Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor and acknowledge the 60th Anniversary of the Sgt. Stanley F. Romanowski Post 6896 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Westland, Michigan.

On May 12, 1946, the founding members instituted this Post in the Gymnasium of Munger Intermediate School and dedicated its mission to serving the citizens of Wayne County, Michigan. Named after Sgt. Stanley F. Romanowski, a decorated soldier of World War II who gave his life for his country, the Romanowski Post 6896 courageously pays tribute to the deceased by helping the living.

Each year, the 6896 members of the Romanowski Post 6896 launch charitable initiatives to assist the needy, aid the ill, support the students, and recognize the educators of our community. Among the many notable programs, these veterans host the Christmas Needy Basket Program, which provides food for underprivileged families; a Muscular Dystrophy Drive; a Diabetes Drive; a Cancer Drive; a $50,000 scholarship fund for students; and a Teacher of the Year program.

In memory of Sgt. Romanowski's birthday, members hold an annual December memorial service in remembrance of United States fallen veterans. This summer, the Romanowski Post 6896 will also hold the first monthly memorial service at Westland City Hall dedicated to Prisoners of War, Soldiers Missing in Action, Blue Stars Mothers, and Gold Star Mothers. These deeds serve as a constant reminder, to ensure the bravery of our soldiers, the fragility of our needy, and the heroism of our fallen will not be forgotten.

Mr. Speaker, in honor of his exemplary love for the United States and our citizens, I ask my colleagues to join me in commending these veterans for their bravery and in thanking the Romanowski Post 6896 for 60 years of loyal and unrelenting service to our community and our country.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor and recognize the 50th anniversary of the Livonia Historical Society in Livonia, Michigan.

For five decades, the Livonia Historical Society has worked to preserve the historical and cultural heritage of our community. Initially founded in 1956 by Gladys and Don Ryder in the Bentley High School library, the Livonia Historical Society serves as guardian over Livonia's original buildings, museums, and homes.

The Livonia Historical Society's extraordinary accomplishments include preserving the Quaker House; and naming a library after prominent Livonia engineer Alfred Noble; and developing the 160-acre Greenmead historical village, which contains the 1820 estate of Joshua Simmons, an 1841 Greek Revival farmhouse, a one-room school house, and a generall store. Further, the Livonia Historical Society has collected and protected ancestral records and artifacts; educated the public about the history of Livonia; and held fundraisers to support restorative projects on Quaker Acres.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating my hometown's Livonia Historial Society for its first 50 years of noble civic service; and in extending our best wishes as they embark upon their next 50 years of preserving our community's uncommon legacy--and, in the process, selflessly affirming their own.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor and recognize Joseph (Joe) F. Dunnabeck, Sr. as he celebrates the arrival of his 90th birthday, May 20, 2006.

An adventurous and spirited leader, Joe dedicated his life to helping others. Joe and Lillian, his wife of 30 years, have led by example, spreading their ``no such thing as can't'' philosophy. With tireless effort, Joe served his Michigan community as a mechanic at the American Standard before retirement; and he still donates time to support the local Neighborhood Watch.

A devout Catholic, Joe personifies the teachings of his church through fairness, humility, and love. His pure and adventurous spirit has challenged the boundaries of age with his legendary exploits of hang gliding, and riding in hot-air balloons and on air-boats. As he nears his ninth decade of life, Joe's kindheartedness and bravery continues to inspire and ennoble his family and friends.

Mr. Speaker, in honor of his lifetime of benevolence and courage, I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating Joe's birthday and thanking him for his contributions to our community and our country.

Mr. Chairman, it seems that the debate is supposed to offer choices, and today the Republican Party of which I am a proud member offered a choice.

We stood with the President of the United States as we extended the tax relief to prevent the largest tax increase in history on the American people, and yet tonight we cannot seem to draw a clear distinction, and not for lack of trying on our side.

The reality is, with this budget that is before us for debate, is there are two fundamental premises which I think are not only flawed, but which will a aggrieve the American taxpayer when they find out what they are.

The first is the concept of PAYGO. We have heard a lot of talk about that. PAYGO means that unless Washington stops spending your money, you continue to pay high taxes. I assure you that that will not be a benefit to you because you will get the short end of the stick.

