Educate your Representative in Congress about Resolution 521
Macedonian-Americans, please educate your Representative in Congress regarding Resolution 521
BACKGROUND
On October 27, 2005, the U.S. Congressional Caucus on Hellenic Issues co-chaired by Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) and Congressman Mike Bilirakis (R-FL) introduced a resolution calling upon Macedonia to “cease its distribution of negative and nationalist propaganda and…work with the United Nations and Greece to find a mutually acceptable official name for the [FYROM].” H. RES 521 was referred to the U.S. House Committee on International Relations the same day. The text of the resolution can be read by clicking HERE.
As of July 25, 2006, 77 congressional representatives have co-sponsored this resolution.
FACT SHEET
1. The legislation is an illegal attempt to further judicially precluded state sponsored racial, religious, and national origin discrimination by the Greek government against minorities of Macedonian national origin.
2. House Resolution 521 is inconsistent with the judgment rulings and findings of the Strasbourg based European Court of Human Rights, noting Greek government state sponsored civil and human rights abuses against Greek citizens who are members of the Macedonian ethnic minority.
3. The purpose and intent of the legislation is built on a facially non-neutral national origin/race based discriminatory animus.
4. The legislation, by illegally and immorally substituting the derogatory term “F.Y.R.O.M.” attempts to interdict and undermine the United States’ decision to recognize Macedonia under her constitutional name, the Republic of Macedonia.
5. The official country name of Macedonia, as recognized by President Bush and by mutual agreement between the two countries, is the Republic of Macedonia, and not (F.Y.R.O.M.)
6. The legislation is both immoral and illegal because it uses the derogatory term “F.Y.R.O.M” to describe people of Macedonian national origin and people of The Republic of Macedonia. The term F.Y.R.O.M. is akin to the derogatory and discriminatory terms WAP, CHINK, RED NECK, and NEGRO, which are used as disparaging race/national origin based descriptions.
7. The legislation runs afoul of the 1st Amendment which states “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press;” specifically, the legislation is an illegal attempt of governmental regulation aimed directly at chilling the content of protected speech in “textbooks, maps, and teaching aids.” Under the 1st Amendment the government can not take steps “to halt the proliferation of” free and protected speech.
8. Under the 1st Amendment a government can not infringe on free speech by precluding “the publishing of negative and nationalist propaganda, including in school textbooks;” moreover, the legislation is an illegal attempt to regulate the time, place, and manner of protected speech.
9. Finally, the legislation does not define what is “negative and nationalist propaganda,” what is the halting of “the proliferation of negative propaganda,” and what constitutes “allowed…publishing” versus what constitutes not allowed publishing. Thus, the legislation is unconstitutional under both the 1st Amendment Overbreadth doctrine and under the 1st Amendment Vagueness doctrine.
The United Macedonian Diaspora encourages Macedonian-Americans to educate every member of the U.S. House Committee on International Relations and their own Representative in the U.S. House of Representatives about the inaccuracies of H.RES. 521.
Below are the phone and fax numbers of all the members of the U.S. House Committee on International Relations, which will be voting on H. RES. 521.
