IV 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1383 
Recognizing the 100th anniversary of the independence of Bulgaria. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 29, 2008 
Mr. WILSON of South Carolina (for himself, Mr. WEXLER, Mr. GALLEGLY, 
Mrs. TAUSCHER, Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. MCINTYRE, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of 
Texas, Mr. FORBES, Mr. DAVID DAVIS of Tennessee, Mrs. MUSGRAVE, 
Mr. GARRETT of New Jersey, Mr. HAYES, Mr. MILLER of Florida, Mr. 
BOOZMAN, Mrs. BACHMANN, Mr. BARRETT of South Carolina, Mr. 
MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida, and Mr. CUELLAR) submitted the fol-
lowing resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Af-
fairs 
RESOLUTION 
Recognizing the 100th 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 formal ruler; 
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•HRES 1383 IH 
Whereas with the proclamation of independence, Bulgaria 
took its rightful place among the family of nations and 
secured for its people, once and forever, the unalienable 
rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; 
Whereas at present, 100 years after having gained its sov-
ereignty and independent statehood, the Republic of Bul-
garia is a democratic nation and a staunch ally of the 
United States; 
Whereas Bulgaria shares the universal values of freedom and 
human rights, making its own contribution to a safer and 
better world; 
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 
by preventing the deportation of 50,000 Jews to Nazi 
concentration camps; 
Whereas Bulgaria was the only European country during 
World War II to increase its Jewish population; 
Whereas Bulgaria experienced its first free election after the 
end of the Cold War in June 1990; 
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•HRES 1383 IH 
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 both Bulgaria’s political and economic 
systems were completed in preparation for membership; 
Whereas Bulgaria was accepted as a member of NATO and 
has shown determination in enacting the continued re-
forms necessary to be a productive, contributing member 
of the Alliance; 
Whereas Bulgaria was welcomed into the European Union in 
January 2007; 
Whereas the World Bank recently classified Bulgaria as one 
of the top 10 nations to have undertaken important eco-
nomic 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; 
Whereas Bulgaria has promoted stability in the Balkans by 
rendering support to Operation Allied Force and Oper-
ation Joint Guardian led by the NATO, and by providing 
peacekeeping troops to the Stabilisation Force in Bosnia 
and Herzegovina (SFOR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 
and to the Kosovo Force (KFOR) in Kosovo; 
Whereas at the invitation of the Government of Bulgaria, 
United States Armed Forces will begin joint military ac-
tivities with Bulgarian military forces in Bulgaria, which 
is the first defense cooperation agreement of its kind in 
the course of over 1,300 years of Bulgarian statehood; 
and 
Whereas Bulgaria has stood firmly by the United States in 
the cause of advancing freedom worldwide during its ten-
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