Reaffirming Support for the Good Friday Agreement and Other Agreements to Ensure A Lasting Peace in Northern Ireland

Floor Speech

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Mr. SUOZZI. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Sires for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the bipartisan H. Res. 585, which I introduced along with my Republican colleague Peter King.

This resolution reaffirms the United States' support for the Good Friday Agreement and other agreements in order to ensure a lasting peace in Northern Ireland.

I want to start by thanking Chairman Engel for his support of this bipartisan resolution and for his decades-long commitment to bringing a lasting peace to the island of Ireland.

I also thank, again, my fellow Long Islander Peter King, my lead Republican cosponsor of this resolution, who has been a staunch advocate for the Good Friday Agreement and the peace process for the length and breadth of his entire career in public service, over 30 years.

I thank all of my colleagues from both sides of the aisle on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and from the Congressional Friends of Ireland who cosponsored this resolution. Particularly, I thank my friend Bill Keating, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, Energy, and the Environment.

Mr. Speaker, the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 was a momentous achievement that marked the official end of The Troubles, a dark period in history that saw communities torn apart, thousands of people killed, and the island of Ireland literally divided by a hard border.

While the Good Friday Agreement has been largely responsible for the relative peace on the island of Ireland over the last two decades, recent events have created uncertainty and put the agreement at risk.

The collapse of the key power-sharing agreement in early 2017 has created a roadblock to continued progress on several important issues. Furthermore, the uncertainty created by Brexit has led to fears of instability and even the reintroduction of a hard border separating the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Next week, the people of the United Kingdom will go to the polls in a crucial election that will determine the outcome of Brexit. While it would be inappropriate for any American elected official to interfere in another country's electoral process, it is important that the United States makes our position clear on policies in which we have a vested interest.

This resolution reiterates the United States' full support for the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. It also urges the parties to continue their dialogues in the hope that the governing institutions created by the agreement can once again operate.

This resolution also makes it clear that as the United Kingdom continues to work through the Brexit process, all parties should ensure that the final outcome supports peace on the island of Ireland, as well as all the principles, objectives, and commitments of the Good Friday Agreement. In particular, this resolution expresses strong opposition to the reintroduction of a hard border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. A return to a hard border, as Congressman Boyle has repeatedly pointed out, could do immense damage and must be avoided at all costs.

I am pleased that in Brexit negotiations so far, all parties seem to agree that a hard border is unacceptable, and I urge continued adherence to this position.

Finally, this resolution makes it clear that should the United States and the United Kingdom pursue a bilateral trade agreement in the aftermath of Brexit, that any such deal will be contingent on meeting the obligations of the Good Friday Agreement.

As a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, which I would have jurisdiction over any such deal, I promise to ensure that this clause of this resolution is strictly enforced.

I know that my good friend Richie Neal, who has cosponsored this resolution and who serves not only as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee but also as co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Friends of Ireland, feels exactly the same way.

Mr. Speaker, I also want to take a moment to thank my good friend and constituent Marty Glennon for his years of activism in support of the peace process. His wisdom and support of this resolution as it made its way through the legislative process has been extremely valuable.

During these difficult times of often partisan and divided government, it is gratifying to see such overwhelming bipartisan support to ensure that Brexit and other political challenges do not threaten the Good Friday Agreement or the peace process.

When my great-grandfather, Jeremiah Holmes, first emigrated from the Emerald Isle in the late 1800s, leaving his home in Bweeng outside of Malllow in County Cork, little did he know that his son would go on to work for IBEW, putting lights on the Empire State Building. Little did he know that, one day, his great-grandson would be a Member of the House of Representatives and work to continue the United States' important role in preserving peace on the island of Ireland.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge the passage of this important bipartisan legislation.

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