[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 15 (Wednesday, February 16, 2000)]
[House]
[Page H459]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    ON INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUCTION

  (Mr. LAMPSON asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, today I begin a series of 1-minutes that 
recognize the enormous problem this Nation has with children who have 
been abducted internationally. Last week I met with six parents from 
across the country whose children have been taken from them and are 
being held in foreign countries. I had the opportunity to sit down with 
them, to look into their eyes and to hear their stories. And the pain 
that they experience on a daily basis is heart wrenching.
  There are 10,000 American children who have been taken to foreign 
countries; and it is time for Congress, the media, and the American 
people to focus their attention on these children and bring them home 
to their rightful parents. These stories are about families, about 
reuniting children and parents. When we look at a globe, we may see 
boundaries; but when it comes to reuniting families, we must know no 
boundaries.
  Tomorrow I will tell the story of Saif Ahmed, a young boy from my 
hometown who was abducted by his father and is now being illegally held 
in Egypt. The meetings last week and the 1-minute addresses that will 
tell the story of these international abductions are just the first 
steps in what will be an ongoing dialogue with the American people to 
bring our children home.

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