[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 81 (Friday, June 23, 2000)]
[House]
[Page H5078]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SEND EDMOND POPE HOME

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Peterson) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PETERSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise to make sure today 
that everybody in this body understands a serious problem for a family 
in State College, Pennsylvania; and a problem for, I think, the 
security of this country.
  On my left is Edmond and Cheri Pope. They are a couple who have lived 
for many years in State College, finished raising their family there, 
highly regarded and respected there. Edmond Pope was a businessman who 
traveled the world, often went to Russia to do business. Eleven weeks 
ago, Edmond Pope was arrested and thrown in a Russian prison. For 11 
weeks, Cheri, his wife, had no communication, could not get a letter to 
him, could not get a phone call to him, could not get any kind of 
communication from him; really did not know what was happening to her 
husband. Visas were canceled. Finally, last week, I helped arrange a 
trip where two of my staff went with her. She went to visit her husband 
for the first time in 11 weeks. I will just read to my colleagues a 
little bit of a news story on that.
  ``On Tuesday, they met for the first time in 3 months, just a few 
feet from a watchful prosecutor in a Lefortovo prison. Edmond and Cheri 
Pope hugged and belatedly wished each other a happy 30th anniversary. 
Then Cheri Pope said the first thing he said to me was, `Cheri, I 
didn't do anything wrong. I didn't,' and I said to him, `I never 
thought for a minute you did.' ''
  In an emotional interview on Tuesday after that reunion, Cheri Pope 
said that her husband, whom the Russians had accused of spying, was 
strikingly thinner, and he had a rash. He had lost a lot of weight, and 
he has a pallor about him and some skin problems. She said, ``Even 
though he didn't look well, he still looked beautiful to me.''
  The last time she saw her husband was March 14 as he was leaving 
their home in State College, Pennsylvania on what seemed to be another 
routine trip to Russia, his 27th. While Redmond Pope remained cut off 
from the world in one of Russia's most infamous maximum security 
prisons, Cheri Pope struggled through months of anguish, grasping 
morsels of information while trying to cut through an international 
maze of red tape to visit him. Over the weekend she was minutes away 
from boarding a plane for the long-awaited meeting, when her son called 
her to tell her her 74-year-old mother had passed away. What a decision 
Cheri had to make. She knew that she had to go and encourage her 
husband, and that is what she did.
  Edmond Pope needs to come home. He needs to come home to his wife, to 
his children, to his seriously ill father of 75 years; he needs to come 
home so his health can be monitored and maintained. He has had cancer 
that was arrested, he has Graves' disease, but he needs to be monitored 
closely. He is not a spy. His itinerary was printed and available, his 
visa explained why he was there. It was his 27th trip. In fact, his 
friends and neighbors tell me that he spoke fondly of the Russians. He 
wanted to help build a business relationship between these two 
countries. He was helping take Russian technology and helping them 
commercialize it.
  Edmond Pope is no spy. He does not belong in a Russian prison. I will 
be sending a letter to be delivered to Mr. Putin the first of this 
week, and it will say, President Putin, if you value our friendship, 
send Edmond Pope home. It will say, President Putin, if you value the 
growing business relationships beneficial to both of our countries, 
send Edmond Pope home. It will say, President Putin, if you value the 
many ways we aid you financially, send Edmond Pope home.
  I will be asking this body, Mr. Speaker, next week to get unanimous 
consent to pass a Sense of the Congress resolution, again, for this 
Congress speaking to Mr. Putin and the Russian leaders that it is time 
to send Edmond Pope home.
  Edmond Pope is a man who was there on sound financial business 
reasons. He is not a spy. He needs to be home with his family to help 
his grieving wife. He needs to be home to visit his father, who is 
seriously ill. He needs to be home to have his own health monitored, 
and he needs to be home so that the relationships between Russia and 
America continue to grow and prosper to the benefit of both.
  Edmond Pope is no spy. Edmond Pope does not belong in a maximum 
security prison in Russia where he got very little care. Edmond Pope 
needs our help and our support. Mr. Putin, send him home.

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