[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 147 (Wednesday, September 28, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H6058-H6059]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  EXPRESSING CONCERN OVER THE DISAPPEARANCE OF DAVID SNEDDON, AND FOR 
                             OTHER PURPOSES

  Mr. STEWART. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee 
on Foreign Affairs and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence 
be discharged from further consideration of House Resolution 891, and 
ask for its immediate consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Young of Iowa). Is there objection to 
the request of the gentleman from Utah?
  There was no objection.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 891

       Whereas David Louis Sneddon is a United States citizen who 
     disappeared while touring the Yunnan Province in the People's 
     Republic of China as a university student on August 14, 2004, 
     at the age of 24;
       Whereas David had last reported to family members prior to 
     his disappearance that he intended to hike the Tiger Leaping 
     Gorge in the Yunnan Province before returning to the United 
     States and had placed a downpayment on student housing for 
     the upcoming academic year, planned business meetings, and 
     scheduled law school entrance examinations in the United 
     States for the fall;
       Whereas People's Republic of China officials have reported 
     to the Department of State and the family of David that he 
     most likely died by falling into the Jinsha River while 
     hiking the Tiger Leaping Gorge, although no physical evidence 
     or eyewitness testimony exists to support this conclusion;
       Whereas there is evidence indicating that David did not 
     fall into the river when he traveled through the gorge, 
     including eyewitness testimonies from people who saw David 
     alive and spoke to him in person after his hike, as recorded 
     by members of David's family and by embassy officials from 
     the Department of State in the months after his 
     disappearance;
       Whereas family members searching for David shortly after he 
     went missing obtained eyewitness accounts that David stayed 
     overnight in several guesthouses during and after his safe 
     hike through the gorge, and these guesthouse locations 
     suggest that David disappeared after passing through the 
     gorge, but the guest registers recording the names and 
     passport numbers of foreign overnight guests could not be 
     accessed;
       Whereas Chinese officials have reported that evidence does 
     not exist that David was a victim of violent crime, or a 
     resident in a local hospital, prison, or mental institution 
     at the time of his disappearance, and no attempt has been 
     made to use David's passport since the time of his 
     disappearance, nor has any money been withdrawn from his bank 
     account since that time;
       Whereas David Sneddon is the only United States citizen to 
     disappear without explanation in the People's Republic of 
     China since the normalization of relations between the United 
     States and China during the administration of President 
     Richard Nixon;
       Whereas investigative reporters and nongovernmental 
     organizations with expertise in the Asia-Pacific region, and 
     in some cases particular expertise in the Asian Underground 
     Railroad and North Korea's program, documented historically, 
     to kidnap citizens of foreign nations for espionage purposes, 
     have repeatedly raised the possibility that the Government of 
     the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) was involved 
     in David's disappearance; and
       Whereas investigative reporters and nongovernmental 
     organizations who have reviewed David's case believe it is 
     possible that the Government of North Korea was involved in 
     David's disappearance because--
       (1) the Yunnan Province is regarded by regional experts as 
     an area frequently trafficked by North Korean refugees and 
     their support networks, and the Government of the People's 
     Republic of China allows North Korean agents to operate 
     throughout the region to repatriate refugees, such as 
     prominent North Korean defector Kang Byong-sop and members of 
     his family who were captured near the China-Laos border just 
     weeks prior to David's disappearance;
       (2) in 2002, North Korean officials acknowledged that the 
     Government of North Korea has carried out a policy since the 
     1970s of abducting foreign citizens and holding them captive 
     in North Korea for the purpose of training its intelligence 
     and military personnel in critical language and culture 
     skills to infiltrate foreign nations;
       (3) Charles Robert Jenkins, a United States soldier who 
     deserted his unit in South Korea in 1965 and was held captive 
     in North Korea for nearly 40 years, left North Korea in July 
     2004 (one month before David disappeared in China) and 
     Jenkins reported that he was forced to teach English to North 
     Korean intelligence and military personnel while in 
     captivity;
       (4) David Sneddon is fluent in the Korean language and was 
     learning Mandarin, skills that could have been appealing to 
     the Government of North Korea;
       (5) tensions between the United States and North Korea were 
     heightened during the summer of 2004 due to recent approval 
     of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-
     333) that increased United States aid to refugees fleeing 
     North Korea, prompting the Government of North Korea to issue 
     a press release warning the United States to ``drop its 
     hostile policy'';
       (6) David Sneddon's disappearance fits a known historical 
     pattern often seen in the abduction of foreigners by the 
     Government of North Korea;
       (7) a well-reputed Japanese nonprofit specializing in North 
     Korean abductions shared with the United States its expert 
     analysis in 2012 about information it stated was received 
     ``from a reliable source'' that a United States university 
     student largely matching David Sneddon's description was 
     taken from China by North Korean agents in August 2004; and
       (8) commentary published in the Wall Street Journal in 2013 
     cited experts looking at the Sneddon case who concluded that 
     ``it is most probable that a U.S. national has been abducted 
     to North Korea,'' and ``there

