HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 939 Offered February 16, 2007 Commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Marshall Plan for European Economic Recovery. ---------- Patron-- Cline ----------

WHEREAS, following the end of World War II in 1945, the national economies across Europe were devastated, and many of Europe’s citizens were facing starvation; and

WHEREAS, the loss of Europe’s economic production capability brought about an unstable political environment that threatened democratic institutions; and

WHEREAS, on June 5, 1947, United States Secretary of State George C. Marshall announced a plan designed to bring about the recovery of Europe, which came to be known as the Marshall Plan; the plan rebuilt Europe after World War II, helped contain the spread of Communism, and laid the foundation for United States foreign policy today; and

WHEREAS, despite concerns regarding Soviet domination of Eastern Europe, General Marshall boldly announced that the articulated policy was "not directed against any country or doctrine, but against hunger, poverty, desperation and chaos"; and

WHEREAS, the generosity of the plan was without precedent and helped 16 European nations rebuild their national infrastructure and reestablish their economies; and

WHEREAS, the results of the Marshall Plan remain a remarkable tribute to the soldier and statesman, George Catlett Marshall, and his legacy is perpetuated through the efforts of the George C. Marshall Foundation in Lexington, Virginia; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby recognize the 60th anniversary of the Marshall Plan for European Economic Recovery, as well as the George C. Marshall Foundation for its extraordinary efforts to preserve for the world community the ideals, vision, integrity, and leadership of George C. Marshall, and the importance of the precepts of the Marshall Plan; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the president of the George C. Marshall Foundation as an expression of the high esteem in which the Marshall Plan and the Foundation are held by the General Assembly, and that the Foundation and the friends of George C. Marshall be encouraged to disseminate copies of this resolution so that the sense of the General Assembly of Virginia in this matter is made known across the Commonwealth, the United States of America, and the world.