[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 159 (Friday, September 30, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H8364-H8368]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    DEMOCRATS HAVE DONE GREAT THINGS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 4, 2021, the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for giving me the 
opportunity to be able to speak this afternoon from the heart.
  Democrats have done great things. We have certainly appreciated the 
Members of the other side of the aisle who have joined us on some of 
those. Those things include passing a very effective CHIPS bill that I 
hope to bring thousands of jobs to my congressional district through 
the production and manufacturing, using precious metals, in particular, 
coming from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
  We now have families who suffer from diabetes who, shockingly, for 
the first time in their lives, can have insulin capped at $35. I am 
glad to have been a part of that.
  I seek, as I did before, that Medicaid recipients can also have their 
insulin capped.
  I am glad that working families, in this storm of inflation, can, 
through the Biden administration and Congress, have subsidies for 
healthcare and get cheaper healthcare.
  I am glad that the flooding that is so intensive in places like 
Houston, can, in fact, now have the bipartisan infrastructure bill; and 
isolated communities without transportation or transit can, in fact, 
now have the potential of billions of dollars coming to those rural and 
urban centers, inner-city centers that need an infrastructure rebuild.
  We need clean water, and Flint and Jackson, Mississippi, should not 
be the norm in the United States of America; and lead in pipes that 
helped destroy the cognitive genius of our children should not exist.
  We have done great things. And as we go to work in our districts, 
listen to our constituents even more than we do when we have a moment 
over the weekends that we go home, we go home to hold in our hands the 
destiny of democracy when we fight for re-election for the purpose of 
ensuring the value of this Nation, as I look, In God We Trust.
  We have done great things. Families of America should know that this 
leadership, under Nancy Pelosi, and Steny Hoyer, and  Jim Clyburn, and 
the chair, Mr. Jeffries, and the vice chair of the Democratic Caucus, 
we should all know that there have been good things that were done.
  So, when I go home, I have no hesitancy to be able to go and to 
champion the lives we have saved; the veterans who will get answers to 
their questions and their health conditions; the people who suffered 
under the burn pit, now relief, they celebrated because of this 
Congress, this Democratic Congress, with our friends who wanted to do 
what is right.
  We have given hope to those burn pit victims. They can't breathe, and 
we have finally given relief.
  This body has determined that the electoral count should be accurate, 
with no false electors showing up, giving false representation that 
they represent the States. No Vice President can do anything but 
ministerial.
  There will be no doubt that if you vote in a Presidential election 
fairly and electors are selected to cast their vote for you--something, 
of course, that I think is a figment of our past and should not be in 
place, but let's make it perfect--you can now trust that the electors 
will do right, as they did in 2020; and they provided the final vote 
under the Vice Presidency of Mr. Pence that elected Joe Biden and 
Kamala Harris.
  We pray to God that we will never see January 6 again; never again; 
never the violence and brutality, the bloodshed of our police officers, 
the deaths that occurred, the innocent lives lost. We hope never again.
  We have done some good things. There is such a litany of them, I 
cannot list them all.

[[Page H8365]]

  I am delighted to have passed the Stop Human Trafficking in School 
Zones, the legislation that I authored; that we have fixed the Terry 
fix, to ensure justice for those who were not able to come 
appropriately under the reduction of sentencing dealing with crack and 
cocaine.
  I am glad to have been able to push the Victims of Crime Act to 
ensure better handling of victims of crime.
  At the same time, I believe that it is important to assure that the 
American people know that we are, in fact, working hard for them. So 
the many amendments to help HBCUs that I have offered; the many 
important elements of the appropriations, including more dollars for 
post-traumatic stress under the NDAA and some aspects of the 
appropriations, as I do every year; the helping of those suffering from 
triple negative breast cancer; and working to ensure that the lives of 
our children are better by helping to create resources for safer 
schools; work still unfinished to get our storage laws in place; to ban 
assault weapons.

