[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 776 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 776
Recognizing the 49th anniversary of the independence of the Republic of
Cabo Verde and celebrating the contributions of Cabo Verdean-Americans
to democracy in Cabo Verde and the United States.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 30, 2024
Mr. Markey (for himself, Mr. Reed, Mr. Whitehouse, Ms. Warren, and Mr.
Welch) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on Foreign Relations
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RESOLUTION
Recognizing the 49th anniversary of the independence of the Republic of
Cabo Verde and celebrating the contributions of Cabo Verdean-Americans
to democracy in Cabo Verde and the United States.
Whereas the archipelago of Cabo Verde was the first permanent European
settlement in the tropics, the Portuguese arrived in 1456 and settled in
Cidade Velha on the Island of Santiago in 1462, and Cabo Verde became an
epicenter of the beginning of the transatlantic slave trade;
Whereas Kriolu Kabuverdianu, the maternal language of Cabo Verde, a mix of
Portuguese and various African languages, became the world's first
European and African creole language and is the oldest living and widely
spoken creole language;
Whereas British influence significantly shaped the archipelago's economic
development and cultural landscape, particularly through the
establishment of trade routes and maritime commerce facilitated by
British traders and merchants;
Whereas the spirit of Cabo Verdeans' resistance to the colonial rule of Portugal
was embodied by the Badiu community and culture on the Island of
Santiago, which was made up of escaped formerly enslaved Africans who
lived removed from the Portuguese colonial administration;
Whereas the United States and the archipelago of Cabo Verde share strong
historical links dating back to the whaling trade in the 18th century,
with people-to-people ties potentially dating back even earlier;
Whereas the emigration of Cabo Verdeans to the United States began in the 18th
century and continues today, with communities primarily concentrated in
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut;
Whereas, in 1818, the first consulate of the United States in sub-Saharan Africa
opened in what is now the Republic of Cabo Verde;
Whereas, in the 19th century, the archipelago of Cabo Verde was the base of the
Africa Squadron of the United States Navy, which worked to suppress the
transatlantic slave trade across West Africa to the Americas and beyond;
Whereas the archipelago of Cabo Verde has long been a refuge for communities
seeking a better life, as exemplified by an embrace of Jewish heritage
following the persecution of Sephardic Jews during the Inquisition and
Moroccan and Gibraltarian migration during the 19th century, an integral
part of Cabo Verde's national heritage;
Whereas the State Ship of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the schooner
Ernestina-Morrissey, originally launched in 1894 as the Effie M.
Morrissey, was the last sailing vessel to bring immigrants to the United
States from the archipelago of Cabo Verde and was designated as a
National Historic Landmark by the Department of the Interior in 1990;
Whereas, between 1800 and 1921, more than 70 percent of all Cabo Verdean
immigrants to the United States arrived via the Port of New Bedford,
Massachusetts;
Whereas the labor of Cabo Verdeans became integral to the commercial cultivation
of cranberries in the 19th century as the whaling industry declined and
remains so today;
Whereas, with the decline of the whaling industry, Cabo Verdean-American
mariners developed a strong packet trade between the archipelago of Cabo
Verde and New England, bringing goods and thousands of immigrants with
them;
Whereas, on January 20, 1973, Amilcar Cabral, the founder and leader of the
African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cabo Verde, was
assassinated;
Whereas, on July 5, 1975, the archipelago of Cabo Verde gained independence from
Portugal;
Whereas, on July 19, 1975, the United States established diplomatic relations
with the Republic of Cabo Verde;
Whereas the Government of the Republic of Cabo Verde was under one-party rule
until 1992, when the first multiparty elections were held;
Whereas Kriolu Kabuverdianu can still be heard today in various towns and cities
across New England;
Whereas the Republic of Cabo Verde has several sister city and town
relationships with counterparts in the United States, such as Praia with
Boston, Massachusetts, and Providence, Rhode Island, Mosteiros with
Brockton, Massachusetts, and Mindelo with New Bedford, Massachusetts;
Whereas Cabo Verdean-Americans continue to contribute to the social fabric of
the United States, particularly in New England, in industries such as
politics, entertainment, sports, academia, and others;
Whereas many Cabo Verdean-Americans were involved in the civil rights movement
in the United States and Cabo Verde's struggle for independence during
the 20th century;
Whereas more than 150 Peace Corps volunteers served in the Republic of Cabo
Verde from 1988 to 2013, and in 2019 the Government of the Republic of
Cabo Verde formally invited the Peace Corps to return;
Whereas Jose Maria Pereira Neves, the former Prime Minister and current
President of the Republic of Cabo Verde, met with United States
President Barack Obama in the Cabinet Room of the White House in 2013 to
discuss and strengthen bilateral relations, emphasizing mutual interests
in economic development, democracy, and regional security;
Whereas the Pedro Pires Institute for Cape Verdean Studies at Bridgewater State
