A concurrent resolution calling on the President and the allies of the United States to raise in all appropriate bilateral and multilateral fora the case of Robert Levinson at every opportunity, urging Iran to fulfill their promises of assistance to the family of Robert Levinson, and calling on Iran to share the results of its investigation into the disappearance of Robert Levinson with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in the concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 45) encouraging the Government of Iran to allow Joshua Fattal, Shane Bauer, and Sarah Shourd to reunite with their families in the United States as soon as possible.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous materials on the resolution under consideration.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of S. Con. Res. 45, a resolution encouraging the Government of Iran to allow the American prisoners Joshua Fattal, Shane Bauer and Sarah Shourd to reunite with their families in the United States as soon as possible.

On July 31, 2009, these three American hikers were taken into custody by Iranian officials near northern Iraq. They were seized because the Iranians said they had crossed into Iranian territory while on a hike in a rural region near the Iraq-Iran border.

The three hikers certainly had no malicious or devious intentions. The area they were hiking through, part of Iraqi Kurdistan, is mountainous but not obscure. In fact, it is becoming increasingly popular with tourists. If the three Americans did, indeed, cross into Iranian territory, they almost certainly did so unknowingly and unintentionally.

At the time of her capture, 31-year old Sarah Shourd was teaching English in Damascus, Syria, where she was living with her boyfriend, Shane Bauer--a writer and photojournalist. Their friend and fellow University of California--Berkeley alumnus, Joshua Fattal, was traveling with them in Iraqi Kurdistan. Their adventure in Iraq turned into a nightmare when they were seized by the Iranians.

This important resolution calls on the Government of Iran to provide these three innocent, young Americans, at a minimum, the opportunity to speak with their families by phone. It also encourages the Government of Iran to free them so they can be reunited with their families in the United States as soon as possible.

Of course, Joshua, Shane and Sarah are not the only Americans currently being held in Iran. The Iranian-American scholar, Kian Tajbakhsh--an urban planner with a doctorate from Columbia University-- was arrested in July, and was sentenced last week to 15-years' imprisonment for his involvement in the peaceful demonstrations that followed the July 12 election fraud.

Another Iranian-American, 71-year old Reza Taghavi, has been imprisoned since May 2008 without a trial or formal charges.

In April, this body passed House Concurrent Resolution 36, regarding the case of the former FBI agent, Robert Levinson, who has been missing in Iran since 2007.

As the United States and the international community engage Iran on its nuclear weapons program, we must not forget the plight of these innocent Americans. I commend Undersecretary of State William Burns for raising this issue with his Iranian counterpart at the October 1 Geneva meeting. I encourage him to continue to do so at all subsequent meetings with Iranian officials until our fellow citizens are freed.

A New York Times editorial this past Saturday said it well, entitled ``More Iranian Injustice.'' The editorial called for the immediate release of the imprisoned Americans, and it went on to read, ``Iran may sit at the negotiating table with the United States and other world powers, but it will never earn the respect it craves if it continues these kinds of human rights abuses.''

I commend Senator Arlen Specter for introducing this timely resolution

in the Senate, and I commend our colleague from Pennsylvania, Allyson Schwartz. This deserves our deep appreciation for their leadership on this issue.

Madam Speaker, we care passionately about the freedom of our fellow citizens, and it is in that spirit that I urge all of my colleagues to support this important resolution.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Schwartz).

Madam Speaker, I am pleased now to yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee).

Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 36) calling on the President and the allies of the United States to engage with officials of the Government of Iran to raise the case of Robert Levinson at every opportunity, urging officials of the Government of Iran to fulfill their promises of assistance to the family of Robert Levinson, and calling on the Government of Iran to share the results of its investigation into the disappearance of Robert Levinson with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this very important resolution, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, last month, President Obama delivered a very important video message to the Iranian people and to Iran's leaders, coinciding with Iran's Festival of Nowruz, a 12-day holiday marking the new year.

