IV 114th CONGRESS 1st Session H. RES. 374 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES July 23, 2015 Mr. Heck of Washington (for himself, Mr. Byrne , Mr. Salmon , Mr. Vela , Ms. Bordallo , Mr. Russell , Mr. Keating , Mr. Quigley , and Mr. Larsen of Washington ) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs RESOLUTION Recognizing the 50th anniversary of Singaporean independence and reaffirming Singapore’s close partnership with the United States.

Whereas the Republic of Singapore became independent on August 9, 1965; Whereas Singapore and the United States share founding principles, including belief in meritocracy and equality of opportunity; Whereas Singapore has been an early and continued supporter of the United States engagement in Asia to safeguard the peace, stability, and prosperity of the region; Whereas Singapore underwent rapid growth following independence, with approximate per capita Gross Domestic Product growing from approximately $500 in 1965 to approximately $56,000 in 2014; Whereas the United States and Singapore concluded the United States-Singapore Free Trade Agreement in 2004, the first bilateral trade agreement between the United States and an Asian country; Whereas Singapore has become a major United States trading partner, with $65 billion in bilateral goods and services trade in 2013, as well as more than $154.4 billion in United States Foreign Direct Investment in Singapore and $20 billion of Singaporean Foreign Direct Investment in the United States; Whereas Singapore was a founding member of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1967 and remains a key partner with the United States in the East Asia Summit; Whereas the United States and Singapore established the United States-Singapore Third Country Training Program in 2012 to provide technical and capacity-building assistance to recipient countries; Whereas Singapore provided the United States access to its military facilities with the 1990 Memorandum of Understanding, to which an addendum was added in 1998, supporting the continued security presence of the United States in Southeast Asia; Whereas the United States and Singapore concluded a Strategic Framework Agreement in 2005 which recognized Singapore as a “Major Security Cooperation Partner” of the United States; Whereas Singapore facilitates the rotational deployment of Littoral Combat Ships from the United States at Changi Naval Base; Whereas the United States currently hosts four Republic of Singapore Air Force training detachments, comprising the Republic of Singapore Air Force’s F–15SG and F–16 fighter jets, as well as Apache and Chinook helicopters, at bases in Arizona, Idaho, and Texas; Whereas the Singapore Armed Forces supported multinational reconstruction efforts in Iraq from 2003 to 2008, aided reconstruction and stabilization efforts in Afghanistan from 2007 to 2013, deployed alongside the United States as part of Combined Task Force 151 (CTF 151) since 2009, including taking command of CTF 151, to combat piracy in the Gulf of Aden and joined the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL in November 2014; and Whereas Singapore will celebrate its 50th anniversary of independence in 2015 and commemorate 50 years of bilateral relations with the United States in 2016: Now, therefore, be it

That the House of Representatives— (1) sends its warm congratulations to the people of Singapore as they celebrate 50 years of independence and nation-building; and (2) reaffirms the close partnership between the United States and Singapore ahead of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations.