Calling for the safe and immediate return of Noor and Ramsay Bower to the United States.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 193, calling on the new government of Egypt to honor the rule of law and immediately return American citizens Noor and Ramsey Bower to the United States. It is absolutely appalling and inexcusable that more than three years after a textbook abduction, the new government of Egypt has yet to right the terrible wrong that has been perpetrated upon Noor and Ramsey, as well as upon their father, Colin Bower.

Noor and Ramsey were abducted and hidden with the assistance of the previous Egyptian government August 2009. The boys' mother had lost custody of the children in the United States because of her drug use and psychological problems. Their father, Mr. Bower, was their primary caregiver.

For the last three years, Colin Bower has been doing everything in his power to find out if his sons are safe and to be reunited with them. In July of 2011, he testified before my subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights--and conveyed his frustration over the lack of priority abduction cases receive in U.S. foreign policy.

This sentiment is shared by the thousands of American parents whose American children have been abducted to foreign jurisdictions, often in violation of valid U.S. court orders. Every year, more than a thousand additional families are anguished by an abduction. We are losing our children and are not bringing them home.

At that same hearing, we heard from Michael Elias, an Iraqi veteran from New Jersey, who told this committee of his anguish after his ex- wife used her Japanese consulate connections to abduct Jade and Michael Jr., after the New Jersey court had ordered surrender of passports and joint custody.

His ex-wife flagrantly disregarded those valid court orders telling Michael Elias, ``My country [Japan] will protect me.'' She was right. Both the U.S. embassy personnel and Mr. Elias have been unable to even see the American citizen children since 2008--much less return them to their home.

The U.S. talks about the problem with Japan, and talks, and talks-- but Japan has yet to issue and enforce a court order to return a single American child.

In the case of Egypt, we have provided more than $4 billion in aid and debt relief since the abduction of Noor and Ramsey in 2009--despite the fact that Egypt has continued to flagrantly violate valid U.S. court orders, prevent Mr. Bower from seeing his sons, and otherwise aid and abet a kidnapping.

The United States can and must do more to demand that our would-be allies respect the rule of law and return our abducted children. H. Res. 193 is a step in the right direction. Specifically, H. Res. 193 ``urges Egypt and all other nations--such as Japan--to join and fully participate in the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, and to establish procedures to promptly and equitably address the tragedy of child abductions, given the serious consequences to children of not expeditiously resolving these cases and of denying them access to a parent.''

H. Res. 193 also urges the House of Representatives to take other appropriate measures to ensure that Hague Convention partners return abducted children to the United States in compliance with the Hague Convention's provisions--and to work aggressively for the return of children abducted from the United States to countries that are not Hague Convention Partners and for visitation rights for left-behind parents while return is negotiated, establishing memorandums of understanding where necessary for the expeditious return of children.

Mr. Speaker, it may soon be time for this body to consider additional steps if we do not see immediate cooperation from our would-be allies in the return of American children. H. Res. 193 is ample warning to Egypt, Japan, and other nations that American patience with abductions has run out. I strongly support the passage of H. Res. 193--and the passage of additional steps if the warning is not heeded.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 193 and yield myself as much time as I may consume.

This resolution calls on the new Government of Egypt to immediately return two kidnapped American children to their father in the United States.

In August of 2009, Colin Bower of Wellesley, Massachusetts, received a terrifying phone call that his two children--Noor and Ramsay, ages 9 and 7 at the time--had been abducted to Egypt by his ex-wife, Mirvat el Nady. Mr. Bower was granted sole legal custody of the children after his divorce.

El Nady lost custody over the children because the Massachusetts courts found her to have a drug addiction which put the safety of the boys at risk. She utilized falsified Egyptian passports to smuggle the children out of the country on an Egypt Air flight and is now wanted by Federal and local officials on charges of kidnapping.

The facts of this case are heartbreaking, and I want to thank my good friend and colleague, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank), for working so hard on this resolution and trying to reunite Mr. Bower with his children.

The resolution before us asks for three simple things: first, that Egypt bring about the safe return of Noor and Ramsay Bower to their father, Colin Bower, in the United States; secondly, that Egypt immediately stop using its own security forces to aid and abet the continued unlawful retention of these two United States citizens; and, thirdly and finally, it urges Egypt and all other nations to join and fully participate in The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and to establish procedures to promptly and equitably address the tragedy of child abductions.

