Dutch American Heritage Day

DUTCH AMERICAN HERITAGE DAY -- (Extensions of Remarks - November 15, 2006)

* Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, today, on Dutch American Heritage Day, I rise to recognize the history of warm relations the Dutch and American people have shared for over 400 years and also to celebrate the many contributions of Dutch Americans to U.S. history. Americans of Dutch descent include Theodore, Franklin, and Eleanor Roosevelt, whose courage and strength helped lead the American people through difficult times in our Nation's past. Their ranks also include President Martin Van Buren, Walt Whitman, and Thomas Edison--and Senator Arthur Vandenberg who helped shape U.S. foreign policy after World War II.

* The Dutch were deeply involved in the exploration of the New World and the settlement of the early colonies. In 1609, while searching for an easy route to Asia, Captain Henry Hudson discovered the river that bears his name. Soon after, Dutch settlements began springing up throughout and beyond modern-day New York State into what is now Connecticut, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. Today, Americans of Dutch descent live in concentrations in Michigan, California, Florida, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Washington, Texas, Ohio, and Illinois.

* The ties between the United States and the Netherlands date back to the earliest days of the Republic. It was the Dutch who first recognized the United States of America and The Hague was home to the first American embassy in the world. The American people will not soon forget how on November 16, 1776, as the American warship, Andrew Doria, entered the harbor of the Dutch island of St. Eustatius in the West Indies, the fort fired a salute, recognizing the flag of the United States of America--the first of such acts by any country. This salute heralded the beginning of a relationship that would persist, unbroken, for three centuries.

* Today we also celebrate the people of the Netherlands who have stood beside us in good and bad times since the War of Independence. The Dutch granted the U.S. Congress its first loan, helping to sustain a struggling Nation at one of its lowest points; in the wake of Pearl Harbor, the Dutch were among the first nations to align themselves with the U.S. and they fought proudly with the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions in the occupied Netherlands during the Second World War. Today, the Dutch stand by us still in the ranks of NATO and among our troops in the ongoing efforts to combat terrorism in Afghanistan.

* Dutch American Heritage Day is a special day not only because it celebrates the heritage and contribution of Americans of Dutch descent but because the day is also a celebration of a friendship that has helped shape and sustain our Nation from the days of its infancy. We are thankful to the people of the Netherlands and we look forward to continued strong ties and goodwill for years to come.

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