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“STATING THE POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES REGARDING THE RELEASE OF UNITED STATES CITIZENS IN IRAN” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Senate section on pages S2749-S2751 on May 11, 2015.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
STATING THE POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES REGARDING THE RELEASE OF UNITED
STATES CITIZENS IN IRAN
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will proceed to the consideration of S. Con. Res. 16, which the clerk will report.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 16) stating the policy of the United States regarding the release of United States citizens in Iran.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there will be 30 minutes of debate equally divided in the usual form prior to a vote on adoption of S. Con. Res. 16.
The Senator from Maryland.
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I first want to thank Senator Risch for his tireless dedication to the plight of the three American citizens unjustifiably detained in Iran, as well as his efforts to call upon the Iranian Government to cooperate in locating Robert Livingston, a missing fourth American, and also returning him to his family.
I also want to thank my colleagues from the States these Americans are from--Senators Feinstein and Boxer from California, Senators Stabenow and Peters from Michigan, Senators Nelson and Rubio from Florida, and Senators Crapo and Risch from Idaho--for their efforts in working with the families of these American citizens who have been held too long in Iran.
I call upon the government of Iran to do the right thing--do the right thing and immediately release these citizens and send them home to their families and communities as soon as possible. The resolution has a statement of policy that is absolutely unobjectionable in any way.
Let me point out one last thing, if I might. As the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I want to reassure the families of these Americans that I will continue to urge the U.S. Government to use every tool at its disposal to secure the release of these Americans, and I will continue to call upon the Iranian Government to immediately and unconditionally release these men and send them home to their families.
I am very pleased we will soon be voting on this resolution, which unequivocally says that America should use all the tools at its disposal for the return of these Americans.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that during the quorum call, the time be equally divided between the majority and the minority.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. CARDIN. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I commend Senator Risch, and I am pleased to be a cosponsor of this resolution, which is incredibly important to people in Michigan as well as across the country.
We have a very special man who unfortunately is being held as a hostage in Iran, and he needs to come home now. I have had the honor of getting to know the family of Amir Hekmati. He is a patriotic American from Flint, MI, who served his country honorably and bravely as a marine between 2001 to 2005 in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is an American citizen but also became a dual citizen with Iran in order to be able to visit his grandmother and other family members in Iran.
In August 2011, he was visiting his grandmother and was arrested by the Iranian authorities and charged with spying for the CIA, which was absolutely false, absolutely trumped-up charges. He was then deprived of a fair trial and jailed on those totally trumped-up charges.
Of those Americans confirmed as prisoners in Iran, none have been incarcerated longer than Amir Hekmati. He has been waiting the longest to come home. He has been tortured and is locked inside a prison notorious for its deplorable conditions. Meanwhile, Amir's father is battling terminal brain cancer.
I was very honored to have the opportunity to spend time with his family--his mom and dad, his sister and two brothers--who are passionately engaged in speaking out, coming to Washington, meeting with the State Department, and making sure we are laser-focused on their brother and their son. My heart went out to them.
Think about all of us who have children. Speaking to his mom and dad, it is frightening, it is deplorable, it is outrageous, and he needs to come home--now.
I can't say enough about the love and devotion of the Hekmati family. I have had a number of different opportunities to meet with them. Amir's sister and brother have frequently been here in Washington making sure we are not forgetting about this brave marine. They have fought so hard for his freedom.
I also commend Congressman Dan Kildee, who represents the Hekmati family in Flint, MI, for being a great partner and such a strong advocate and a strong voice on behalf of Amir and his family.
This resolution is a clear message to the Iranian Government: If you want a seat at the table with the rest of the international community, free Amir Hekmati now, as well as all the other U.S. citizens who are being held as hostages.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of their families. I can tell this body that for us, in Michigan, we are laser-focused on making sure that Amir Hekmati's name is lifted up at every opportunity and that it is very clear that this brave, courageous marine who served our country so well has the full support of our government to bring him home immediately.
I congratulate and thank my colleague.