  But we have done a great thing in passing legislation to break the 
cycle of violence led by Mr. Horsford; and to utilize the tools that 
have been given through this Congress, under the Democratic leadership, 
to make lives better for all Americans.
  We have done some good things. As we have done some good things, 
there is more work to be done. I want to make sure that we see the 
passage of the voting rights, so that oppression of voting can cease 
and desist.
  It is appalling that we go into this election, but we fought, as 
Democrats, to make it happen. I am so sorry the noes came from the 
other side of the aisle.
  I thank my colleagues, 217-plus, who have, in fact, supported the 
idea of a commission to study slavery and to look seriously and 
thoroughly at the question of reparation proposals. I know that we will 
work together going forward. It is the heart of America to cure both 
racism and to heal and to bring people together. I have confidence. I 
feel well about our opportunities.
  I thank the Speaker that is in the chair, to have joined me in the 
midst of the crisis of reproductive freedom being taken away, to 
support medical personnel who, right now, under the laws of the Dobbs 
case in America, are being arrested, could be, nurses, nurse 
practitioners, doctors, who are simply trying to help a desperate woman 
that has been raped, or a child that has been raped. I hope to pass 
that Protecting the Medical Personnel of America bill.
  I hope to pass the legislation that I introduced to stop the stalkers 
who would get a bounty on women by watching what they do, calling up 
and saying, I think she is getting an abortion. She is over at this 
address; and receiving $10,000.
  Can you believe it? The law of the land in the State of Texas.
  We have done some good things and we are doing good things. But if 
this Special Order is about one issue or item, this is what I want it 
to be about. I want it to be about something that our psyche is just 
not used to.
  I don't know how many times we have thought of the tens upon tens of 
Americans that are held hostage around the world. We learned a little 
bit about MIAs, people missing in action, soldiers missing in action, 
really, through the Vietnam War. I know they were missing in action in 
World War II and other wars, but in this recent generation, we learned 
about it because the late heroic John McCain would always remind us of 
the MIAs.
  I joined with my colleague, Ben Reyes, and put a flag out in front of 
the City Hall in Houston, Texas, when I was a member of the City 
Council; the first MIA flag, I believe, maybe, in city councils across 
America.
  I came here to the United States Congress, and outside my door is the 
flag of MIAs. We understand that.
  But do we understand about Americans who have done little, have been 
plucked off the streets of places that are despotic, and joined the 
thousands of their own citizens thrown in jail with no real justice 
system?
  So if I come to you today, I want the title of this Special Order to 
focus us on where we need to go.


                     The Plight of Brittney Griner

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, when I mention Brittney Griner, I want 
everybody to know I am thinking of Paul Whelan, and I am thinking of 
the journalist in Iran, and hostages around the world, U.S. citizens.
  Does anybody know that we work hard on this? When I say we, the 
administration works hard on this every day. On the floor today, I 
asked for more resources for the hostage finding team--I will just call 
them that.
  But I want to take a moment to just show you Brittney Griner's life. 
She is a Houstonian; went to the schools, the public schools in the 
area; went to Nimitz High School in my congressional district. I met 
some of her classmates. Even the students there today want to do 
something to show their care and outrage about where she is today.
  Brittney Griner, no, she was not in the United States military. I 
honor them. But she wore the uniform. She was an Olympian; brought a 
gold medal home to the United States, I believe, two Olympics, back to 
back. That is USA Number 42 and Number 15, numbers worn in the 
Olympics.

                              {time}  1500

  That is Brittney Griner sharing some good news, a good dunk maybe, 
with her teammates, and Brittney Griner, an Olympian, wearing that 
good-looking Gold Medal. We like that because everybody watches the 
Olympics.
  What an unbelievable basketball player--that is a shot; I could only 
dream about that shot--Brittney Griner, an American, African-American 
young woman.
  I know the Baylorites love the championships and the hard playing 
that she did for them at Baylor University. That is Brittney Griner. 
She had a life in front of her.
  Because of the very poor compensation, of sorts, compared to the NBA, 
many women WNBA players go off to foreign countries to play. She got 
drafted by Phoenix and played stupendously, so many world records in 
basketball as a professional.
  Big heart, Brittney Griner, her teammates loved her.
  I visited the Phoenix arena where her team plays. Of course, Brittney 
Griner's locker was there waiting for her to come back.
  This looks like an exciting time, some good-looking pictures of our 
fellow American.
  Paul Whelan, a marine, had some good days serving his country.
  It is just an innocent civilian, who the infractions of what she is 
charged with wind up suggesting and threatening and charging her as a 
drug trafficker, a big-time drug trafficker--no sense but nonsense.
  She could have been released and directed back to the United States. 
But no, this is what Mr. Putin wanted to do. He felt, after the 
Olympics of 2022, the Winter Olympics, where his teams were embarrassed 
because of drugs, that he would show the United States.
  Here she is. They put her in a cage, 6 feet 9 inches in a cage. The 
beauty of her size was to recognize such a talented person playing the 
sport, doing well, giving joy to the fans and getting Americans to 
cheer her on during the Olympics.
  This is what they wanted to show Americans: We got you now. In your 
eye.
  A young woman longs to be home, deserves to be home, with other 
hostages who have been brutally treated.
  President Biden has indicated, as Commander in Chief, that he wants 
all the hostages home, and he is ready to speak to Mr. Putin if he 
would only have a heart, if he would only recognize that there is no 
justice in his injustice.
  Ninety-nine percent of those who go to trial in Russia are convicted. 
They are, in fact, held hostage. This is a direct result of Putin's 
interest in saying to the United States, I guess: We got you.
  Not respecting she has family, not respecting that she has done 
nothing wrong.
  Brittney is an extension of us in Houston. She represents the 
quintessential American stories and qualities. She is suffering after 
going through a trial, the process of appeal, doing everything, 
offering doctors' statements as to why certain items were with her, 
indicating a mistake, doing everything told by her lawyers. Nothing. 
Denial of basic rights to Brittney Griner, because they are the

[[Page H8366]]

rights to which we believe all people are entitled, a trial by jury of 
your peers and the right to be able to be proven innocent.
  We do not accept the dehumanization that is commonplace in Russia, 
and our values compel us to seek justice for Brittney's immediate 
release and return to her family and friends.
  She spoke eloquently by saying: I am sorry. It was a mistake.
  It seems to have fallen on deaf ears. Can it be nothing more than an 
attempt to humiliate her, her family, her loved ones, who cry out for 
the potential of what may happen?
  She cried out to the President of the United States: I fear that I 
may be here for the rest of my life.
  She is a young woman who gives away shoes and items to children 
without.
  Her basic rights--we as Americans cannot just go quietly. We have a 
lot on our plate, but the only lifeline they have is the United States 
of America.
  As a mother who has watched my children grow up, proud to see them 
excel, I can only imagine the gut-wrenching pain of her mother and 
father and her wife, and how hopeless they feel. There is no worse 
feeling than when someone in your family is in imminent danger and 
beyond your reach to help.
  As a Black woman, I can say there is no greater fear through the 
history of our time, through slavery, through discrimination, through 
unequal treatment that we face in a justice system, even here, to think 
that there is nothing we can grab at to be able to give the defense, 
the explanation.
  I want Americans to think of the pain of losing their children to 
something that is so foreign to us. They are alive, but they are held 
hostage.
  There is much pain in this country. I have seen it through gun 
violence, so I don't speak to the pain of those mothers and fathers. 
What I speak to is that we need to do something about it.
  I have gone to the Russian consulate in Houston. I have gone to the 
Russian Embassy. I have looked the Ambassador in the eye, at a huge, 
gigantic complex, and I said: Send this message to Mr. Putin. Let 
Brittney go. Let Paul Whelan go. Let the people of Russia, the good 
people who are out fighting against this vile and vicious war against 
Ukraine, let them go, too.
  But I can't leave silently to go back to Houston without coming to 
this floor and saying, since February, about 2 weeks after the 
Olympics, she has been held.
  She is not a soldier. She had nothing to do with any government 
activities. The only reason I say that is because her training does not 
lend her to these dastardly conditions, a cage, inhumane cage, 
ultimately to go to a labor camp where Trevor Reed suffered and Paul 
Whelan suffered.
  She has been denied access to consular officials, and she was 
dependent upon Russian lawyers who mean well but simply go into the 
court and watch their client be convicted.
  As they faked elections just the last couple of days, Brittney Griner 
is suffering from Putin's demonstration of power and control that stems 
from centuries of bigotry and hatred embodied in an autocratic leader 
who is the very antithesis of everything Ms. Griner represents.