If the PAYGO provisions are not sufficient, we also see in the budget before us is the concept of the magic asterisk or the tax gap, whereby we will then be dependent upon the receipts of tax deadbeats to continue to spend money. We addressed the tax gap issue in the House Budget Committee by adopting an amendment I put forward with a couple of votes from the minority party which said that any tax gap or delinquent tax money that was recovered would be used for deficit reduction or debt elimination. What we see in the budget before us is that the money that is recovered from delinquent taxes under this will then instead be spent on new programs by the government.

The reality, in my mind, remains quite simply this. If PAYGO does not prove successful, if the Washington politicians somehow continue to spend your money, which is their forte, you will receive no tax relief, and if that is not sufficient for you to feel disgruntled, the reality then becomes that you can have your tax relief held hostage by tax deadbeats, because the reality is, under this budget, you get no tax relief unless a tax deadbeat decides to pay, and that is wrong for the American public. That is simply unfair, and it is unfair not to give a clear choice, with the laudatory talk about tax and spend of the 1990s is insufficient for true debate.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 740) calling on the Government of the United Kingdom to immediately establish a full, independent, public judicial inquiry into the murder of Northern Ireland defense attorney Pat Finucane, as recommended by international Judge Peter Cory as part of the Weston Park agreement and a way forward for the Northern Ireland Peace Process, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 740. I thank my colleague from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) for his leadership on human rights matters worldwide and for offering this important legislation regarding human rights in Northern Ireland.

Last month, on April 4, 2006, we voted nearly unanimously, 399-1, for H. Res. 744, that important resolution sponsored by the chairman of the House International Relations Committee, Henry Hyde, expressed our support for the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 as the blueprint for lasting peace in Northern Ireland, and support for continued police reforms in Northern Ireland as a critical element in the peace process.

U.S. support was crucial to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement signed 8 years ago, and our support continues to be vital. H. Res. 744 rightly commended the progress which has been made in Northern Ireland. As a result of the Good Friday Agreement, there is a new Police Service of Northern Ireland, PSNI. Under the leadership of Chief Constable Hugh S. Orde, the PSNI has made giant strides toward fair and nonsectarian policing. There is a vigorous and fiercely independent Police Ombudsman's Office, whose chief, Nuala O'Loane, has been a catalyst for reform. There is now a policing board in Northern Ireland composed of independent and party representatives designed to provide civilian control and fair nonsectarian policing. There is a new historical inquiries team established by Chief Constable Orde which will provide a thorough and independent examination of unresolved deaths that occurred in connection with the Troubles from 1968 to 1989.

But H. Res. 740, which we shall vote on today, is the indispensable companion of Mr. Hyde's H. Res. 744. Even with all the improvements I have noted in policing, Madam Speaker, significant further work remains to be done in order to ensure acceptance by all communities of the Police Service in Northern Ireland. A key stumbling block to that greater acceptance has been the lack of resolution of charges of official collusion in the murder of human rights lawyer Patrick Finucane, who was gunned down in front of his home in front of his wife and three small children in 1989.

Pat Finucane was not only a courageous human rights activist and loving father and husband, he is also a symbol of the horrible culture of official collusion and terrorism and crime in Northern Ireland. Resolving the question surrounding his murder will help to put an end to that culture once and for all and allow Northern Ireland's still fragile peace to flourish in a new atmosphere of trust.

We have twice gone on record supporting establishment of a public independent judicial inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane. In 1999, we adopted House Resolution 128 offered by the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) which condemned the murder of attorney Rosemary Nelson and requested a public inquiry into the Finucane murder.

In 2003, Congress passed and the President signed the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, which included a provision offered by the gentleman from New Jersey supporting public judicial inquiries into the murders of both Rosemary Nelson and Patrick Finucane. We have moved the issue towards resolution, but we are not there yet.

In 2001, the British and Irish governments jointly appointed Judge Peter

Cory, a preeminent retired justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, to determine whether independent commissions should investigate possible state-sponsored collusion in six notorious and horrific murders. They also pledged to abide by his recommendations. In 2004, Judge Cory issued his report, yet the British Government still has not appointed an inquiry commission into the murder of Patrick Finucane. Our colleague, Chris Smith, who could not be here today as he attends the funeral of Congressman Sonny Montgomery, has chaired numerous hearings on human rights and police reform in Northern Ireland since 1997, and in every one the issue of state-sponsored collusion in the Finucane murder has been central, yet still nothing has been done.

