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 Sov-
ereignty and Children’s Day. 
Whereas, every year on April 23, the people of Turkey and 
Turkish Americans celebrate Turkish National Sov-
ereignty and Children’s Day, commemorating the day 
when the Turkish Grand National Assembly was founded; 
Whereas, on April 23, 1920, the Turkish Grand National As-
sembly was formally established, and Mustafa Kemal 
Ataturk, the visionary leader of modern Turkey, became 
its first President and led the Turkish national independ-
ence movement; 
Whereas the opening of the Turkish Grand National Assem-
bly served, both symbolically and functionally, to ensure 
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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 Amer-
ica 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. . . . Lin-
coln and Washington [b]oth worked for the advancement, 
elevation and prosperity of America. . . . This high serv-
ice is the service which a person assumes without think-
ing 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 with-
out 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 ge-
nius accomplished so much for his country; first in bat-
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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 peace- 
maker, an ultimate reformer and a torch-bearer of free-
dom. 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 contribu-
tions 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 mu-
tual interests between the United States and Turkey: 
Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) supports the commemoration of the found-
ing of the Turkish Parliament, which laid the foun-
dation for the future establishment of a democratic 
secular, Republic of Turkey; 
(2) reiterates its support for democratic institu-
tions, Turkey’s elected representatives, and the legis-
lative and supervisor functions of Turkey’s Par-
liament; 
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(3) commends the productive contributions of 
the Turkish American community to the United 
States; and 
(4) congratulates the people of Turkey and 
Turkish Americans nationwide on Turkish National 
Sovereignty and Children’s Day. 
Æ 
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