I am proud to be one of the cosponsors on this resolution.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I thank Senator Stabenow for her work on this resolution and for her actions on behalf of her constituent who is being held in Iran. She has been extremely helpful in bringing this resolution forward.
I see Senator Risch on the floor. I want to state one last time that because of Senator Risch, we are on the floor tonight with a vote in the full Senate. I thank him for his tenacity and persistence on bringing this resolution forward so we can focus this on the four Americans being held by Iran and our desire to get them home as soon as possible and use every tool we have at our disposal on behalf of those Americans.
Mr. President, I thank Senator Risch for his leadership.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan.
Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, in addition to thanking Senator Risch for his tenacity and making sure we are at this point with this resolution, I must also go back to our vote last week and the incredible work of our two colleagues in a bipartisan way, as we saw Senator Corker and Senator Cardin come together and lead us forward with a very thoughtful piece of legislation that makes clear the role of the Senate in a very important process right now in negotiations.
I thank Senator Cardin as the ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee for his leadership.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Idaho.
Mr. RISCH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to add Senators Portman, Roberts, Kirk, Boozman, Sasse, and Rounds as cosponsors to S. Con. Res. 16.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. RISCH. Mr. President, I thank my colleagues for those kind words. I think ``tenacity'' is probably an appropriate description. I would like to have had a little more tenaciousness if it would have resulted in better and stronger language than we have. Nonetheless, we have what we have.
I congratulate Senator Cardin and Senator Corker for their hard work on the resolution that passed here last week, which went out of here with only one dissenting vote. It was a difficult process, to say the least. Obviously, it didn't rise to the level that a lot of us wanted to see where this--it could have and should have been handled like a treaty. Indeed, it is a treaty. No matter what else we call it, it is a treaty. Nonetheless, we are where we are. We are better off with these things than without. We are going to wait to see how this plays out as the summer unfolds. We have an important June 30 date. Once an agreement is reached, then, of course, we will be on the floor talking and discussing the appropriateness of the agreement.
There are a lot of us who have been critical of how this started and, for that matter, where we are today. In my judgment, this shouldn't have even started. They shouldn't have even sat down at the table until these people were released and/or accounted for. Nonetheless, we are where we are.
There are four people we are talking about in this resolution. Senator Stabenow already referred to one and gave an excellent description of where we are with that individual.
Next, I will talk about the gentleman from California who is also being held. His name is Jason Rezaian. He has been held on unspecified charges since July 2014, denied access to an attorney in violation of Iran's own laws and international norms, for that matter.
Robert Levinson of Florida is a retired FBI agent who was pursuing an investigation in Iran. He was abducted off Kish Island, off the coast of Iran, in March 2007. His whereabouts are unknown. The Iranian Government has repeatedly said they are not holding Levinson, but certainly they should cut loose the information they have, and this resolution requires them to do so.
Lastly, I want to talk about Saeed Abedini. Pastor Abedini is a constituent of mine from Idaho. He is an ordained Christian minister. He has family in Iran. At the time he was arrested, he was in Iran visiting family and in the process of setting up and running an orphanage. He is detained at the present time in Evin Prison, which is considered one of the worst prisons in Iran. He has been held in solitary confinement, physically beaten, denied access to necessary medical treatment as a result of abuse, and was denied access to his lawyer until just before trial.
He had a trial. He was convicted and sentenced to 8 years. And his offense--his offense--was being Christian and pursuing Christianity in a country where this is not permitted. I think it is shocking to most Americans that this could happen in today's age. This is barbarous conduct by a regime that knows no shame. This man should be released from prison and should be released forthwith. He has done absolutely nothing that is a threat to the Iranian people or, in fact, to the Iranian regime--those are two different things we are talking about here. He has done nothing to be a threat to those people, and he should be released.
Iran thinks it elevates its position in the world because it does these kinds of things. It does not. Certainly it shows toughness but a barbarian type of toughness that the world is not impressed with at all.
This is a country which pushes the envelope whenever it can. This country is at the heart of virtually every problem we have in that part of the world. Most importantly, it is one of if not the most prominent promoters of terrorism in the world. Some time ago, this was thought of as a good thing by some of these nations that do not rise to what they should be on the world stage as an important nation. Terrorism was thought of as a way that things could be done.
