[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9202 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9202

  To direct the President to submit to Congress a report on fugitives 
 currently residing in other countries whose extradition is sought by 
     the United States and related matters, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 8, 2026

Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself and Mr. Bilirakis) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To direct the President to submit to Congress a report on fugitives 
 currently residing in other countries whose extradition is sought by 
     the United States and related matters, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Walter Patterson Justice and 
Extradition Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Extradition is the formal surrender of a person by one 
        state to another state for prosecution or punishment.
            (2) Refusal by other nations to extradite or otherwise 
        render to the United States fugitives within their jurisdiction 
        who have been convicted of committing crimes on United States 
        soil impedes the judicial process and undermines the rule of 
        law.
            (3) The United States has bilateral extradition treaties 
        with more than 100 nations and an extradition agreement with 
        the European Union, including Portugal.
            (4) The failure to bring criminal fugitives to justice in 
        the United States is an affront to the victims of those crimes.
            (5) The refusal of Portugal, a close ally and good friend 
        of the United States, to extradite George Wright, convicted of 
        the 1962 murder of Walter Patterson, fugitive from justice 
        since his 1970 escape from the Bayside State Prison in New 
        Jersey, is a deplorable example of a failure to extradite, and 
        has caused ongoing suffering and stress to Mr. Patterson's 
        surviving family and friends.
            (6) The refusal to extradite George Wright is emblematic of 
        a number of such refusals from other nations, such that United 
        States policies and efforts to secure extradition and the 
        extradition policies of countries from which the United States 
        seeks extradition and rendition bear further examination.
            (7) Such examination will be promoted by the issuance of a 
        public report on the status of extradition requests by the 
        United States and related matters.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to provide information 
necessary to evaluate and thereby strengthen United States Government 
efforts to extradite fugitives.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that in meetings with foreign officials 
of countries from which the United States seeks the extradition of 
fugitives, United States ambassadors and other senior officials should 
prioritize advocacy on fulfilling United States extradition requests, 
including extradition of George Wright, an escaped convict and the 
murderer of Walter Patterson of New Jersey.

SEC. 4. REPORT.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 270 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act and not later than the end of each 12-month 
period thereafter, the President shall submit to the appropriate 
congressional committees a report on the following:
            (1) The number of fugitives, and others with respect to 
        whom the United States Government is seeking extradition or 
        rendition, currently residing in other countries whose 
        extradition is sought by the United States and a list of those 
        countries.
            (2) Diplomatic and other efforts, if any, the United States 
        has undertaken to secure the return of such fugitives.
            (3) The average length of time these cases have been 
        outstanding.
            (4) How many of these cases have been resolved to the 
        satisfaction of the United States.
            (5) Factors that have been barriers to the resolution of 
        these cases.
            (6) Information on the number of United States citizens 
        whose extradition has been sought by other countries during the 
        past five years, a list of those countries seeking such 
        extradition, and the outcomes of those requests.
    (b) Form.--The report required by subsection (a) shall be submitted 
in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex if necessary.
    (c) Definition.--In this section, the term ``appropriate 
congressional committees'' means--
            (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on 
        the Judiciary of the House of Representatives; and
            (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on 
        the Judiciary of the Senate.
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