian state in the 14th Century; 
Whereas although liberated in 1878, Bulgaria remained di-
vided and dependent on its former ruler; 
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•HRES 569 IH 
Whereas with the proclamation of independence over 100 
years ago, Bulgaria took its rightful place among the 
family of nations and secured for its citizens in its Con-
stitution of 1991 the right to life, freedom, and property; 
Whereas the Republic of Bulgaria is a democratic nation, a 
strong defender of freedom and human rights, and a 
staunch ally of the United States; 
Whereas the United States established diplomatic relations 
with the Republic of Bulgaria on September 19, 1903; 
Whereas the United States acknowledges the courage of the 
Bulgarian people in deciding to pursue a free, demo-
cratic, and independent Bulgaria and their steadfast per-
severance in building a society based on the rule of law, 
respect for human rights, and a free market economy; 
Whereas the people of the Republic of Bulgaria strive to pre-
serve and continue their tradition of ethnic and religious 
tolerance; 
Whereas the Bulgarian Parliament, the Bulgarian Orthodox 
Church, King Boris III, politicians, intellectuals, and citi-
zens all played a part in the resistance to Nazi pressure 
to carry out the deportation of Jews living in Bulgaria; 
Whereas in the spring of 1943 the Bulgarian people success-
fully prevented the deportation of 50,000 Jews to con-
centration camps; 
Whereas Bulgaria experienced its first free election after the 
end of the Cold War in June 1990; 
Whereas North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) heads 
of state and member governments, meeting in Prague on 
November 21, 2002, invited Bulgaria into NATO after 
verified reforms of Bulgaria’s political, economic, and 
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•HRES 569 IH 
military systems were completed in preparation for mem-
bership; 
Whereas Bulgaria was accepted as a member of NATO in 
April 2004, and has shown determination in enacting the 
continued reforms necessary to be a productive, contrib-
uting member of the Alliance; 
Whereas Bulgaria has made vital contributions to the secu-
rity of the NATO alliance, including through its impor-
tant role in the security of the Black Sea; 
Whereas Bulgaria was welcomed into the European Union in 
January 2007; 
Whereas the World Bank classified Bulgaria as one of the 
top 10 nations to have undertaken important economic 
reforms to attract business investment; 
Whereas Bulgaria is the only European Union nation to be 
listed in the top 10 of the World Bank’s classification as 
of 2018; 
Whereas Bulgaria has promoted stability in the Balkans by 
rendering support to Operation Allied Force and Oper-
ation Joint Guardian led by NATO, and by providing 
peacekeeping troops to the Stabilization Force in Bosnia 
and Herzegovina (SFOR) and to the Kosovo Force 
(KFOR) in Kosovo; 
Whereas Bulgaria hosts one of eight NATO Force Integra-
tion Units to better enable collective security on the Eu-
ropean continent; 
Whereas Bulgaria is increasing its defense expenditures and 
expenditures on equipment in keeping with the 2014 
Wales Pledge, including by purchasing F–16s to reduce 
reliance on Russian and old Soviet equipment and better 
integrate with NATO forces; 
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•HRES 569 IH 
Whereas Bulgaria initiated a historic strengthening of mili-
tary relations by inviting the United States Armed 
Forces to begin conducting joint exercises with its forces 
in Bulgaria, the first voluntary defense cooperation 
agreement with foreign troops throughout Bulgarian his-
tory, including the 1,300 years before its declaration of 
independence; and 
Whereas Bulgaria stood firmly by the United States in the 
cause of advancing freedom worldwide during its tenure 
as a nonpermanent member of the United Nations Secu-
rity Council: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) values the close relationship between the 
United States and the Republic of Bulgaria, as well 
as the friendship between the American and Bul-
garian peoples; 
(2) commends the Republic of Bulgaria for its 
efforts to strengthen relations with the United 
States over the past 111 years; 
(3) recognizes the continued contributions of 
Bulgaria toward bringing peace, stability, and pros-
perity to the region of Southeastern Europe and the 
Black Sea, including its contributions to regional se-
curity and democratic stability; 
(4) salutes the important contributions of Bul-
garia as a valuable ally in countering Russian ag-
gression and economic coercion, supporting NATO’s 
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