Title: A resolution recognizing the 201st anniversary of Greek Independence 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 201st anniversary of Greece's independence. The resolution also expresses support for the principles of democratic governance to which the people of the United States and Greece are committed.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 547 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 547

Recognizing the 201st anniversary of Greek Independence and celebrating 
               democracy in Greece and the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 15, 2022

  Mr. Menendez (for himself and Mr. Barrasso) submitted the following 
  resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Recognizing the 201st anniversary of Greek Independence and celebrating 
               democracy in Greece and the United States.

Whereas the concept of democracy, in which the supreme power to govern was 
        vested in the people, was developed in ancient Greece;
Whereas the founding fathers of the United States were inspired by ancient Greek 
        political philosophy, which many of them read in the original Greek 
        language, when they formed 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 Thomas Jefferson wrote, in an October 21, 1823, letter to Greek scholar 
        Adamantios Koraes discussing the ongoing Greek struggle for 
        independence, that ``[n]o people sympathise more feelingly than ours 
        with the sufferings of your countrymen, none offer more sincere and 
        ardent prayers to heaven for their success'';
Whereas then-Congressman Daniel Webster, on January 19, 1824, in a speech in 
        support of his resolution to send an American envoy to Greece amid its 
        struggle for independence, recognized ``the struggle of an interesting 
        and gallant people . . . contending against fearful odds, for being, and 
        for the common privilege of human nature'';
Whereas American Philhellenes, including future abolitionist Dr. Samuel Gridley 
        Howe, future abolitionist Jonathan Peckham Miller, and George Jarvis, 
        traveled to Greece to fight alongside and provide aid to the Greek 
        people in their struggle for independence;
Whereas the people of the United States generously sent humanitarian assistance 
        to the people of Greece during their struggle for independence, often 
        through Philhellene committees;
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 the United States and Greece have been allies in major international 
        conflicts throughout modern history;
Whereas the Greek-American community has positively contributed to American 
        society and has helped forge strong ties between the United States and 
        Greece;
Whereas the United States greatly contributed to the reconstruction of Greece 
        after World War II;
Whereas NATO membership has further enhanced cooperation between the United 
        States and Greece;
Whereas Greece is an integral part of the European Union;
Whereas Greece is a strategic partner of the United States in bringing political 
        stability and economic development to the Balkan region, having actively 
        contributed to the Euro-Atlantic integration of the countries of the 
        region and having been a major investor in Southeastern Europe, 
        including in critical infrastructure;
Whereas Greece participates in and actively promotes several formats for 
        regional partnership in the Eastern Mediterranean;
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 joint engagement with 
        Greece, Israel, and Cyprus in the ``3+1'' format;
Whereas this support was bolstered in the United States-Greece Defense and 
        Interparliamentary Partnership Act of 2021 (subtitle B of title XIII of 
        Public Law 117-81), establishing a 3+1 Interparliamentary Group to 
        discuss the expansion of co-operation in other areas of common concern;
Whereas the United States and Greece's commitment to security cooperation led to 
        the conclusion of a Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement, which was 
        updated in 2021 in order to enhance defense ties between the two 
        countries and promote stability in the broader region;
Whereas the ongoing United States-Greece Strategic Dialogue reflects Greece's 
        importance to the United States as a geostrategic partner, especially in 
        the Eastern Mediterranean and Balkans, and as an important NATO ally;
Whereas the Governments and people of Greece and the United States are at the 
        forefront of international efforts to advance freedom, democracy, rule 
        of law, human rights, peace, and stability;
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, 
        2022, 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 201st anniversary of the 
        independence of Greece;
            (2) expresses support for the principles of democratic 
        governance to which the people of the United States and Greece 
        are committed;
            (3) notes the important role that Greece has played in the 
        wider European region and in the community of nations since 
        gaining its independence;
            (4) commends the contributions of the Greek-American 
        community to the United States and its role as a bridge between 
        the two countries;
            (5) commends the critical role Greece plays in promoting 
        stability in the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Balkans; and
            (6) appreciates the important energy partnership that 
        exists between the United States and Greece, and the important 
        role that Greece plays in bolstering European energy security.
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