  If you want to know why she is incarcerated and not released, it is 
based upon her country of origin, something she cannot help.
  Americans who are blessed to be born under this flag cannot help the 
values upon which we stand. We cannot help our Pledge of Allegiance to 
the flag of the United States of America. We cannot help our national 
anthem that calls for victory, ``The Star-Spangled Banner.''
  We cannot help that we are called by nations to defend them. We 
cannot help that we have the freedom to travel and that we welcome 
people to this country, Russian students, Russian players, even on the 
space station. That is America.
  But now we find the dastardly acts of stealing land, calling it an 
election, fighting people who want to be free, Ukrainians. In the midst 
of this turmoil is a young woman who graduated in my district from 
Nimitz High School, a Baylor University graduate, a two-time Olympian, 
and, of course, with all her friends in Phoenix, and just a basic human 
being.
  I hope I made it clear. There are two teams in Phoenix. She is with 
the Phoenix Mercury, the WNBA team.
  I couldn't leave this day without reminding America that if in God we 
trust, give some hope to these people, lonely, all over the world, 
shocked that they were snatched off the streets or snatched from an 
airport, gave every explanation. They created no outrageous, vile, 
terroristic act. They did nothing with guns, drugs of any amount. They 
were no detriment to anybody in that land, and here they are.
  My colleagues, Congressmen Stanton and Allred, supported H. Res. 
1132, led by Congressman Stanton out of Phoenix, calling for the 
immediate release of Brittney Griner.
  Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record an article from Sports 
Illustrated: ``Brittney Griner's Wife Has Troubling Update On How She's 
Doing.''

         [From the Spun, by Sports Illustrated, Sept. 17, 2022]

     Brittney Griner's Wife Has Troubling Update On How She's Doing

                          (By Andrew McCarty)

       Earlier this week, President Joe Biden met with Cherelle 
     Griner, the wife of imprisoned WNBA star Brittney Griner.
       Griner has been in a Russian prison since February, when 
     she was arrested for having cannabis oil in her bag at a 
     Russian airport. Ever since then, the United States has been 
     trying to get her home.
       A meeting between Biden and Cherelle is a big step towards 
     that, but it also came with some troubling news. According to 
     Cherelle, Brittney's letters to her have taken an 
     increasingly dark tone.
       Cherelle offered a larger statement following her meeting 
     with Biden.
       ``I've felt every minute of the grueling seven months 
     without her,'' she said. ``I look forward to the day my wife 
     is back home. As my family and I continue on this journey, 
     I'd like to thank the broad coalition of friends, leaders and 
     supporters who continue to stand with us and advocate for 
     Brittney's swift and safe return. Let's share a unified 
     commitment to bringing all Americans home to their families 
     and loved ones. Together We Are BG.''
       Hopefully the United States and Russia can work together to 
     bring Griner home in the near future.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record two articles 
from CNN, one titled ``Biden set to meet with families of Brittney 
Griner and Paul Whelan at the White House'' and an article written most 
recently about Brittney Griner's conditions that she is facing and what 
she thinks is going to happen to her life.

                       [From CNN, Sept. 16, 2022]

 Biden Set To Meet With Families of Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan at 
                            the White House

       President Joe Biden is scheduled to meet with the families 
     of Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan at the White House on 
     Friday, marking his first time personally meeting with them 
     since their loved ones were detained in Russia.
       White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said 
     Thursday that Biden will meet with Griner's wife, Cherelle 
     Griner, and Whelan's sister, Elizabeth Whelan, to assure them 
     his administration is committed to securing the release of 
     their loved ones and that they remain ``front of mind.'' 
     Biden will meet with them separately, an official said.
       ``One of the things that the President wanted to make clear 
     is, and one of the reasons he's meeting with the families, is 
     that he wanted to let them know that they remain front of 
     mind and that his team is working on this every day, on 
     making sure that Brittney and Paul return home safely,'' 
     Jean-Pierre said.
       The Biden administration has repeatedly said that working 
     to secure Griner and Whelan's release, as well as that of 
     Americans wrongfully detained abroad, is a top priority. In 
     late July, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced 
     that the US had put forward a ``substantial proposal'' to try 
     to secure the release of Griner and Whelan. Sources told CNN 
     that proposal included a swap for convicted arms dealer 
     Viktor Bout.
       Griner was detained in February for carrying vape 
     cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage. The two-
     time US Olympic basketball gold medalist pleaded guilty to 
     drug charges and said she accidentally packed the drugs while 
     in a hurry. She has been sentenced to nine years, along with 
     a fine of about $16,400. Her legal team in Russia has 
     appealed the sentence.
       Whelan has been imprisoned in Russia for more than three 
     years after being convicted on espionage charges that he 
     vehemently denies. He was sentenced in June 2020 to 16 years 
     in prison in a trial US officials denounced as unfair.
       A senior administration official told CNN Thursday that 
     there has been ``movement but not breakthrough'' on the 
     efforts to secure the releases of Griner and Whelan. The 
     official said that the US has urged Russia to put forward ``a 
     serious counteroffer'' to the proposal on the table to secure 
     the release of the two, but ``we've not gotten a serious 
     response back.''

