Floor Remarks by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa
Senate President Pro Tempore
“Lithuanian Independence Day”
Wednesday, February 11, 2026
I’m here to speak about a country that loves freedom, and they’re also a friend to the United States and have had a good relationship with the United States.
It happens that February 16 in 1918, the Act of Independence of Lithuania was signed by the Council of Lithuania.
This act proclaimed independence from the Russian Empire and the restoration of the historic State of Lithuania, to be governed, as we would expect, [by] democratic principles.
Some people may be thinking, “Isn’t Lithuania a former Soviet Republic?”
No. Lithuanians and their statehood [go] back to the 13th century, but the modern Republic of Lithuania has existed since 1918.
The United States has maintained continuous diplomatic relations with Lithuania way back since 1922. In fact, the Republic of Lithuania has occupied the same building here in Washington, D.C., for over 100 years.
The United States made crystal clear at the time – 1940 that is – and ever since, that it would not recognize the Soviet annexation of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Those three countries we sometimes refer to as “the Baltic states.”
And I’m proud of that fact, that the United States has made that crystal clear.
I’m sure that many people thought this stance was somewhat silly and didn’t recognize the reality of what it meant to be under Soviet domination.
In the depths of the Cold War, the notion of Lithuania restoring its de-facto independence seemed very, very far-fetched.
But, today, Lithuania is free and prosperous and one of the most pro-American countries in the world.
Lithuania is a close U.S. ally and a beacon of Western values on the front lines of freedom.
This example of freedom and economic opportunity on its border rankles the Soviet-like Russia, as we know it today.
You can tell by the rhetoric coming from the Putin regime.
For instance, the Putin regime sometimes suggests that the vote of the Soviet Duma recognizing Lithuania’s independence from the Soviet Union was not legal.
Of course, if you know the history that I have just explained, that is an absurd position, because the Soviet occupation of Lithuania, itself, was never legal, and the United States never recognized it as being legal.
Lithuania today is a good friend to the United States and a model North Atlantic Treaty Organization ally.
I congratulate the people of Lithuania on their Independence Day and thank them for their friendship.
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