[[Page H6059]]

     is a strong possibility that North Korea kidnapped the 
     American'': Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) expresses its ongoing concern about the disappearance 
     of David Louis Sneddon in Yunnan Province, People's Republic 
     of China, in August, 2004;
       (2) encourages the Department of State and the intelligence 
     community to jointly continue investigations and to consider 
     all plausible explanations for David's disappearance, 
     including the possibility of abduction by the Government of 
     the Democratic People's Republic of Korea;
       (3) urges the Department of State and the intelligence 
     community to coordinate investigations with the Governments 
     of the People's Republic of China, Japan, and South Korea and 
     solicit information from appropriate regional affairs and law 
     enforcement experts on plausible explanations for David's 
     disappearance;
       (4) encourages the Department of State to work with foreign 
     governments known to have diplomatic influence with the 
     Government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea;
       (5) encourages the intelligence community to assess the 
     possibility of the involvement of the Government of the 
     Democratic People's Republic of Korea in David Sneddon's 
     disappearance and to possibly seek his recovery; and
       (6) requests that the Department of State and the 
     intelligence community continue to work with and inform 
     Congress and the family of David Sneddon on efforts to 
     possibly recover David and to resolve his disappearance.

  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the attached letters 
between myself and the Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee 
on Intelligence regarding House Concurrent Resolution 891, expressing 
concern over the disappearance of David Sneddon, and for other 
purposes.

         House of Representatives, Permanent Select Committee on 
           Intelligence,
                               Washington, DC, September 27, 2016.
     Hon. Ed Royce,
     Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Royce: On September 26, 2016, H. Res. 891, 
     ``Expressing concern over the disappearance of David Sneddon, 
     and for other purposes,'' was referred to the Committee on 
     Foreign Affairs, and in addition, to the Permanent Select 
     Committee on Intelligence.
       In order to expedite the House's consideration of the 
     resolution, the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence 
     will forego consideration of the measure. This courtesy is, 
     however, conditioned on our mutual understanding and 
     agreement that it will in no way diminish or alter the 
     jurisdiction of the Permanent Select Committee with respect 
     to any future jurisdictional claim over the subject matter 
     contained in the resolution or any similar measure.
       I would appreciate your response to this letter confirming 
     this understanding and would request that you include a copy 
     of this letter in any committee report for the resolution and 
     in the Congressional Record during its floor consideration. 
     Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
           Sincerely,
                                                      Devin Nunes,
                                                         Chairman.
                                  ____
                                  
                                         House of Representatives,


                                 Committee on Foreign Affairs,

                               Washington, DC, September 27, 2016.
     Hon. Devin Nunes,
     Chairman, Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, 
         Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: Thank you for consulting with the 
     Committee on Foreign Affairs on H. Res. 891, a resolution 
     expressing concern over the disappearance of David Sneddon, 
     and for other purposes, and for agreeing to be discharged 
     from further consideration of that resolution.
       I agree that your forgoing further action on this measure 
     does not in any way diminish or alter the jurisdiction of 
     your Committee, or prejudice its jurisdictional prerogatives 
     on this measure or similar legislation in the future.
       I will seek to place our letters on H. Res. 891 into the 
     Congressional Record during floor consideration of the bill. 
     I appreciate your cooperation regarding this legislation and 
     look forward to continuing to work with your Committee as 
     this measure moves through the legislative process.
           Sincerely,
                                                  Edward R. Royce,
                                                         Chairman.

  The resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________