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

IV 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 91 Reaffirming the robust commitment of the House of Representatives to the importance of the United States-Greek strategic partnership. 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 Rep- resentatives 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 re- lationship; 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:46 Jan 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR91.IH HR91 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 91 IH sources and national security, particularly given the stra- tegic geographic location of Greece; Whereas Greece is playing a key stabilizing role in a turbu- lent wider region and is a reliable, trustworthy, predict- able, and stable ally and partner of the United States, promoting crucial regional synergies and cooperation, in- cluding with respect to Cyprus and Israel; Whereas the United States and Greece encourage and sup- port funding for excess armaments to bolster Greek na- tional 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 num- ber of crucial NATO missions, including in Afghanistan; Whereas the United States and Greece express strong dis- approval of provocative statements designed to interfere with either country’s national security interests; Whereas the United States and Greece have a strong com- mercial 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:46 Jan 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR91.IH HR91 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 91 IH Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) reaffirms its robust commitment to the im- 2 portance of the United States-Greek strategic part- 3 nership; 4 (2) applauds Secretary of State Pompeo and 5 Greek Alternate Minister for Foreign Affairs 6 Katrougalos for initiating the strategic dialogue; 7 (3) encourages greater security collaboration 8 between the two countries in the area of defense; 9 and 10 (4) supports an increased focus by the two 11 countries on energy, economic development, and peo- 12 ple to people programs. 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:46 Jan 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR91.IH HR91 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS