[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 205 (Friday, December 4, 2020)]
[House]
[Page H6850]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         BRING AUSTIN TICE HOME

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Harder of California). Under the 
Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2019, the gentleman from Texas 
(Mr. Green) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the 
majority leader.
  Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, and still I rise.
  I rise today on behalf of my constituents, Marc and Debra Tice, the 
parents of Austin Tice.
  Marc and Debra have asked that I extend their sincerest gratitude to 
the House of Representatives, all of its leadership and membership, for 
the passage of H. Res. 17, a resolution that, in effect, supports the 
President's desire to bring their son home.
  Hence, Mr. Speaker, pursuant to their request, I thank Speaker 
Pelosi, because I had a personal conversation with Speaker Pelosi about 
this resolution, and I believe that that led to its coming to the 
floor.
  I thank Majority Leader Hoyer. He, in effect, orchestrated the 
bringing of this resolution to the floor.
  I thank Congressman Hill for his support of the resolution at the 
committee level and for his efforts to bring his constituent, Dr. 
Kamalmaz, home.
  I thank the outgoing chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. 
Eliot Engel, for his efforts to bring the resolution out of committee.
  I also thank the ranking member, the Texan, Mr. McCaul, who is a 
person who has worked with me on many endeavors. He made this 
bipartisan early on, and I thank him for what he has done to help us 
get it through the committee.
  I thank Senator Cornyn, Senator Murray, the 41 cosponsors of H. Res. 
17, the 52 Senators and 152 Representatives who signed on to a letter 
to the President.
  Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter from Debra Tice to 
President Trump.
                                         Friday, 13 November 2020.
       Dear President Trump, Thank you, from the entire Tice 
     family, for your steadfast commitment and determination to 
     bring our beloved Austin safely home.
       Yesterday there was a news story from the region that 
     Austin Tice had been released and was on a plane headed home. 
     Our phones were going crazy, our email was exploding, 
     Twitter, Facebook, Instagram--every kind of social media was 
     buzzing with an outpouring of high hopes and great joy. Many, 
     many news outlets reached out eagerly hoping to verify this 
     great news.
       We know you can make this joyful news a reality. We know 
     the Syrians are ready to work with you.
       Please, please bring Austin home for the holidays.
           Respectfully,
     Debra Tice.
                                  ____

       Debra--Working so hard on this. Looking for the answer. We 
     want Austin back. I will never stop--
                                                Donald J. Trump.  

  Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, while they have asked me to extend 
their gratitude, I personally would like to thank the Tice family for 
their unwavering commitment to have Austin returned home and allow him 
to be with his family and his friends.
  They also wished that I would thank President Trump on their behalf. 
I have a letter that is the best evidence of why they would have 
President Trump be thanked for what he has done.
  The letter reads: ``Friday, 13 November 2020.
  ``Dear President Trump,
  ``Thank you, from the entire Tice family, for your steadfast 
commitment and determination to bring our beloved Austin safely home.
  ``Yesterday there was a news story from the region that Austin Tice 
had been released and was on a plane headed home. Our phones were going 
crazy, our email was exploding, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram--every 
kind of social media was buzzing with an outpouring of high hopes and 
great joy. Many, many news outlets reached out eagerly hoping to verify 
this great good news.
  ``We know you can make this joyful news a reality. We know the 
Syrians are ready to work with you.
  ``Please, please bring Austin home for the holidays.''
  It is signed, ``Respectfully, Debra Tice,'' Austin's mother.
  The President is known to respond to letters of this kind by simply 
writing on a copy of the letter a message to be returned to the sender.
  I shall read the President's statement:
  ``Debra--Working so hard on this--Looking for the answer. We want 
Austin back. I will never stop.''
  Mr. President, I salute you for your desire and your commitment to 
bring Austin home. And, Mr. President, I pray that it will be done 
before Christmas. It would be a wonderful thing, Mr. President, for 
this family that you now know and you have communicated with, for this 
family that has suffered for some 8 years without their son.
  You would do well and serve them well, Mr. President, if you would 
honor the commitment that you have indicated on this letter. It would 
bring joy unlike any these parents have ever experienced if you would 
do so.
  So, Mr. President, I salute you. I salute you for your desire and 
commitment to bring Austin home. And I suspect that it has a lot to do 
with the fact that he is an American citizen, but I also suspect, Mr. 
President, that it has a lot to do with what you know about Austin.
  Austin is an American hero, a veteran captain of the Marine Corps. 
Austin loved his country. He was willing to fight for it and, if 
necessary, sacrifice his life for it.
  Austin played by the rules. In college, at age 16, he wanted to be a 
lawyer. But also, Austin was one of those rare, unique persons who not 
only wants to help, but who is willing to go to great lengths, great 
extremes to be of service.
  He was a freelance journalist, as you know, Mr. President, and as 
such, he was willing to go into harm's way to places that most of us 
would never go into to be of service, to help people. So Austin decided 
that he would take his talents and his desires to Syria.
  He went to Syria, and he crossed over the Syrian border in May of 
2012. In August of 2012, he was detained at a checkpoint someplace near 
Damascus, and he has been missing ever since.
  There have been what we call in the intelligence agencies, I believe, 
signs and proof of life. We know that he is alive, and we know that 8 
years of this experience is taking a toll on Austin.
  Austin deserves our greatest efforts to bring him home, because 
Austin is an American hero. His parents are in need of his touch, of 
his presence. They need to hug their son.
  So the appeal has been made, and, Mr. President, you have said that 
you believe that you will do everything that you can. I am 
paraphrasing. You said you will never stop and that you are looking for 
the answer.
  I believe the answer is within your power, and I believe the Tice 
family will be eternally grateful, as will most Americans, if you will 
bring their son home and do so before Christmas.
  On behalf of the Tice family, Mr. President, I salute you for your 
desire and your commitment to bring him home.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to address their 
remarks to the Chair, not to a perceived viewing audience.

                          ____________________