[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 71 (Monday, May 11, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2749-S2751]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




STATING THE POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES REGARDING THE RELEASE OF UNITED 
                        STATES CITIZENS IN IRAN

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will 
proceed to the consideration of S. Con. Res. 16, which the clerk will 
report.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 16) stating the 
     policy of the United States regarding the release of United 
     States citizens in Iran.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there will be 30 
minutes of debate equally divided in the usual form prior to a vote on 
adoption of S. Con. Res. 16.
  The Senator from Maryland.
  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I first want to thank Senator Risch for 
his tireless dedication to the plight of the three American citizens 
unjustifiably detained in Iran, as well as his efforts to call upon the 
Iranian Government to cooperate in locating Robert Livingston, a 
missing fourth American, and also returning him to his family.
  I also want to thank my colleagues from the States these Americans 
are from--Senators Feinstein and Boxer from California, Senators 
Stabenow and Peters from Michigan, Senators Nelson and Rubio from 
Florida, and Senators Crapo and Risch from Idaho--for their efforts in 
working with the families of these American citizens who have been held 
too long in Iran.
  I call upon the government of Iran to do the right thing--do the 
right thing and immediately release these citizens and send them home 
to their families and communities as soon as possible. The resolution 
has a statement of policy that is absolutely unobjectionable in any 
way.
  Let me point out one last thing, if I might. As the ranking member of 
the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I want to reassure the families 
of these Americans that I will continue to urge the U.S. Government to 
use every tool at its disposal to secure the release of these 
Americans, and I will continue to call upon the Iranian Government to 
immediately and unconditionally release these men and send them home to 
their families.
  I am very pleased we will soon be voting on this resolution, which 
unequivocally says that America should use all the tools at its 
disposal for the return of these Americans.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that during the 
quorum call, the time be equally divided between the majority and the 
minority.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. CARDIN. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I commend Senator Risch, and I am 
pleased to be a cosponsor of this resolution, which is incredibly 
important to people in Michigan as well as across the country.
  We have a very special man who unfortunately is being held as a 
hostage in Iran, and he needs to come home now. I have had the honor of 
getting to know the family of Amir Hekmati. He is a patriotic American 
from Flint, MI, who served his country honorably and bravely as a 
marine between 2001 to 2005 in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is an American 
citizen but also became a dual citizen with Iran in order to be able to 
visit his grandmother and other family members in Iran.
  In August 2011, he was visiting his grandmother and was arrested by 
the Iranian authorities and charged with spying for the CIA, which was 
absolutely false, absolutely trumped-up charges. He was then deprived 
of a fair trial and jailed on those totally trumped-up charges.
  Of those Americans confirmed as prisoners in Iran, none have been 
incarcerated longer than Amir Hekmati. He has been waiting the longest 
to come home. He has been tortured and is locked inside a prison 
notorious for its deplorable conditions. Meanwhile, Amir's father is 
battling terminal brain cancer.
  I was very honored to have the opportunity to spend time with his 
family--his mom and dad, his sister and two brothers--who are 
passionately engaged in speaking out, coming to Washington, meeting 
with the State Department, and making sure we are laser-focused on 
their brother and their son. My heart went out to them.
  Think about all of us who have children. Speaking to his mom and dad, 
it is frightening, it is deplorable, it is outrageous, and he needs to 
come home--now.
  I can't say enough about the love and devotion of the Hekmati family. 
I have had a number of different opportunities to meet with them. 
Amir's sister and brother have frequently been here in Washington 
making sure we are not forgetting about this brave marine. They have 
fought so hard for his freedom.
  I also commend Congressman Dan Kildee, who represents the Hekmati 
family in Flint, MI, for being a great partner and such a strong 
advocate and a strong voice on behalf of Amir and his family.
  This resolution is a clear message to the Iranian Government: If you 
want a seat at the table with the rest of the international community, 
free Amir Hekmati now, as well as all the other U.S. citizens who are 
being held as hostages.
  Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of their families. I can tell 
this body that for us, in Michigan, we are laser-focused on making sure 
that Amir Hekmati's name is lifted up at every opportunity and that it 
is very clear that this brave, courageous marine who served our country 
so well has the full support of our government to bring him home 
immediately.
  I congratulate and thank my colleague.
  I am proud to be one of the cosponsors on this resolution.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.
  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I thank Senator Stabenow for her work on 
this resolution and for her actions on behalf of her constituent who is 
being held in Iran. She has been extremely helpful in bringing this 
resolution forward.
  I see Senator Risch on the floor. I want to state one last time that 
because of Senator Risch, we are on the floor tonight with a vote in 
the full