Mr. Speaker, I support President Obama's spirit of engagement, and I share his view that the United States and the international community should try to persuade Iran, through both diplomacy and economic sanctions, to comply with its legal obligations under the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty and under numerous United Nations Security Council resolutions.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Robert Levinson, a retired agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, disappeared in Iran over 2 years ago. There is no better time than now, in the spirit of engagement with Iran, for the Government of Iran to share the results of its investigation into Mr. Levinson's disappearance with the FBI. Indeed, the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in an interview with NBC on July 28, 2008, stated that the Iranian Government was willing to cooperate with the FBI in the search for Mr. Robert Levinson. Iranian officials also promised their continued assistance to his relatives during the Levinson family's visit to Iran in December of 2007.

This resolution under consideration urges President Obama and our allies to raise the case of Mr. Levinson with the Iranians at every opportunity. Indeed, this process has already begun. During a March 31 conference in The Hague, Ambassador Richard Holbrook handed an Iranian diplomat a diplomatic letter asking Tehran to ensure the quick and safe return of Mr. Levinson, as well as freelance journalist Roxana Saberi and student Esha Momeni, both of whom are being held in Iran. The resolution also urges the Government of Iran to fulfill its pledge to cooperate with the FBI. Both of these requests are more than fully appropriate.

Mr. Speaker, our hearts go out to the Levinson family. And we remain deeply committed to learning Mr. Levinson's fate in Iran and, if possible, hopefully returning him home safe and sound.

I strongly support this resolution, and I urge all my colleagues to do likewise. And I want to thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Wexler) for introducing this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, this is a very important and timely resolution. As we have spoken to it, I think we all see its urgency, its humanitarian nature, and the very important challenge to the people of Iran and the leaders of Iran to do the right thing in this case.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I introduced House Concurrent Resolution 36 earlier this year to shed light on my constituent from Coral Springs, Florida, Robert Levinson, who disappeared from Iran's Kish Island on March 9, 2007. More than two years later, there are disturbingly few known details about his whereabouts.

What we do know, however, is that Mr. Levinson, a former FBI agent, was last heard from on March 8, 2007 by his wife Christine, while he was working in Dubai as a private investigator. According to his family, he checked into a hotel on Kish Island and checked out the following morning to fly back to the United States. Unfortunately, Mr. Levinson never arrived at the airport for his flight, and there is no accounting for what happened to him after he left the hotel.

In December 2007, the Levinson family, with assistance from Swiss officials in Tehran, traveled to the hotel where Mr. Levinson was last seen and passed out flyers in Farsi with his photo. They also met with local Iranian authorities to seek their assistance in gaining information about Mr. Levinson's disappearance. The authorities in Iran pledged to assist the Levinson family in their efforts to determine Robert's whereabouts and to investigate the circumstances surrounding his disappearance. Despite its pledge, the government of Iran has not followed through on its promises to the Levinson family. In fact, the Iranian government has stonewalled any effort to gain pertinent information--claiming they have zero knowledge about Mr. Levinson's whereabouts.

I want to praise the decision of the Obama Administration to raise Mr. Levinson's case directly with the Iranian government. During last week's hearing in the House Foreign Affairs Committee, I raised Mr. Levinson's disappearance with Secretary of State Clinton, and she confirmed that Mr. Levinson was mentioned in a letter delivered by Ambassador Holbrooke to Iranian officials at The Hague and reiterated her unwavering commitment to press this issue at every opportunity.

While I am certain that Secretary Clinton and the Obama Administration will make every attempt to bring Mr. Levinson's home, it is critical that Congress express its unequivocal support for her efforts and send a clear statement that the Administration must employ every diplomatic tool at its disposal to locate Mr. Levinson and return him to the United States.

House Concurrent Resolution 36 calls on President Obama and allies of the United States around the world to engage with officials of the Government of Iran to raise the

case of Robert Levinson at every opportunity. It also urges officials of the Government of Iran to fulfill their promises of assistance to the family of Robert Levinson, and calls upon Iran to share the results of its investigation into his disappearance with the FBI. Passage of this resolution sends a clear signal that the Congress stands with the Levinson family and believes all efforts should be exhausted to ensure Robert Levinson is found and brought home safely.