University in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, is the only academic research
institute in the world solely dedicated to the archipelago of Cabo Verde
and Cabo Verdeans and serves as a bridge between Massachusetts, the
archipelago of Cabo Verde, and the Cabo Verdean diaspora;
Whereas the Republic of Cabo Verde upholds the principles of freedom and
democracy;
Whereas the Republic of Cabo Verde enjoys relatively high literacy rates, high
per capita income, and positive health indicators;
Whereas, in 2021, New Hampshire and the Republic of Cabo Verde agreed to the
State Partnership Program administered by the National Guard Bureau,
which deepens United States-Cabo Verde relations and encourages
exchanges between government and military personnel;
Whereas, in 2019, the traditional Cabo Verdean musical genre Morna, popularized
by the world-renowned late singer and ``Barefoot Diva,'' Cesaria Evora,
was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural
Heritage of Humanity of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization;
Whereas, in June 2022, according to the World Food Programme of the United
Nations, almost ten percent of the Republic of Cabo Verde's population
faced acute food insecurity as a result of drought, the COVID-19
pandemic, and the upheaval in global food and energy markets caused by
the Russian Federation's illegal invasion of Ukraine;
Whereas, in December 2023, the Board of Directors of the Millennium Challenge
Corporation selected the Republic of Cabo Verde as eligible to develop a
regional compact for the purpose of regional economic integration;
Whereas the selection was made in recognition of the Republic of Cabo Verde's
clear commitment to democratic governance, consistent, strong passage of
the Millennium Challenge Corporation scorecard, successful prior
partnerships with the Millennium Challenge Corporation, lingering
development and poverty reduction needs, and the potential opportunities
to strengthen regional economic integration with a committed and engaged
former partner of the Millennium Challenge Corporation;
Whereas the Republic of Cabo Verde's initial $110,000,000 compact with the
Millennium Challenge Corporation, which closed in 2010, included the
construction of several new roads and bridges and expanded and
modernized the Port of Praia, which boosted its competitiveness by
decreasing cargo processing times and shipping costs, and the Republic
of Cabo Verde's subsequent $66,000,000 compact, which concluded in 2017,
improved access to clean water and sanitation, strengthened land rights,
and facilitated ambitious policy and institutional reforms to improve
the country's overall investment climate;
Whereas, in December 2023, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Cabo Verde,
Jose Ulisses Correia e Silva, met with the President of Ukraine,
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to emphasize Cabo Verde's support for the
territorial integrity of Ukraine dating back to the illegal annexation
of Crimea by Russia in 2014;
Whereas, on January 22, 2024, Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to the
Republic of Cabo Verde to highlight how the United States has
accelerated the United States-Africa partnership since the United
States-Africa Leaders Summit held in December 2022;
Whereas members of the Cabo Verdean-American community have served in every
United States conflict, from the Revolutionary War to the wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan;
Whereas, in March 2024, the New Hampshire National Guard and the Cabo Verdean
Armed Forces held the GRANITE FALCO Combined Exercise, the first major
United States-Cabo Verde combined exercise under the bilateral State
Partnership Program;
Whereas, in June 2024, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Cabo Verde, Jose
Ulisses Correia e Silva, attended the Summit on Peace in Ukraine in
Switzerland and met with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy,
and the President of the Swiss Confederation, Viola Patricia Amherd;
Whereas the Republic of Cabo Verde has a close relationship with the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization to address common challenges such as small
arms proliferation, maritime security, and terrorism;
Whereas the Republic of Cabo Verde remains an integral part of the Economic
Community of West African States, the African Union, the Community of
Portuguese Language Countries, and numerous other international
organizations; and
Whereas July 5, 2025, will be the 50th anniversary of the independence of the
Republic of Cabo Verde and will be celebrated by diaspora communities
across New England and beyond: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) extends sincere congratulations and best wishes to the
people of the Republic of Cabo Verde as they celebrate the 49th
anniversary of the independence of the archipelago of Cabo
Verde;
(2) expresses support for the principles of freedom,
democracy, and good governance to which the people and
Government of the Republic of Cabo Verde are committed;
(3) commends the Cabo Verdean-American community for its
contributions to the United States and service as a bridge
between the two countries before and after independence based
on shared history, diaspora, and values;
(4) notes the important role that the Republic of Cabo
Verde has played in African and broader transatlantic affairs
since gaining independence on July 5, 1975; and
(5) commends Cabo Verde's support for the sovereignty,
territorial integrity, and people of Ukraine and condemnation
of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
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