Calling for the immediate release of Evan Gershkovich, a United States citizen and journalist, who was wrongfully detained by the Government of the Russian Federation in March 2023.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 377) calling for the immediate release of Evan Gershkovich, a United States citizen and journalist, who was wrongfully detained by the Government of the Russian Federation in March 2023, as amended.

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

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

Evan Gershkovich is an American citizen and a respected Wall Street Journal reporter. He is the son of two Soviet-born Jewish exiles who fled Russia to avoid persecution. He is a loving little brother.

What he is not, Mr. Speaker, is a criminal. Yet, on March 29, he was arrested by the corrupt Putin regime and charged with espionage. No evidence has been presented to back up this accusation because there is no evidence.

Evan is innocent. He was simply doing his job, reporting on the news in Russia, but we know that the war criminal Putin doesn't like that. He doesn't want his own people to know about the atrocities that he is committing in Ukraine. He doesn't want them to know about the corruption within his own government or how he has turned their country into an international pariah.

Vladimir Putin knows that a free press is a pillar of democracy, that a strong fourth estate will hold officials accountable, so he arrested Evan with the intention of not only silencing him but of scaring other journalists to remain silent, too.

I assure Evan's friends, his coworkers, and especially his family, who I have met with, that we will continue our fight every day until we bring him home to you.

As the father of five children, I cannot begin to imagine the pain and suffering Evan's family is feeling right now. I had the opportunity to meet Evan's mother, Ella, recently. Like any mother, she was very worried about her son and this situation, but she was also very determined to do anything she could to bring him home.

She thanked me for the efforts of our committee, the Foreign Affairs Committee, and others on Capitol Hill who are doing everything we can to help their son.

Just as unfortunate, our next resolution, on Paul Whelan, makes clear that Evan's family is not the only one suffering through this nightmare. We are also awaiting information from the State Department about the arrest of yet another American citizen in Russia over this last weekend.

The Putin regime is increasingly brazen in using political detentions to seek leverage over the Biden administration, and it must be made clear that the use of American citizens as political pawns will not go unpunished. These Americans deserve to be home with their families instead of in Russian prisons.

Today's bipartisan resolution condemns the Putin regime for their illegal imprisonment. It calls on the Biden administration to prioritize bringing home all American citizens who are wrongfully detained overseas.

Today, we send a strong message to Vladimir Putin that America, Republicans and Democrats alike, will not tolerate his corrupt regime holding U.S. citizens hostage under false pretenses.

America, Mr. Speaker, stands with Evan and with every American who is wrongfully detained overseas, and we will not rest until all of them are brought home.

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

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I reserve the right to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, let me also thank the ranking member, Mr. Meeks, because what makes this committee so special, in my opinion, is that we know how important it is to speak with one voice, as one country, not as a divided nation. When it comes to Mr. Putin and what he is doing to our Americans over there, we are united with one voice.

Mr. Speaker, Evan's case marks the first time since the Cold War that a journalist has been wrongfully charged with espionage on Russian soil. It is clear that Putin and the corrupt Kremlin will do anything to silence those who seek to expose the truth.

A man of integrity, Evan put the truth ahead of his own safety. He was dedicated to shining a light on the vast corruption and the war crimes of Russia.

Make no mistake, Evan's work posed a threat to Mr. Putin and his cronies, so they did what they always do when threatened: They silence their critics.

It is absolutely unacceptable for Putin to hold Americans hostage as diplomatic pawns. Quite frankly, Mr. Speaker, it is happening way too often now.

As I said before, America stands with Evan, and we will not rest until he is home.

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

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am a strong supporter of H. Res. 377, calling for the immediate release of Evan Gershkovich, a United States citizen and journalist who was wrongfully detained by the Government of the Russian Federation in March 2023.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman McCaul for working with me to introduce H. Res. 377 in a bipartisan fashion. We may disagree on many issues in this body, but it is essential that the safe return of American citizens wrongfully detained overseas is not one of them. I appreciate the cooperation and the work together that Mr. McCaul and I do on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Evan Gershkovich, a journalist working in one of the most difficult media environments in the world, has dedicated his life to truth. His reporting has shed light on Russia's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, the struggling Russian economy, and its horrific war against the people of Ukraine.