I want to once again express my unwavering solidarity and backing for the Levinson family and offer all of my support in their efforts to return Robert Levinson home. I urge all of my colleagues to support the passage of this resolution.

I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I thank him also for carrying this resolution.

Madam Speaker, I am in strong support of Senate Concurrent Resolution 45, which encourages the Government of Iran to allow the three American citizens detained in Iran to reunite with their families as soon as possible.

Since July 2009--I think it was July 31--Joshua Fattal, Shane Bauer, and Sarah Shourd have been detained by the Government of Iran after inadvertently, inadvertently, crossing the unmarked border with Iran while attempting to hike in the mountains in Iraqi Kurdistan. Now, Sarah is a constituent, but Joshua and Shane, they are all graduates of the University of California in Berkeley, which is located in my district.

I have had the opportunity to talk with family members of Sarah, and I know how difficult it is for them during these trying times and I know how they are doing everything they can do to seek their release.

Reports indicate that for 3 months, the families of these young American citizens have had no contact with the detained, whether in person or by telephone. The lack of information regarding the whereabouts and welfare of their loved ones, as well as any indication of a timeline for their release, is deeply troubling.

Under article 36 of the Vienna Convention, consular officers shall be provided access to an arrested, detained, or imprisoned national without delay. I was relieved to hear that on September 30, 2009, Swiss officials were finally granted consular access to the three detained American citizens. However, like my colleagues, like all of us, we are deeply concerned that these officials and the three lack freedom of communication, which is also provided for by the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.

This resolution importantly calls upon the Government of Iran to allow for Joshua, Shane, and Sarah to communicate by telephone with their families in the United States, who continue to passionately appeal to the Government of Iran for their timely and safe release. On September 22, President Ahmadinejad stated his intent to ask the Iranian judiciary to ``expedite the process'' of this case, as well as to ``look at the case with maximum leniency.''

In accordance with this resolution, I hope that the Government of Iran will live up to its promise and act without delay to ensure that these young American citizens may be reunited with their families and loved ones.

I stand in support of this resolution today. I want to thank the State Department and all of our colleagues for doing so much to try to gain the release of these three young individuals as soon as possible.

I thank my colleagues for their support of this resolution.

I appreciate the opportunity to speak on this resolution.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of three young American citizens who have been detained by the Government of Iran for nearly 3 months now.

On July 31, 2009, Joshua Fattal, Shane Bauer and Sarah Shourd were taken into custody after purportedly crossing into the Iranian territory while hiking in Iraqi Kurdistan. It is a peaceful region of northern Iraq which has become increasingly popular as a hiking destination for many Westerners. During the hike, it seems they accidentally crossed over an unmarked border into Iran.

As a result, these three young Americans, all graduates of the University of California-Berkley, have since been detained in Iran. While Swiss diplomats were finally permitted access to Josh, Sarah and Shane on September 29, the three have still not been allowed to have any contact with their families.

In response to this action, I have sponsored in the House--and Senator Arlen Specter has spearheaded in the Senate--Senate Concurrent Resolution 45, which encourages the Government of Iran to allow Josh, Shane and Sarah to communicate by telephone with their families in the United States. More importantly, it also encourages the Government of Iran to allow them to reunite with their families here in the United States as soon as possible.

This resolution was unanimously passed by the Senate on October 6.

Josh, whose family is from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, which I represent; Sarah; and Shane did not commit any malicious acts. They were three young Americans who have traveled extensively throughout the world seeking to learn about different societies and different cultures. Unfortunately, they made a single mistake: They got lost. For that they have been held for nearly 3 months with almost no contact with the outside world.

As a mother, I can well imagine the pain and frustration the families of the three young adults feel as they wait, hoping, doing all that they can but with little power to compel action by Iran to free their children. I know, especially through my conversations with Mrs. Fattal, how important this resolution is to them and their families.

I urge the Government of Iran to reunite Josh, Sarah, and Shane with their families, and I ask my colleagues to support this concurrent resolution and the strong but compassionate plea for action that it contains.