On March 8, the Irish Parliament passed an all-part motion fully supported by the Irish Government calling on the U.K. to immediately establish ``a full independent public judicial inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane as recommended by Judge Cory, which would enjoy the full cooperation of the family and the wider community throughout Ireland and abroad.''

The U.K. Government must find a way to institute a credible inquiry which would be accepted by all: by Judge Cory, the Irish public, by the world community, and, most of all, by the Finucane family. I commend my colleagues Chris Smith, Elton Gallegly, Peter King, Jim Walsh, Richard Neal, Don Payne, and Tom Lantos for their work on this issue.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 795) condemning in the strongest terms the terrorist attacks in Dahab and Northern Sinai, Egypt, on April 24 and 26, 2006.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Resolution 795. With this resolution, the House reflects on the recent bombings in the Sinai which cut short dozens of lives. We take this opportunity to share with our friends, the people of Egypt, our sorrow, our sympathy, and our determination to help Egypt defend itself against such attacks.

The Egyptian people have been subject to terrorist attacks for many years; they have responded strongly and generally effectively. While there were several successful attacks during 2005, there were also antiterrorism successes. According to the State Department's ``Country Report on Terrorism,'' two attempts to target tourists in Cairo were thwarted by Egyptian authorities. Nevertheless, because the Egyptian economy relies so strongly on tourism, each incident has an effect that is magnified for the country and has an impact that goes beyond the personal tragedies of those who are killed and injured. Anyone who has had the opportunity to visit Egypt will have experienced the gracious hospitality for which Egyptians are famous. It is a terrible shame that the Egyptians in the tourism sector, many of whom are economically deprived, must bear the burden of the vicious terrorist strikes.

Mr. Speaker, Egypt and the United States have a good level of antiterrorism cooperation. I hope that the combined antiterrorism efforts of Egypt and the United States will continue to bear fruit. We must continue to work together.

Mr. Speaker, let me conclude by quoting the statement of the Secretary of State, Dr. Condoleezza Rice, on April 4, 2006: ``The United States condemns the vicious terrorist bombings in Dahab, Egypt today. We extend our deepest sympathies to those injured by this attack and to the families and loved ones of those killed. There could be no justification for this barbaric act of terrorism. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Egypt at this time of grief. We have been in contact with the Egyptian Government to extend our condolences and to offer whatever assistance they may need. We will support our Egyptian friends in their commitment to fight terror and to bring justice to those who are responsible for this crime.''

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield so much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis), the sponsor of the resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of our time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 499) condemning the murder of American journalist Paul Klebnikov on July 9, 2004, in Moscow and the murders of other members of the media in the Russian Federation, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 499, a resolution that condemns the murder of American journalist Paul Klebnikov in Moscow and the murder of other members of the media in the Russian Federation. H. Res. 499 was a product which I introduced, and I commend and thank the chairman of the Europe and Emerging Threats Subcommittee, Mr. Gallegly, and, of course, the chairman of the committee, Chairman Hyde, for all of their help with this legislation, as well as all of my colleagues on the International Relations Committee, and not surprisingly, I strongly urge its passage.

On July 9, 2004, Paul Klebnikov, the editor-in-chief of the Russian edition of Forbes Magazine, was shot 10 times outside his office building in Moscow. He left behind a wife and three young children. As part of his work, Mr. Klebnikov had developed into one of the foremost experts on the intersection between organized crime, politics, law enforcement and big business in Russia. Unfortunately, the murder of Paul Klebnikov is not an isolated attack on members of the press. In the past 6 years alone, 12 journalists have been murdered in the Russian Federation.

H. Res. 499 condemns this brutal murder, as well as the murder of other members of the Russian media. While applauding the work of the Russian prosecutor general's office for its ongoing investigation, the legislation urges the Government of Russia to continue its inquiry and bring to justice all parties involved in this horrific crime. It also calls upon Russia to accept offers of assistance from the United States and other rightly concerned governments.