With his detention, Russia has once again stooped to the lowest of lows, detaining an American journalist for the first time since the Cold War. He is detained on baseless charges to gain political leverage and further silence the brave members of the independent press who are undeterred by Russian threats.

Evan, like Paul Whelan, like Brittney Griner, like Trevor Reed before him, continues to be denied his rights by Russian authorities, who are throwing up roadblock after roadblock to prevent our Embassy from getting access to him while he remains in detention. The sham legal processes he is subjected to are conducted without evidence, without transparency, and without due process.

While the administration, with the unanimous support of this Congress, was able to secure the release of Trevor and Brittney, we must continue to do everything, and I mean everything, in our power to ensure that Evan and Paul are brought home safely to their families, as well.

For as long as necessary, we must state unequivocally that we stand with Evan, that we stand with Paul, that we stand with their families suffering tremendous emotional and financial strain as a result of their detentions. By passing this resolution, we can do just that.

I support this measure and hope we can continue to work in a bipartisan fashion with the executive branch on this and other critical legislation to better support Americans like Evan and their families. I encourage my colleagues, all of us, to join in supporting this measure.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, there is no more sacred responsibility of government than to ensure the safety and well-being of the American people and ensure that their

human rights are respected. Tragically, the authoritarian regime in the Kremlin has taken to the practice of using that commitment against us, taking our citizens hostage for political leverage.

In last year's State Department authorization act, which passed in the annual NDAA, we included additional tools for the State Department to address hostage taking. These include quicker notifications to Congress, expanded whistleblower rewards programs, and greater resources for the State Department. I look forward to these changes being put to use.

In Evan's case, we can take an important step by passing this resolution and condemning hostage diplomacy in the strongest possible terms. We must continue to express support for the efforts of the administration to secure Evan's return and demonstrate our commitment to Evan and Paul, and all other Americans wrongfully detained overseas, for as long as it takes.

As I close, I again thank Chairman McCaul for partnering with me on this important resolution. I hope my colleagues will join us unanimously in supporting this resolution.

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

Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, I was not present to vote due to a minor medical procedure. Had I been present, I would have voted as follows: YEA on Roll Call No. 249, On Ordering the Previous Question on H. Res. 495; YEA on Roll Call No. 250, On Agreeing to H. Res. 495; YEA on Roll Call No. 251, On the Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 3099: NAY on Roll Call No. 252, On Passage of H.J. Res. Res. 44; YEA on Roll Call No. 253, On Passage Objections of the President To The Contrary Notwithstanding, H.J. Res. 42; YEA on Roll Call No. 254, On Agreeing to Amendment No. 1 to H.R. 1615; YEA on Roll Call No. 255, On Passage of H.R. 1615; and YEA on Roll Call No. 256, On The Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree to H. Res. 377.

Mr. Speaker, I missed Roll Call vote numbers 249 through 256 for personal and familial reasons. Had I been present, I would have voted as follows: NO on Roll Call No. 249, H. Res. 495, Previous Question; NO on Roll Call No. 250, H. Res. 495, Agreeing to the Resolution; YES on Roll Call No. 251, H.R. 3099, Suspension Passage; NO on Roll Call No. 252, H.J. Res. 44, Passage; NO on Roll Call No. 253, H.J. Res. 44, Passage of Veto Message; NO on Roll Call No. 254, H.R. 1615, Boebert Amendment; NO on Roll Call No. 255, H.R. 1615, Passage; and YES on Roll Call No. 256, H. Res. 377, Suspension Passage.

Mr. Speaker, I missed the following votes due to a family issue. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 249, ``nay'' on rollcall No. 250, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 251, ``nay'' on rollcall No. 252, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 253, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 254, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 255, and ``yea'' on rollcall No. 256.