IV
119THCONGRESS
1
STSESSION H. RES. 249
Recognizing the 204th anniversary of the War of Greek Independence.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH25, 2025
Mr. B
ILIRAKIS(for himself, Mr. PAPPAS, Ms. MALLIOTAKIS, Ms. TITUS, Mr.
S
MITHof New Jersey, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. AMO, Mr. MAGAZINER, and
Ms. M
ENG) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on Foreign Affairs
RESOLUTION
Recognizing the 204th anniversary of the War of Greek
Independence.
Whereas the concept of democracy, in which the supreme
power to govern was vested in the people, was developed
in ancient Greece;
Whereas the Founding Fathers of the United States were in-
spired by ancient Greek political philosophy when form-
ing the political system of the United States;
Whereas the ideals enshrined in the Declaration of Independ-
ence inspired the uprising of the Greek people against the
Ottoman Empire and were reflected in the revolutionary
Greek Constitutions;
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•HRES 249 IH
Whereas the War of Greek Independence initiated the strug-
gle for self-determination of all the occupied nations of
the Ottoman Empire;
Whereas American philhellenes, including future abolitionist
Dr. Samuel Gridley Howe, future abolitionist Jonathan
Peckham Miller, and George Jarvis, traveled to Greece to
fight alongside and provide aid to the Greek people in
their struggle for independence;
Whereas the people of the United States generously sent hu-
manitarian assistance to the people of Greece during
their struggle for independence, often through philhellene
committees;
Whereas the United States and Greece have been allies in all
international conflicts throughout modern history;
Whereas the Greek-American community has positively con-
tributed to American society and has helped forge the
ties between the United States and Greece;
Whereas the United States has greatly contributed to the re-
construction of Greece after World War II;
Whereas North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) mem-
bership has further tightened the cooperation between the
United States and Greece;
Whereas Greece has consistently shown strong commitment
to meeting NATO defense spending obligations and con-
tributes more than 3 percent of its GDP in defense, while
strongly supporting a more robust European defense;
Whereas Greece is an integral part of the European Union;
Whereas Greece occupies a non-permanent member seat at
the United Nations Security Council for the 2025–2026
term;
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•HRES 249 IH
Whereas Greece is a strategic partner of the United States
in bringing political stability and economic development
to the Balkan region, having actively contributed to the
Euro-Atlantic integration of the countries of the region
and having been one of the major investors in south-
eastern Europe, including in critical infrastructure;
Whereas the address of the Prime Minister of Greece,
Kyriakos Mitsotakis, to a joint session of Congress in
May 2022 consolidated the strong ties between the two
countries, based on shared values, as well as the impor-
tance of the Greek-American community for the United
States;
Whereas Greece enjoys strong bipartisan support in the
United States Congress;
Whereas Greece participates in and actively promotes several
schemes of regional partnership in the Eastern Medi-
terranean;
Whereas the United States has demonstrated its support for
the trilateral partnership of Greece, Israel, and Cyprus
by enacting into law the Eastern Mediterranean Security
and Energy Partnership Act of 2019, and through joint
engagement with Greece, Israel, and Cyprus in the
‘‘3+1’’ format;
Whereas this support was reiterated in the United States-
Greece Defense and Interparliamentary Partnership Act,
included in the National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2022, establishing a 3+1 Interparliamentary
Group to discuss the expansion of cooperation in other
areas of common concern;
Whereas the United States and Greece’s commitment to secu-
rity cooperation led to the conclusion of a Mutual De-
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•HRES 249 IH
fense Cooperation Agreement, which was updated in
2021, in order to enhance defense ties between the two
countries and promote stability in the broader region;
Whereas the ongoing United States-Greece Strategic Dia-
logue reflects Greece’s importance to the United States
as a geostrategic partner, namely in the Eastern Medi-
terranean and Balkans and as a valuable NATO ally;
Whereas the port of Alexandroupolis in northeast Greece has
evolved into a key energy hub and strategic point, con-
necting the Mediterranean Sea with the Balkans and
Eastern Europe;
Whereas the Governments and people of Greece and the
United States are at the forefront of international efforts
to advance freedom, democracy, rule of law, human
rights, peace, and stability;
Whereas those efforts and similar ideals have forged a close
bond between the peoples of Greece and the United
States; and
Whereas it is proper and desirable for the United States to
celebrate the 204th anniversary of the March 25, 1821,
Greek Independence Day with the people of Greece, and
to reaffirm the democratic principles from which those
two great countries were founded: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1
(1) extends warm congratulations and best 2
wishes to the people of Greece as they celebrate the 3
204th anniversary of the War of Greek Independ-4
ence; 5
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•HRES 249 IH
(2) expresses support for the principles of de-1
mocracy, human rights, and the rule of law to which 2
the people of the United States and Greece are com-3
mitted; 4
(3) notes the important role that Greece has 5
played in the wider European region and in the com-6
munity of nations since gaining its independence; 7
(4) commends the Greek-American community 8
for its contributions to the United States and its 9
role as a bridge between the two countries; 10
(5) commends the geostrategic importance of 11
Greece at the junction of three continents and in 12
particular the critical role Greece plays in promoting 13
stability in the Eastern Mediterranean and Western 14
Balkans and in continuously upholding international 15
law and respect for national sovereignty and terri-16
torial integrity; and 17
(6) appreciates the deepening cooperation be-18
tween the United States and Greece, based on 19
shared values and interests, including the important 20
bilateral energy and security partnership and the im-21
portant role that Greece plays in bolstering Euro-22
pean energy security. 23
Æ
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