[[Page S2750]]

Senate. I thank him for his tenacity and persistence on bringing this 
resolution forward so we can focus this on the four Americans being 
held by Iran and our desire to get them home as soon as possible and 
use every tool we have at our disposal on behalf of those Americans.
  Mr. President, I thank Senator Risch for his leadership.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan.
  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, in addition to thanking Senator Risch 
for his tenacity and making sure we are at this point with this 
resolution, I must also go back to our vote last week and the 
incredible work of our two colleagues in a bipartisan way, as we saw 
Senator Corker and Senator Cardin come together and lead us forward 
with a very thoughtful piece of legislation that makes clear the role 
of the Senate in a very important process right now in negotiations.
  I thank Senator Cardin as the ranking member of the Foreign Relations 
Committee for his leadership.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Idaho.
  Mr. RISCH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to add Senators 
Portman, Roberts, Kirk, Boozman, Sasse, and Rounds as cosponsors to S. 
Con. Res. 16.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. RISCH. Mr. President, I thank my colleagues for those kind words. 
I think ``tenacity'' is probably an appropriate description. I would 
like to have had a little more tenaciousness if it would have resulted 
in better and stronger language than we have. Nonetheless, we have what 
we have.
  I congratulate Senator Cardin and Senator Corker for their hard work 
on the resolution that passed here last week, which went out of here 
with only one dissenting vote. It was a difficult process, to say the 
least. Obviously, it didn't rise to the level that a lot of us wanted 
to see where this--it could have and should have been handled like a 
treaty. Indeed, it is a treaty. No matter what else we call it, it is a 
treaty. Nonetheless, we are where we are. We are better off with these 
things than without. We are going to wait to see how this plays out as 
the summer unfolds. We have an important June 30 date. Once an 
agreement is reached, then, of course, we will be on the floor talking 
and discussing the appropriateness of the agreement.
  There are a lot of us who have been critical of how this started and, 
for that matter, where we are today. In my judgment, this shouldn't 
have even started. They shouldn't have even sat down at the table until 
these people were released and/or accounted for. Nonetheless, we are 
where we are.
  There are four people we are talking about in this resolution. 
Senator Stabenow already referred to one and gave an excellent 
description of where we are with that individual.
  Next, I will talk about the gentleman from California who is also 
being held. His name is Jason Rezaian. He has been held on unspecified 
charges since July 2014, denied access to an attorney in violation of 
Iran's own laws and international norms, for that matter.
  Robert Levinson of Florida is a retired FBI agent who was pursuing an 
investigation in Iran. He was abducted off Kish Island, off the coast 
of Iran, in March 2007. His whereabouts are unknown. The Iranian 
Government has repeatedly said they are not holding Levinson, but 
certainly they should cut loose the information they have, and this 
resolution requires them to do so.
  Lastly, I want to talk about Saeed Abedini. Pastor Abedini is a 
constituent of mine from Idaho. He is an ordained Christian minister. 
He has family in Iran. At the time he was arrested, he was in Iran 
visiting family and in the process of setting up and running an 
orphanage. He is detained at the present time in Evin Prison, which is 
considered one of the worst prisons in Iran. He has been held in 
solitary confinement, physically beaten, denied access to necessary 
medical treatment as a result of abuse, and was denied access to his 
lawyer until just before trial.
  He had a trial. He was convicted and sentenced to 8 years. And his 
offense--his offense--was being Christian and pursuing Christianity in 
a country where this is not permitted. I think it is shocking to most 
Americans that this could happen in today's age. This is barbarous 
conduct by a regime that knows no shame. This man should be released 
from prison and should be released forthwith. He has done absolutely 
nothing that is a threat to the Iranian people or, in fact, to the 
Iranian regime--those are two different things we are talking about 
here. He has done nothing to be a threat to those people, and he should 
be released.
  Iran thinks it elevates its position in the world because it does 
these kinds of things. It does not. Certainly it shows toughness but a 
barbarian type of toughness that the world is not impressed with at 
all.
  This is a country which pushes the envelope whenever it can. This 
country is at the heart of virtually every problem we have in that part 
of the world. Most importantly, it is one of if not the most prominent 
promoters of terrorism in the world. Some time ago, this was thought of 
as a good thing by some of these nations that do not rise to what they 
should be on the world stage as an important nation. Terrorism was 
thought of as a way that things could be done.