During this holiday season, we are reminded that children are our most important and cherished resource, and it is a tragedy for everyone involved when they are taken away and denied access to one of their parents.

Egypt's Government must do better. What the Mubarak and now Morsi governments have done is actively work to make sure Mr. Bower is not part of his children's lives. This is unjust, illegal, tragic, and unacceptable; and sadly, Mr. Speaker, this is but one of 31 separate cases involving American children wrongfully removed from the United States to Egypt.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that all my colleagues join me in supporting this important resolution, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I now yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute to again reiterate the fact that I support this bill very strongly and also, since Mr. Frank spoke before me, I want to, as I mentioned before with some of the other people, tell him

how much I appreciate being his colleague through the years and how much not only I will miss him and the Congress will miss him but that the country will miss him. It's been wonderful to call him a colleague, even better for me to call him a friend, and I wish him the best in all future endeavors. Thank you very much, Barney.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, my thanks go to the chair of the committee, the gentlewoman from Florida, the ranking member from California (Mr. Berman), and the new ranking member from New York (Mr. Engel) for giving us a chance to try to achieve not just justice but love, the love of a father for children for whom he grieves daily because they were illegally and abusively kidnapped.

As the gentlewoman from Florida pointed out, this kidnapping was in violation of a decision by the family court in Massachusetts giving full custody to the father. Members will not be surprised to learn that there have been very few complaints, that I've ever heard of, of there being a bias in favor of fathers in those courts. Some say there's a bias in favor of mothers. There is certainly a presumption, as I understand it, in favor of mothers. So for a court to say unequivocally that the father gets sole control is a strong indication of the unfitness of the mother.

And so the case is very clear; but I want in my remarks, Mr. Speaker, to address the Government of Egypt. There's a new government in Egypt. There are points of friction between Egypt and the United States. We have a great interest in a good relationship. The foundation of peace in the Middle East began in 1979 with the Camp David Accords. America has consistently provided Egypt with more foreign assistance than all but a handful of nations. And in this current period when there are issues that could arise that could divide us, I urge the Egyptian Government not to put or keep in place a serious problem, not an irritant. It's more than an irritant when a loving father who has been given custody of his children because of the court's decision that the mother is unfit by virtue of a drug addiction, when he is denied the ability to have his paternal instincts honored, to be able to honor and protect his children. And I urge the Government of Egypt: do not minimize the extent to which this will be an obstacle.

I will not be here in a week, Mr. Speaker. I didn't think I'd be here this week. But I know that my successor in Congress, Mr. Kennedy, and my colleagues, the chair of the committee and the ranking member, will not forget this. The Government of Egypt will be seeking from this House support of measures, and there are a lot of reasons why we want to work together. I plead with them, do not allow what to us is a very serious issue--perhaps to some in Egypt it appears minor--but to have a father's children taken away from him and kidnapped with the implicit cooperation of the prior Egyptian Government is a grave problem. If the current Egyptian Government does not correct this situation, it will be an obstacle to the kind of cooperation that is in our mutual interest.

I hope we get a very large, indeed unanimous, vote for this resolution and the Egyptian Government understands that it is not just justice but its best interests that call for compliance.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 193) calling on the new Government of Egypt to honor the rule of law and immediately return Noor and Ramsay Bower to the United States, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous material into the Record on this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, 3\1/2\ years ago, Colin Bower's two sons, Noor and Ramsay, were abducted from the United States by their mother in violation of the custody ruling given by the courts of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The boys' mother used forged passports to remove the boys from the United States and take them to her native land of Egypt, despite the fact that a court ruling stipulated that she was not to remove them from Massachusetts. Last I checked, Egypt was not in Red Sox country.

One of the objectives of the Hague Convention, Mr. Speaker, on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction--of which Egypt and the United States are members--is to ensure that custody rights and access under the law of one contracting state are respected in the others. That means helping to bring Noor and Ramsay home to their father.

The resolution is not calling for anything extraordinary. We are simply appealing to the Egyptian Government to uphold its responsibilities and return these two boys to their rightful home.

I would like to thank my colleague from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank) for working so diligently to secure the safe and speedy return of these boys to their dad. This bipartisan measure deserves our unanimous support.

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

I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I also will miss Mr. Frank for his friendship and his great insight on many of the issues, and I thank him so much for caring deeply about constituents in his district, and we will continue to fight on their behalf.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of our time.