 Eight former U.S. secretaries of state, both Republican and Democrat, signed a petition calling for refraining from passing this resolution.Gregory Meeks, a Democratic representative from New York in the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, voted against the resolution, arguing that Congress should focus on the failings of U.S. history, such as slavery or the killings of Native Americans, before it starts condemning the histories of other countries.He said, "We have failed to do what we're asking other people to do ... We have got to clean up our own house."