[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.
____________________