Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HR2257 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	H.R. No. 2257
	1	+	85R7495 JGH-D
	2	+	By: Price H.R. No. 2257
2	3
3	4
4	5		R E S O L U T I O N
5	6		WHEREAS, June 12, 2017, marks the 30th anniversary of
6	7		President Ronald Reagan's historic speech at the Berlin Wall, in
7	8		which he boldly challenged the Communist rulers of the Soviet Union
8	9		to tear down the wall and reunify East and West Berlin; and
9	10		WHEREAS, In one of the darkest episodes of the Cold War, the
10	11		Communist government of East Germany began building on August 13,
11	12		1961, what they called an "Antifaschistischer Schutzwall," or
12	13		"antifascist bulwark," across the center of the divided city of
13	14		Berlin; the government claimed the wall was to keep Westerners from
14	15		entering and undermining the Socialist state, but in reality, it
15	16		was intended to keep East Berlin's disillusioned residents from
16	17		escaping to the West; and
17	18		WHEREAS, A makeshift wall was completed in two weeks, but it
18	19		was eventually replaced by a structure of reinforced concrete, 12
19	20		feet tall, 4 feet wide, and topped by an enormous pipe that made it
20	21		almost impossible to climb over; behind the wall, East German
21	22		officials created a floodlit no-man's-land called the "Death
22	23		Strip," which was guarded by attack dogs, trip-wire machine guns,
23	24		and soldiers with orders to shoot on sight; and
24	25		WHEREAS, Over the years, many desperate East Germans tried to
25	26		get over, under, or around this terrifying barrier; at least 171
26	27		people were killed in the attempt, but somehow more than 5,000 East
27	28		Germans, including 600 border guards, managed to escape; these
28	29		brave individuals employed such extreme methods as jumping out of
29	30		windows next to the wall, climbing over barbed wire, crawling
30	31		through sewers, driving at high speed through unfortified
31	32		checkpoints, or even floating over the boundary in hot air
32	33		balloons; and
33	34		WHEREAS, By the 1980s, the Berlin Wall was firmly fixed in the
34	35		public imagination as a symbol of the failure of Communism and the
35	36		desperate attempt of a foundering state to imprison its own
36	37		citizens; the wall and the ideology it represented were roundly
37	38		condemned by many world leaders, including Pope John Paul II,
38	39		British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, Polish Solidarity leader
39	40		Lech Walesa, and the Czech writer and dissident Vaclav Havel, all of
40	41		whom denounced Communism and the abuse of fundamental human rights
41	42		taking place in the countries behind the Iron Curtain; and
42	43		WHEREAS, Towering among these champions of liberty was
43	44		President Ronald Reagan, who helped lead the effort to defeat
44	45		Communism, and in June 1987, he traveled to Germany in order to
45	46		speak at the Brandenburg Gate, only 100 yards from the wall itself;
46	47		in his preparations for this monumental event, White House
47	48		speechwriter Peter Robinson visited Berlin and spoke with Germans
48	49		whose families had been torn apart by the wall, and he was inspired
49	50		to include a line addressed directly to the general secretary of the
50	51		Soviet Union, demanding the destruction of the wall; and
51	52		WHEREAS, This appeal was controversial even within the Reagan
52	53		administration, particularly among the staff of the State
53	54		Department; in the final moments before the speech, as he was riding
54	55		in his limousine to the wall, President Reagan told his deputy chief
55	56		of staff Kenneth Duberstein that he was going to deliver the line
56	57		anyway, saying with a smile, "The boys at State are going to kill
57	58		me, but it's the right thing to do"; shortly thereafter, he spoke
58	59		before a large assembly of Germans, and the crowd roared its
59	60		appreciation when he reached the now-famous line, "Mr. Gorbachev,
60	61		tear down this wall!"; and
61	62		WHEREAS, A spark was lit, and only a few years later, the
62	63		world saw the rapid collapse of Communism, not only in Germany and
63	64		Eastern Europe, but eventually in the Soviet Union itself; at
64	65		midnight on November 9, 1989, the East German authorities finally
65	66		threw open the checkpoints along the wall, and millions of
66	67		Berliners from both sides came together in what one historian
67	68		called "the greatest street party in the history of the world";
68	69		enthusiastic Germans climbed the wall and danced on top of it or
69	70		attacked it with hammers and pickaxes; over the coming months, this
70	71		symbol of tyranny was reduced to rubble, signaling the defeat of
71	72		Communism and oppression and the triumph of democracy and
72	73		independence; and
73	74		WHEREAS, In the relentless march of human events, there are
74	75		rare moments in which a single man's eloquence and moral conviction
75	76		can inspire millions and embody a new spirit of liberty, and Ronald
76	77		Reagan's daring address in Berlin was one such moment, worthy of
77	78		remembrance by people around the world for as long as the love of
78	79		freedom endures; now, therefore, be it
79	80		RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas
80	81		Legislature hereby commemorate the 30th anniversary of President
81	82		Reagan's speech at the Berlin Wall on June 12, 1987.
82		-	Price
83		-	______________________________
84		-	Speaker of the House
85		-	I certify that H.R. No. 2257 was adopted by the House on May
86		-	25, 2017, by a non-record vote.
87		-	______________________________
88		-	Chief Clerk of the House