Finally, H. Res. 499 commends Russian-based journalists for their courageous dedication to transparency and the truth and urges the Russian Government to take appropriate action to protect the independence and freedom of members of the press working and living in Russia.

H. Res. 499 was approved both by the Subcommittee on Europe and Emerging Threats and the full International Relations Committee.

Mr. Speaker, it is often wondered why in the United States our Constitution refers to freedom of speech rather than freedom of conscience. It is because the founders of this country and the framers of our Constitution understood that there can be no freedom of conscience where there is not freedom of speech to express it. What the Founding Fathers knew has been perverted by many who would enslave and subjugate their fellow human beings, which is why we in the United States who enjoy a freedom of speech and its concomitant freedom of conscience must be ever alert to ensure that the watchdogs of liberty, a free and unfettered press, are forever protected from intimidation or extermination at the hands of dictators.

Again, I would like to thank my colleagues on the International Relations Committee, and I would like to urge my colleagues to adopt this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I just wish to thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Wexler), the gentleman from California (Mr. Schiff), and of course, the ranking member of the International Relations Committee, the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), who has been a staunch opponent of totalitarianism and a champion of freedom in this institution for decades.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, ordinarily I would have recognized the work and dedication of a special constituent from Michigan's 11th District on Sunday. However, she was away from home.

I would like to thank Georgia Joan McCotter, a mother, for a lifetime of trying to make sure that her two sons, Thaddeus and Dennis, were raised to be good and decent people. Although she fully succeeded in my brother's case, I would like to assure her that I am still trying, but that the love in my heart for her will never diminish over time.

So, to her belatedly, if you are home, if you are listening, Happy Mother's Day.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the achievements and mourn the passing of Eileen Toy, born August 28, 1928.

For more than four decades, Eileen worked to improve the Michigan communities in which she lived. With her husband, Glen Toy of the Livonia Police Department, Eileen moved to Livonia, Michigan, during the 1950's. After graduating with honors from the University of Michigan with a Bachelors degree in Education, Eileen earned a Masters in Education Management degree from Eastern Michigan University. She went on to serve in the Wayne-Westland Community schools as a teacher and an administrator.

Eileen is remembered as a confidant to her friends, an inspiration to her students, and caregiver to her children, Laura, Glen, Carol, and Bruce. Her biting sense of humor, brilliance, and quick-wit will sorely be missed,

Mr. Speaker, during her 77 years, Eileen Toy has enriched the lives of people around her. Today, I ask my colleagues to join me in mourning her passing and remembering her contributions to our community and our country.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Robert A. DeMattia upon his nomination to the Plymouth Community Hall of Fame.

DeMattia's tireless efforts on behalf of the people of Plymouth have brought him this well deserved recognition. Demonstrating his entrepreneurial acumen, DeMattia founded the DeMattia Group in 1978. The DeMattia Group has been involved in pioneering commercial and industrial business park development. By his design, development, and construction, DeMattia has been involved in creating hundreds of facilities in Plymouth Township. Mr. DeMattia's vision and leadership have helped lead Plymouth into a prosperous future.

Of equal import and impact are Mr. DeMattia's philanthropic efforts. Whether assisting with our local parks or working on the behalf of children through the Plymouth Kiwanis Club, DeMattia has donated his time and efforts to enrich the lives of others. Let us, then, commend Mr. DeMattia for his contributions to our community and his induction into the Plymouth Community Hall of Fame.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate James Vermeulen, Sr. upon his nomination to the Plymouth Community Hall of Fame.

Having served as President of the Plymouth Kiwanis Club, and currently serving as a Kiwanis Foundation board member, Vermeulen has striven to help children. But he has done much more. Vermeulen has held the post of Director for the Salvation Army, in which capacity he has endeavored to assist all who are less fortunate than he. Indeed, every December, Vermeulen is instrumental in raising money through the Salvation Army's bell-ringing project. Whether serving with the Kiwanis Club, Salvation Army, or simply helping a neighbor in need, Vermeulen has demonstrated exemplary compassion and leadership.

Let us commend James Vermeulen, Sr. for his dedication to bettering our community and our country, and for his induction into the Plymouth Community Hall of Fame.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge and honor the career of a gentleman I have known for almost 20 years, Mr. Dan Piercecchi, who will be receiving a lifetime achievement award.

Dan has dedicated his life to public service throughout Michigan, having served on the Inkster Parks and Recreation Commission and then being elected to the Inkster City Council. He has also served on the Livonia Planning Commission and is currently a proponent and a champion of municipal government throughout America.

He is also a very dedicated activist to our own Grand Old Party, and he was one of the first people I ever met when I became involved in politics. He has the wisdom, sagacity, and tenacity of an old bull, and this young bull would like to thank him very much for the example he set of what one of man of integrity can do to move mountains.

Mr. Chairman, I come from a Midwest State, from Michigan, home of the auto industry. And while my district is relatively doing well, according to the unemployment figures that have been released, I can assure you that Michigan as a State is not doing well. There are several reasons for this, which the place here is not to debate. But the thing that I ask as a Member from Michigan is that we do not make it more difficult for the people of Michigan to right the ship and to begin our path to an economic renaissance.

Struggling pockets of poverty and struggling pockets in the manufacturing base in Michigan and the Midwest and other parts of this country can never be revitalized or returned to their prominence if we deviate from the economic path we are on today, because if the American economy goes back to a higher system of taxation, a system that then crushes entrepreneurial initiative and the individual genius of the American worker, States like Michigan will never recover.

We need to continue the economic expansion in this country. We need to continue to follow pro-growth policies, especially in the area of taxation. We do not give anything to anyone. We merely allow them to keep what they have earned so that they can then directly invest in the future of their children, of their community, and of the life of this country.

So, Mr. Chairman, I welcome this debate on the budget. I welcome the debate about the priorities. But I would encourage us to continue the path because of the several fundamental assumptions that the current policies that we, as the Republican majority, have adopted. I think they must continue because they are very prescient.

The first, and I reiterate, is that tax relief does not give anything to anyone. It allows people to keep the fruits of their hard work. That is not a gift. It is a recognition by government that people who generate wealth should be able to invest it for the betterment of themselves and their family and their community.

Secondly, history has proven to us that as the taxation rate continues to escalate, what happens then is money that is more productively invested into the life of the American community is then less productively spent when it is vicariously handled and invested, or spent, by the United States Government.

Thirdly, I would like to point out that when we talk about government, there are objections about Republican fiscal policies that government has to pay for things. The third root assumption, I think, that our economic policies follow, which must be continued, is that government pays for nothing; working people pay for everything.

So I would encourage us to remember that we live in a sovereign democracy, a democratic Republic where your private property is your private property until the government gets it through the consent of you, the governed. Government then holds your money in a pool, collectively in trust, to be expended on behalf of you and your fellow citizens.

So let us not forget that, as we discuss taxation policy, because when we are essentially asking to deviate from the tax policies of pro- growth that we have today where people keep what they earn, we are beginning to forget the fact that the United States Government does not create wealth, the United States Government does not pay, the United States Government is not the repository of property to be dispensed back to people.

The American people have private property rights, and they have the unalienable right to keep the fruits of their labor. Our policies reflect that, and I believe that the American economy, this entrepreneurial energy, has been unleashed because of these policies.

And I conclude by again reiterating my commitment and my hope that this collective Congress continue the path we are on so that States like mine can continue the path to recovery.

Mr. Speaker, I assure you I will not use the balance of that time.

Just to point out something that is a continual pet peeve of mine, I am not on Ways and Means and I am not on Appropriations but it seems to me that if you are going to give money to someone it comes through the appropriations process, not through taxation.

Government spends what it takes while people spend what they make. In the final analysis, to provide tax relief to the American people is not an act of giving them anything from the government's largess. What it results in is an act on the part of the government to refrain from taking people's hard-earned money in the first place.

Now, as to the rhetorical question that was asked, if I may turn it into an actual query that was put to us, I would prefer to live in an America where I know that if I work very hard and I follow the law and I want to work and improve my quality of life for myself, my children, and my community and country, is that the fruits of my labor will not be taken from me by the government. And that attempts to make sure that the fruits of my labor are left in my pocket are not considered a giveaway by the Federal Government. Because the fact is it is the confiscation of private property, the act of taxation. The only thing that does to render it criminal is the fact that we have the consent of the governed. In a duly elected country, if the consent of the governed is through their elected representatives not to take that money in the first place, it is not a giveaway.

