Reaffirming the robust commitment of the House of Representatives to the importance of the United States-Greek strategic partnership.

Bill: 116-hres-91
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Bilirakis, Gus M. [R-FL-12]
Introduced: 2019-01-30
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: Collective security

Diplomacy, foreign officials, Americans abroad

Greece
Latest action: action_date: 2019-03-14
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, Energy and the Environment.

Summaries:
action_date: 2019-01-30
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p>This resolution expresses support for relations between the United States and Greece and encourages a collaborative focus by the two countries on&nbsp;specific&nbsp;areas, including defense and energy. </p>

tv_txt: IV 116th CONGRESS 1st Session H. RES. 91 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES January 30, 2019 Mr. Bilirakis (for himself and Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney of New York ) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs RESOLUTION Reaffirming the robust commitment of the House of Representatives to the importance of the United States-Greek strategic partnership.

Whereas, on December 13, 2018, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and Greek Alternate Minister for Foreign Affairs Georgios Katrougalos launched a strategic dialogue and reaffirmed the importance of the United States-Greek relationship; Whereas history, security, commerce, and shared democratic values underpin a close relationship between the United States and Greece; Whereas the United States and Greece have a dual interest in many concerns, including independent energy supply sources and national security, particularly given the strategic geographic location of Greece; Whereas Greece is playing a key stabilizing role in a turbulent wider region and is a reliable, trustworthy, predictable, and stable ally and partner of the United States, promoting crucial regional synergies and cooperation, including with respect to Cyprus and Israel; Whereas the United States and Greece encourage and support funding for excess armaments to bolster Greek national security; Whereas the United States and Greece cooperate extensively within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), where Greece has consistently committed an excess of 2 percent of its Gross Domestic Product to defense; Whereas Greece has been an ally of the United States in law enforcement and the global war on terror, and has proven its willingness and determination to participate in a number of crucial NATO missions, including in Afghanistan; Whereas the United States and Greece express strong disapproval of provocative statements designed to interfere with either country’s national security interests; Whereas the United States and Greece have a strong commercial relationship, with $2.2 billion in trade between the two countries in 2017; Whereas the United States and Greece continue to encourage cross-private investments to bolster both economies; and Whereas people to people programs between the United States and Greece have been and will continue to be a staple of the relationship between the two countries: Now, therefore, be it

That the House of Representatives— (1) reaffirms its robust commitment to the importance of the United States-Greek strategic partnership; (2) applauds Secretary of State Pompeo and Greek Alternate Minister for Foreign Affairs Katrougalos for initiating the strategic dialogue; (3) encourages greater security collaboration between the two countries in the area of defense; and (4) supports an increased focus by the two countries on energy, economic development, and people to people programs.