[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 185 (Tuesday, November 19, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1471-E1472]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            CALLING FOR THE IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF AUSTIN TICE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JAMIE RASKIN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 19, 2019

  Mr. RASKIN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to join my colleagues in 
calling for the immediate release of award-winning journalist and 
veteran Austin Tice. I thank the gentlelady from the District of 
Columbia, Eleanor Holmes Norton, and the gentleman from Texas, Al 
Green, for their moving words and their unflagging efforts to secure 
Austin Tice's release.
  Austin has been held captive in Syria for over seven years. He 
traveled to Syria as a freelance journalist to cover the war in May 
2012. Few journalists were working in Syria at this time, and his vital 
reporting and images appeared in major news sources, including the 
Washington Post, Agence France Presse, and McClatchy Newspapers. Three 
months later, he was detained at a check point south of Damascus on his 
way to Lebanon.
  Austin has been missing ever since. Five weeks after he was taken 
captive, a 43-second video titled ``Austin Tice is Alive'' emerged, 
showing a group of unidentified

[[Page E1472]]

armed men holding Austin. This was the last information received from 
the captors.
  Although Austin Tice has spent far too many days, months, and years 
in captivity, crucially the United States government believes Austin is 
alive. The FBI is offering a one-million-dollar reward for information 
leading directly to his safe location and return. His parents, Debra 
and Marc Tice, have been consistent beacons of hope throughout Austin's 
captivity, working passionately for his release, and never losing hope 
for their son's safe return. Their love for their son has had the power 
to mobilize a large, bipartisan, bicameral group of Members of Congress 
from all over the country. I was proud to join my colleagues this 
September in a letter to President Trump calling for him to use the 
full weight of his national security team to bring Austin home, and I 
renew that call now.
  Austin Tice has been separated from his family, friends, and loved 
ones for far too long. He has spent too many birthdays in captivity. I 
join my colleagues in calling upon those who are keeping him in Syria 
to let Austin Tice go. Let him return safely to his family and his 
country.

                          ____________________