[[Page H8367]]

       State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Thursday that 
     ``there have been discussions with the Russian government,'' 
     but acknowledged the negotiations process ``certainly hasn't 
     moved with the speed we would like.'' He said he wouldn't 
     call the process ``stalled.''
       The White House meetings come after CNN first reported 
     earlier this week that former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson 
     and his team were in Moscow and held meetings with Russian 
     leadership.
       The details around those meetings were not immediately 
     clear. Richardson and his namesake center privately work on 
     behalf of families of hostages and detainees.
       Biden administration officials have repeatedly expressed 
     concerns that private citizens' attempts to broker deals to 
     repatriate wrongfully detained Americans may end up hindering 
     ongoing efforts by the US government to bring them home.
       Since taking office, Biden has met with the families of 
     other Americans who have been detained abroad.
       The President in May met with the family of Austin Tice, an 
     American journalist detained at a checkpoint near Damascus in 
     August 2012. The Biden administration relayed in August that 
     it has engaged directly with the Syrian government to try and 
     bring Tice home.
       Biden also met with the family of Trevor Reed in March. 
     Reed, an American citizen and former Marine who had been 
     detained in Russia since 2019, was freed and repatriated to 
     the US in April as part of a prisoner swap.
                                  ____


                       [From CNN, March 17, 2022]

 What We Know (and Dont Know) About the Arrest of US Olympic Champion 
                       Brittney Griner in Russia

                             (By Holly Yan)

       A month after US basketball star Brittney Griner was 
     arrested in Russia, it's still not clear exactly where she's 
     being held.
       But a Moscow court has ordered the 31-year-old to stay in 
     custody until at least May 19, the Russian state news agency 
     TASS reported March 17.

       ``The court granted the request of the investigation and 
     extended the period of detention of the US citizen Griner 
     until May 19,'' the court said, according to TASS.

       Griner is a championship-winning player with the WNBA's 
     Phoenix Mercury who has spent her past several offseasons 
     playing for the Russian team UMMC Ekaterinburg.