In recent years, most every country has had it with terrorism. It is no longer something people look at and say, well, yes, there is terrorism, but you need to understand the root causes. That is gone. That is absolutely gone. The other countries in this region have had it with terrorism. Everyone in the region now is going to feel that as we go forward.
There is hope for Iran. The demographics in that country show there is a real disconnect between the people of that country and the regime that operates that country. Most notably, as a downside for the present regime, is that the demographics show that the vast majority of people who are living in Iran are young people. They have a different view of the world than the regime does. They are a secular people who do not want to be ruled by religious fanatics, which is what they have today. In any event, the world is watching how this is going to unfold.
Now, we have a clear expression--and Senator Cardin made mention of this. We ran this as a separate document, not as part of the resolution we passed last week. This is a separate document, where we are going to have a clear expression of the nature and the view of what the world thinks of this and the view that the U.S. Senate and the U.S. Congress takes of the conduct that Iran is engaged in. It is a separate view, and I believe it will be very helpful to the notion that this regime in Iran cannot--cannot--continue down the road it is going down. The Iran regime purports to represent its people. What it is doing is not helpful to the Iranian people.
I yield the floor.
Mr. President, I will yield back all remaining time, with the consent of my colleague from Maryland.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The question occurs on agreeing to S. Con. Res. 16.
Mr. CARDIN. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. CORNYN. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz), the Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Graham), the Senator from Illinois (Mr. Kirk), the Senator from Florida
(Mr. Rubio), the Senator from Alaska (Mr. Sullivan), the Senator from South Dakota (Mr. Thune), and the Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Vitter).
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Booker), the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders), and the Senator from Oregon
(Mr. Wyden) are necessarily absent.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Lankford). Are there any other Senators in the Chamber desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 90, nays 0, as follows:
YEAS--90
AlexanderAyotteBaldwinBarrassoBennetBlumenthalBluntBoozmanBoxerBrownBurrCantwellCapitoCardinCarper CaseyCassidyCoatsCochranCollinsCoonsCorkerCornynCottonCrapoDainesDonnellyDurbinEnziErnstFeinsteinFischerFlakeFrankenGardnerGillibrandGrassleyHatchHeinrichHeitkampHellerHironoHoevenInhofeIsaksonJohnsonKaineKingKlobucharLankfordLeahyLeeManchinMarkeyMcCainMcCaskillMcConnellMenendezMerkleyMikulskiMoranMurkowskiMurphyMurrayNelsonPaulPerduePetersPortmanReedReidRischRobertsRoundsSasseSchatzSchumerScottSessionsShaheenShelbyStabenowTesterTillisToomeyUdallWarnerWarrenWhitehouseWicker
NOT VOTING--10
BookerCruzGrahamKirkRubioSandersSullivanThuneVitterWyden
The concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 16) was agreed to, as follows:
S. Con. Res. 16
Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring),
SECTION 1. STATEMENT OF POLICY ON RELEASE OF UNITED STATES
CITIZENS IN IRAN.
(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Saeed Abedini of Idaho is a Christian pastor unjustly detained in Iran since 2012 and sentenced to eight years in prison on charges related to his religious beliefs.
(2) Amir Hekmati of Michigan is a former United States Marine unjustly detained in 2011 while visiting his Iranian relatives and sentenced to 10 years in prison for espionage.
(3) Jason Rezaian of California is a Washington Post journalist credentialed by the Government of Iran. He was unjustly detained in 2014 and has been held without a trial.
(4) Robert Levinson of Florida is a former Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) official who disappeared in 2007 in Iran. He is the longest held United States citizen in United States history.
(b) Statement of Policy.--It is the policy of the United States that--
(1) the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran should immediately release Saeed Abedini, Amir Hekmati, and Jason Rezaian, and cooperate with the United States Government to locate and return Robert Levinson; and
(2) the United States Government should undertake every effort using every diplomatic tool at its disposal to secure their immediate release.
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