Mr. Speaker, I thank you; and before I steer on to that path, I would refer the distinguished gentleman to Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical because it shows where the government is involved in taxation for the purposes of, quote, unquote, leveling, which is trying to discern what is the proper level of material equality in a free society, that the compulsory act of government of taking that money from people and then expending it on someone's behalf vicariously is certainly not tantamount to the moral good in a virtuous society that is achieved by the individual donating that money directly to charity and engaging in the life of their community to help their fellow citizens who are less fortunate.

But I am sorry, I will not continue to go down that path.

It is also interesting, the gentleman talks about not wanting to have class warfare or class envy at the very time he engages in it. I find that disingenuous, and I will not do the same.

At the end of the day, what I would like, I think, to help frame my debate is, what level of taxation is enough? What level is enough? What is optimum for your particular, I assume hypothetical, level of material equality in this country that would be dictated by the government's confiscatory tax policies and arbitrary policies in appropriation? I want to know what that level is. I want to know the level then would be attained. If I am going to ask people to give their private property to government, I have to show them the end of the line. I have to show them how high it is going to and I have to show them what the concomitant benefit to this country is going to be. I never seem to hear that. For purposes of clarity, I would be interested, what is your ultimate goal?

I also would like to add, just as personal disclaimer, as someone who is middle class, as someone who pays the AMT, who gets notes from their accountant asking if there is anyone who he knows, i.e., me, what can they do about the AMT, I would like to see it gone, and I would also like to see the taxpayers not pitted against each other if we do not have our choice.

I suppose the final analysis, and I will close on this, is that the Republican Party believes that a free people, a free, virtuous people, which we are in this country, will take care of those who are less fortunate and will also ensure that the civil society we live in endures.

I believe that the minority party believes that they can best determine how to control your life, conduct your affairs, and reach some hypothetical abstraction of equality which does not exist.

Mr. Speaker, over the weekend a momentous date passed which merits our observance. Greek Independence Day commemorates and celebrates the 185th anniversary of the Greek people's declaration of independence from the Ottoman Empire on March 25, 1821. From this day, until the Treaty of Constantinople officially recognized Greek independence, the Greek people waged a valiant and victorious struggle for their freedom.

The Ottoman Empire's oppression and occupation of Greece evolved over the course of the 14th and 15th centuries. Yet during these centuries, Greek patriots arose to oppose and overthrow the Ottomans' dominion, and in 1814 emerged the secretly formed Friendly Society, which proved a herald of Hellenic liberty.

Then 7 years later, on March 25, 1821, the Orthodox Metropolitan Germanos of Patras proclaimed a national uprising, and simultaneous uprisings arose throughout Greece. Initially this courageous movement liberated many areas of Greece, but the Ottoman Empire rapidly and ruthlessly responded with innumerable acts of brutality, including the massacre of entire Greek communities.

Such Ottoman barbarism contrasted ill with Greek heroism and inspired many nations and citizens to rally to the Greek cause. Thus, in 1827, the British and French fleets delivered a crushing blow to the Ottoman fleet at Navarino, and in 1828, 10,000 French soldiers landed in the Peloponnese to end the Ottoman scourge of Greece.

It was then, and after the horror of war had ebbed and ended, the Convention of May 11, 1832, recognized Greece as a sovereign state, and, again, the Treaty of Constantinople recognized Greek independence from Ottoman rule in July of 1832.

Thus, Mr. Speaker, it is both fitting and fair for we Americans as a free people to commemorate and celebrate the date of March 25, the date Greece, the Cradle of Democracy, was once again made free.

So, too, Mr. Speaker, let us reflect upon the reality that no treaty, no mere scrap of paper, could ever accomplish more than to simply state the obviousness of Greek freedom, which has always endured for time immemorial, despite whatever oppression encountered.

Indeed, did not the pen of the British poet and doomed martyr to the cause of Greek independence and freedom, Lord Byron, write a testament to the Greek people's inherent love of liberty when he wrote:

The Sword, the Banner, and the Field, Glory and Greece, around me see! The Spartan, borne upon his shield, Was never more free.

And may Greece, Mr. Speaker, ever be free.