Maloney and Bilirakis Succeed in Effort Regarding Designation of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Reps. Maloney and Bilirakis Succeed in Effort Regarding Designation of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

WASHINGTON, DC - Legislation to encourage the expansion of NATO, the "NATO Freedom Consolidation Act of 2007," has been cleared for the White House with the inclusion of language referring to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia or "FYROM" as such when referring to that entity. The bill, which had been passed by both the House and the Senate, differed in this designation with only S. 494 including the "FYROM" language. Co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Hellenic Issues, Representatives Carolyn B. Maloney (NY-14) and Gus M. Bilirakis (FL-09), sent letters to Chairmen Lantos and Biden and Ranking Members Ros-Lehtinen and Lugar of the House and Senate Foreign Affairs and Relations Committees urging them to include the Senate language. The full text of the Representatives' letters can be found at: http://maloney.house.gov/documents/hellenic/20070326_Conferees_FYROM.pdf .

"I am pleased that Congress continues to refer to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia as such when considering legislation," Maloney said. "We must respect the ongoing negotiations between Greece and the FYROM to resolve the name dispute, and I applaud my colleagues for accepting the Senate language on this matter."