Title: A resolution recognizing the 199th anniversary of the independence of Greece and celebrating democracy in Greece and the United States.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
This resolution congratulates the people of Greece as they celebrate the 199th anniversary of their country's independence. The resolution recognizes Greece's commitment to democratic principles and the important role that Greece has played both regionally and internationally.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 523 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 523

  Recognizing the 199th anniversary of the independence of Greece and 
         celebrating democracy in Greece and the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 27, 2020

Mr. Menendez (for himself, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Johnson, Mr. 
Durbin, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Toomey, Ms. Hassan, Mr. Rubio, Mr. 
    Whitehouse, Mr. Enzi, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Braun, Mr. Wyden, Ms. 
   McSally, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Gardner, Mr. Casey, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Van 
 Hollen, Mr. Perdue, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Cruz, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Young, 
Mr. Peters, Mr. Scott of Florida, Mr. Reed, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Brown, Mrs. 
   Gillibrand, Mr. Coons, Mr. Booker, and Mr. Carper) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                               Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Recognizing the 199th anniversary of the independence of Greece and 
         celebrating democracy in Greece and the United States.

Whereas the people of ancient Greece developed the concept of democracy, in 
        which the supreme power to govern was vested in the people;
Whereas the founding fathers of the United States, many of whom read Greek 
        political philosophy in the original Greek language, drew heavily on the 
        political experience and philosophy of ancient Greece in forming the 
        representative democracy of the United States;
Whereas Petros Mavromichalis, the former Commander in Chief of Greece and a 
        founder of the modern Greek state, said to the citizens of the United 
        States in 1821, ``It is in your land that liberty has fixed her abode 
        and . . . in imitating you, we shall imitate our ancestors and be 
        thought worthy of them if we succeed in resembling you.'';
Whereas the Greek national anthem, the ``Hymn to Liberty'', includes the words, 
        ``most heartily was gladdened George Washington's brave land'';
Whereas the people of the United States generously offered humanitarian 
        assistance to the people of Greece during their struggle for 
        independence;
Whereas Greece heroically resisted Axis forces at a crucial moment in World War 
        II, forcing Adolf Hitler to change his timeline and delaying the attack 
        on Russia;
Whereas Winston Churchill said that ``if there had not been the virtue and 
        courage of the Greeks, we do not know which the outcome of World War II 
        would have been'' and ``no longer will we say that Greeks fight like 
        heroes, but that heroes fight like Greeks'';
Whereas hundreds of thousands of the people of Greece were killed during World 
        War II;
Whereas Greece consistently allied with the United States in major international 
        conflicts throughout its history as a modern state;
Whereas the United States and Greece reinforced their commitment to security 
        cooperation by signing an updated Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement 
        on October 5, 2019, that will expand defense ties between the two 
        countries and promote stability in the region;
Whereas the Foreign Minister of Greece, Nikos Dendias, hosted Secretary of State 
        Michael Pompeo in the second United States-Greece Strategic Dialogue on 
        October 7, 2019, which underscored Greece's importance to the United 
        States as a pillar of stability in the Eastern Mediterranean and Balkans 
        and as an important NATO ally;
Whereas Greece is a strategic partner and ally of the United States in bringing 
        political stability and economic development to the Balkan region, 
        having invested billions of dollars in the countries of the region and 
        having contributed more than $750,000,000 in development aid for the 
        region;
Whereas the government and people of Greece actively participate in peacekeeping 
        and peace-building operations conducted by international organizations, 
        including the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, 
        the European Union, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation 
        in Europe;
Whereas Greece remains an integral part of the European Union;
Whereas the United States has demonstrated its support for the trilateral 
        partnership of Greece, Israel, and Cyprus by enacting into law the 
        Eastern Mediterranean Security and Energy Partnership Act of 2019 (title 
        II of division J of Public Law 116-94) and through the participation of 
        Secretary Pompeo in the ``3+1'' Summit with Greece, Israel, Cyprus, and 
        the United States on March 20, 2019;
Whereas Greece received worldwide praise for its extraordinary handling during 
        the 2004 Olympic Games of more than 14,000 athletes and more than 
        2,000,000 spectators and journalists, a feat the government and people 
        of Greece handled efficiently, securely, and with hospitality;
Whereas the governments and people of Greece and the United States are at the 
        forefront of efforts to advance freedom, democracy, peace, stability, 
        and human rights;
Whereas those efforts and similar ideals have forged a close bond between the 
        peoples of Greece and the United States; and
Whereas it is proper and desirable for the United States to celebrate March 25, 
        2020, Greek Independence Day, with the people of Greece and to reaffirm 
        the democratic principles from which those two great countries were 
        founded: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) extends warm congratulations and best wishes to the 
        people of Greece as they celebrate the 199th anniversary of the 
        independence of Greece;
            (2) expresses support for the principles of democratic 
        governance to which the people of Greece are committed; and
            (3) notes the important role that Greece has played in the 
        wider European region and in the community of nations since 
        gaining its independence 199 years ago.
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