Information issued by the Office of U.S. Senator Richard Lugar

Senate Passes Poland Youth Exchange Bill
Friday, March 16, 2007

The U.S. Senate approved legislation to establish a United States-Poland
Parliamentary Youth Exchange Program last night. U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar
introduced the bill, S.377, that would establish a program for American and
Polish youth.

Action by the House of Representatives is required for the bill to proceed
toward becoming law.

"An exchange between the youth of the United States and Poland would
demonstrate the benefits of friendly cooperation between our nations based
on common political and cultural values. I urge my colleagues in the House
of Representatives to take up this bill to strengthen long-lasting ties
between both countries," said Lugar.

"As a Rhodes Scholar, I had the opportunity to discover international
education at Pembroke College - my first trip outside of the United States.
The parameters of my imagination expanded enormously during this time, as I
gained a sense of how large the world was, how many talented people there
were, and how many opportunities one could embrace. Student exchange
programs do more than benefit individual scholars and advance human
knowledge. Such programs expand ties between nations, improve international
commerce, encourage cooperative solutions to global problems, prevent war,
and give participants a chance to develop a sense of global service and
responsibility, " said Lugar.

"Funding a great foreign exchange program is a sign of both national pride
and national humility. Implicit in such a program is the view that people
from other nations view one's country and educational system as a beacon of
knowledge - as a place where international scholars would want to study and
live. But it is also an admission that a nation does not have all the
answers - that our national understanding of the world is incomplete. It is
an admission that we are just a part of a much larger world that has
intellectual, scientific and moral wisdom that we need to learn.

"The United States and Poland have enjoyed close bilateral relations since
the end of the Cold War. Most recently, Poland has been a strong supporter
of efforts led by the United States to combat global terrorism, and has
contributed troops to and led coalitions in both Afghanistan and Iraq.
Poland also cooperates closely with the United States on such issues as
democratization, human rights, regional cooperation in Eastern Europe, and
reform of the United Nations. As a member of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU), Poland has demonstrated its
commitment to democratic values and is a role model in its region.

The youth exchange bill passed the Senate in September 2006 by unanimous
consent; the House did not complete action on the bill prior to adjournment
of the 109th Congress. Rep. Pete Visclosky (D-IN) was the lead sponsor in
the House of Representatives and plans to introduce the bill again in the
110th Congress.

Lugar also authored the legislation that established the Congress-Bundestag
Youth Exchange, which provides 250 full scholarships annually for American
high school students to live with a host family and attend school in Germany
for a year.

In addition to S.377, the Senate passed Lugar's bill, S.494, that endorses
further enlargement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and
would facilitate the timely admission of new members to NATO. The House
passed a similar version of the bill on March 6; a technical difference must
be resolved between the bills before it can become law.

Lugar is also an original cosponsor of S.676, which was approved by the
Senate yesterday to provide that the Executive Director of the
Inter-American Development Bank or the Alternate Executive Director of the
Inter-American Development Bank may serve on the Board of Directors of the
Inter-American Foundation.

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Polish American Congress
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Web: www.polamcon. org