Majority Members (Republicans)
Congressman Henry J. Hyde (R-IL) [Chairman]
Phone: (202) 225-4561 / Fax: (202) 225-1166
Congressman James A. Leach (R-IA)
Phone: (202)225-6576 / Fax: (202) 226-1278
Congressman Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ)
Phone: (202) 225-3765 / Fax: (202) 225-7768
Congressman Dan Burton (R-IN)
Phone: (202) 225-2276 / Fax: (202) 225-0016
Congressman Elton Gallegly (R-CA)
Phone: (202) 225-5811 / Fax: (202) 225-1100
Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL)
Phone: (202) 225-3931 / Fax: (202) 225-5620
Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA)
Phone: (202) 225-2415 / Fax: (202)225-0145
Congressman Edward R. Royce (R-CA)
Phone: (202) 225-4111 / Fax: (202) 226-0335
Congressman Peter T. King (R-NY)
Phone: (202) 225-7896 / Fax: (202) 226-2279
Congressman Steve Chabot (R-OH)
Phone: (202) 225-2216 / Fax: (202) 225-3012
Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO)
Phone: (202) 225-7882 / Fax: (202) 226-4623
Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX)
Phone: (202) 225-2831 / Fax: (202) 226-6553
Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA)
Phone: (202) 225-3906 / Fax: (202) 225-3303
Congressman Jeff Flake (R-AZ)
Phone: (202) 225-2635 / Fax: (202) 226-4386
Congresswoman Jo Ann S. Davis (R-VA)
Phone: (202) 225-4261 / Fax: (202) 225-4382
Congressman Mark Green (R-WI)
Phone: (202) 225-5665 / Fax: (202) 225-5729
Congressman Gerald C. (Jerry) Weller (R-IL)
Phone: (202) 225-3635 / Fax: (202) 225-3521
Congressman Mike Pence (R-IN)
Phone: (202) 225-3021 / Fax: (202) 225-3382
Congressman Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI)
Phone: (202) 225-8171 / Fax: (202) 225-2667
Congresswoman Katherine Harris (R-FL)
Phone: (202) 225-5015 / Fax: (202) 226-0828
Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC)
Phone: (202) 225-2452 / Fax: (202) 225-2455
Congressman John Boozman (R-AR)
Phone: (202) 225-4301 / Fax: (202) 225-5713
Congressman Gresham Barrett (R-SC)
Phone: (202) 225-5301 / Fax: (202) 225-3216
Congressman Connie Mack (R-FL)
Phone: (202) 225-2536 / Fax: (202) 226-0439
Congressman Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE)
Phone: (202) 225-4806 / Fax: (202) 225-5686
Congressman Michael T. McCaul (R-TX)
Phone: (202) 225-2401 / Fax: (202) 225-5955
Congressman Ted Poe (R-TX)
Phone: (202) 225-6565 / Fax: (202) 225-5547
Minority Members (Democrats)
Congressman Tom Lantos (D-CA) [Ranking Minority Member]
Phone: (202) 225-3531 / Fax: (202) 226-4183
Congressman Howard L. Berman (D-CA)
Phone: (202) 225-4695 / Fax: (202) 225-3196
Congressman Gary L. Ackerman (D-NY)
Phone: (202) 225-2601 / Fax: (202) 225-1589
Congressman Eni F. H. Faleomavaega (D-AS)
Phone: (202) 225-8577 / Fax: 202-225-8757
Congressman Donald M. Payne (D-NJ)
Phone: (202) 225-3436 / Fax: (202) 225-4160
Congressman Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
Phone: 202-225-7919 / Fax: (202) 226-0792
Congressman Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
Phone: (202) 225-3401 / Fax: (202) 225-2266
Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA)
Phone: (202) 225-5911 / Fax: (202) 225-5879
Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL)
Phone: (202) 225-3001 / Fax: (202) 225-5974
Congressman Eliot L. Engel (D-NY)
Phone: (202) 225-2464 / Fax: (202) 225-5513
Congressman William D. Delahunt (D-MA)
Phone: (202) 225-3111 / Fax: (202) 225-5658
Congressman Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY)
Phone: (202) 225-3461 / Fax: (202) 226-4169
Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA)
Phone: (202) 225-2661 Fax: (202) 225-9817
Congressman Joseph Crowley (D-NY)
Phone: (202) 225-3965 / Fax: (202) 225-1909
Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)
Phone: (202) 225-4811 / Fax: (202) 225-8941
Congresswoman Shelley Berkley (D-NV)
Phone: (202) 225-5965 / Fax: (202) 225-3119
Congresswoman Grace Napolitano (D-CA)
Phone: (202) 225-5256 / Fax: (202) 225-0027
Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA)
Phone: (202) 225-4176 / Fax: (202) 225-5828
Congresswoman Diane E. Watson (D-CA)
Phone: (202) 225-7084 / Fax: (202) 225-2422
Congressman Adam Smith (D-WA)
Phone: (202) 225-8901 / Fax: (202) 225-5893
Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-MN)
Phone: (202) 225-6631 / Fax: (202) 225-1968
Congressman Ben Chandler (D-KY)
Phone: (202) 225-4706 / Fax: (202) 225-2122
Congressman Dennis Cardoza (D-CA)
Phone: (202) 225-6131 / Fax: (202) 225-0819
For more information, please visit www.umdiaspora.org or call (202) 294-3400.