  In recent years, most every country has had it with terrorism. It is 
no longer something people look at and say, well, yes, there is 
terrorism, but you need to understand the root causes. That is gone. 
That is absolutely gone. The other countries in this region have had it 
with terrorism. Everyone in the region now is going to feel that as we 
go forward.
  There is hope for Iran. The demographics in that country show there 
is a real disconnect between the people of that country and the regime 
that operates that country. Most notably, as a downside for the present 
regime, is that the demographics show that the vast majority of people 
who are living in Iran are young people. They have a different view of 
the world than the regime does. They are a secular people who do not 
want to be ruled by religious fanatics, which is what they have today. 
In any event, the world is watching how this is going to unfold.
  Now, we have a clear expression--and Senator Cardin made mention of 
this. We ran this as a separate document, not as part of the resolution 
we passed last week. This is a separate document, where we are going to 
have a clear expression of the nature and the view of what the world 
thinks of this and the view that the U.S. Senate and the U.S. Congress 
takes of the conduct that Iran is engaged in. It is a separate view, 
and I believe it will be very helpful to the notion that this regime in 
Iran cannot--cannot--continue down the road it is going down. The Iran 
regime purports to represent its people. What it is doing is not 
helpful to the Iranian people.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. President, I will yield back all remaining time, with the consent 
of my colleague from Maryland.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The question occurs on agreeing to S. Con. Res. 16.
  Mr. CARDIN. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. CORNYN. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the 
Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz), the Senator from South Carolina (Mr. 
Graham), the Senator from Illinois (Mr. Kirk), the Senator from Florida 
(Mr. Rubio), the Senator from Alaska (Mr. Sullivan), the Senator from 
South Dakota (Mr. Thune), and the Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Vitter).
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Booker), 
the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders), and the Senator from Oregon 
(Mr. Wyden) are necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Lankford). Are there any other Senators in 
the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 90, nays 0, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 175 Leg.]

                                YEAS--90

     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Baldwin
     Barrasso
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Boxer
     Brown
     Burr
     Cantwell
     Capito
     Cardin
     Carper

[[Page S2751]]


     Casey
     Cassidy
     Coats
     Cochran
     Collins
     Coons
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Daines
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Feinstein
     Fischer
     Flake
     Franken
     Gardner
     Gillibrand
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Heller
     Hirono
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kaine
     King
     Klobuchar
     Lankford
     Leahy
     Lee
     Manchin
     Markey
     McCain
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Paul
     Perdue
     Peters
     Portman
     Reed
     Reid
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Sasse
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shaheen
     Shelby
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Udall
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wicker

                             NOT VOTING--10

     Booker
     Cruz
     Graham
     Kirk
     Rubio
     Sanders
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Vitter
     Wyden
  The concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 16) was agreed to, as 
follows:

                            S. Con. Res. 16

       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring),

     SECTION 1. STATEMENT OF POLICY ON RELEASE OF UNITED STATES 
                   CITIZENS IN IRAN.

       (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) Saeed Abedini of Idaho is a Christian pastor unjustly 
     detained in Iran since 2012 and sentenced to eight years in 
     prison on charges related to his religious beliefs.
       (2) Amir Hekmati of Michigan is a former United States 
     Marine unjustly detained in 2011 while visiting his Iranian 
     relatives and sentenced to 10 years in prison for espionage.
       (3) Jason Rezaian of California is a Washington Post 
     journalist credentialed by the Government of Iran. He was 
     unjustly detained in 2014 and has been held without a trial.
       (4) Robert Levinson of Florida is a former Federal Bureau 
     of Investigations (FBI) official who disappeared in 2007 in 
     Iran. He is the longest held United States citizen in United 
     States history.
       (b) Statement of Policy.--It is the policy of the United 
     States that--
       (1) the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran should 
     immediately release Saeed Abedini, Amir Hekmati, and Jason 
     Rezaian, and cooperate with the United States Government to 
     locate and return Robert Levinson; and
       (2) the United States Government should undertake every 
     effort using every diplomatic tool at its disposal to secure 
     their immediate release.

                          ____________________