; Whereas, in the nonviolent Velvet Revolution of November 1989, the peoples of both nations overthrew 40 years of authoritarian communist rule and ended two decades of Soviet occupation; Whereas, on February 21, 1990, Czechoslovak President Václav Havel delivered his historic address before a joint session of Congress saying, in part, that Czechoslovakia is a country that has set out on the road to democracy, a country where there is complete freedom of speech, which is getting ready for free elections and which wants to create a prosperous market economy and its own foreign policy ; Whereas, on January 1, 1993, the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic were formally created as independent states after a peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia; Whereas the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic, with the robust support of the United States, joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on March 12, 1999, and March 29, 2004, respectively, and have made significant contributions to collective defense and the operations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as well as international coalitions led by the United States around the world; Whereas the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic continue to demonstrate their strong commitment to advancing democratic values, peace, and security through their membership in the European Union, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and other international organizations; Whereas the peoples of the United States, the Czech Republic, and the Slovak Republic have forged a special relationship based on their shared historic ties, mutual respect, close cooperation, and the shared values of democracy, the rule of law, economic liberty, and individual rights and responsibility; Whereas vibrant Czech and Slovak diasporas have positively contributed to society in the United States