       But last month, Russian authorities accused Griner of 
     smuggling significant amounts of a narcotic substance after 
     flying from New York to a Moscow airport.
       Now, the mystery surrounding her detainment in a country 
     she's worked in for years has come to symbolize the growing 
     tensions between the US and Russia during Russia's continued 
     invasion of Ukraine.
     Why was Griner detained?
       The Russian Federal Customs Service said an American' was 
     detained at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport after being found 
     with hash oil.
       ``As a US citizen was passing through the green channel at 
     Sheremetyevo Airport upon arriving from New York, a working 
     dog from the Sheremetyevo customs canine department detected 
     the possible presence of narcotic substances in the 
     accompanying luggage,'' a statement from the customs service 
     said.
       ``The customs inspection of the hand luggage being carried 
     by the US citizen confirmed the presence of vapes with 
     specifically smelling liquid, and an expert determined that 
     the liquid was cannabis oil (hash oil), which is a narcotic 
     substance.''
       The Russian statement did not identify Griner by name, but 
     said the detainee is an American professional basketball 
     player and two-time US Olympian.
       The customs agency said the US citizen was placed in 
     pretrial detention. It said a criminal case was underway for 
     smuggling significant amounts of narcotic substances--an 
     offense carries a potential punishment of five to 10 years in 
     prison.
       Griner's wife, Cherelle Griner, has publicly called for the 
     release of her wife. USA Basketball, the Women's National 
     Basketball Association, the Phoenix Mercury and the WNBA 
     players' union have all publicly shared their concerns for 
     Griner.
     When was Griner arrested?
       The Russian customs agency said in a statement a US citizen 
     was detained ``in February of 2022,'' after flying to Moscow 
     from New York, but did not say what day.
       US Rep. Colin Allred, whose office has been in touch with 
     the US State Department, said Griner was arrested in Russia 
     on February 17.
       A State Department spokesperson said the department is 
     ``aware of and closely engaged on this case.''
     Where is Griner now?
       As of March 17, Griner's exact whereabouts were not clear.
       Ekaterina Kalugina, a representative of Moscow's Public 
     Monitoring Commission--which observes the treatment of 
     prisoners--visited Griner at her pre-trial detention center, 
     TASS reported.
       A court advocate said Griner should be kept under house 
     arrest because their jail beds are a foot too short for 
     Griner, who is 6 feet 9 inches tall, according to the Russian 
     news service RIA Novosti.
     Can Griner communicate with anyone in the US?
       Allred said Griner has been in contact with her Russian 
     lawyer, who is in touch with her agent and her family in the 
     US. But Griner's consular service has been blocked, which is 
     ``extremely concerning,'' Allred said.
       TASS quoted Kalugina as saying the US consul had not yet 
     visited Griner, despite Russian authorities' willingness to 
     ``create all conditions'' for their visit.
       CNN has reached out to Russian officials and the US Embassy 
     in Moscow for comment on Griner's consular access but has not 
     heard back.
       Although a State Department official told CNN the US has 
     been denied consular access to Griner, a source close to the 
     situation told CNN Griner's Russian legal team has seen her 
     several times a week throughout her detention, and she is 
     well.
       The source added that the Russian investigation is ongoing, 
     and a trial date has not been set.
       Her high school basketball coach, Debbie Jackson, said she 
     worries Griner's case will be used for political purposes.
       ``My biggest fear is that . . . she will become a political 
     pawn,'' Jackson told CNN.
     What was Griner doing in Russia?
       ``Griner was in Russia for work: playing for UMMC 
     Ekaterinburg, where in 2021 she helped the team win its fifth 
     EuroLeague Women championship,'' wrote Tamryn Spruill, a 
     journalist who covers women's basketball.
       Spruill started the ``Secure Brittney Griner's Swift and 
     Safe Return to the U.S.'' petition on Change.org.
       ``Like many athletes competing in the WNBA, Griner plays 
     abroad during the WNBA offseason because her salary is 
     exponentially higher in other countries,'' Spruill wrote on 
     the petition's page.
       ``For WNBA players, that means playing abroad, while NBA 
     rookies who haven't played a professional game yet are handed 
     salaries many-times higher than what title-winning, All-Star 
     designated WNBA veterans could ever hope for,'' Spruill said.
       ``These realities are not the fault of the players. They 
     simply want to be paid their worth like their male 
     counterparts, and they do not deserve to be entangled in 
     geopolitical turmoil for doing so.''
     Are there any other WNBA players in Russia?
       In early March, the WNBA confirmed to CNN that no other 
     players were in Russia nor Ukraine.
     What are the odds of getting Griner out of Russia?
       A member of the US House Armed Services Committee said 
     ``it's going to be very difficult'' to get Griner out of 
     Russia.
       ``Our diplomatic relationships with Russia are nonexistent 
     at the moment,'' Democratic Rep. John Garamendi of California 
     told CNN on March 7.
       ``Perhaps during the various negotiations that may take 
     place, she might be able to be one of the solutions. I don't 
     know.''
       He also noted ``Russia has some very, very strict LGBT 
     rules and laws''--though it's not clear whether those rules 
     and laws might impact Griner's case.
       Russia has passed LGBTQ-related legislation and outlawed 
     the ``propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations around 
     minors.''
       But the Biden administration is working on trying to get 
     Griner out of Russia, members of the Congressional Black 
     Caucus said after meeting with President Joe Biden on March 
     7.
       ``The best news we got today was that they know about it 
     and that she's on the agenda,'' Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who 
     represents Griner's hometown of Houston, Texas, told 
     reporters.
       Noting a potential 10-year sentence for Griner, Jackson Lee 
     added: ``We know about Britney Griner, and we know that we 
     have to move on her situation.''

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a press 
statement from my office.

 [Press Statement from Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Aug. 4, 2022]

       Washington, DC.--Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee condemns 
     the Russian Court System for their egregious sentencing of 
     Brittney Griner. Today Griner was sentenced to nine years in 
     prison by a Russian Court. This decision comes after the 
     House passage of H. Res. 1132 ``Calling for the immediate 
     release of Brittney Griner, a citizen of the United States, 
     who was wrongfully detained by the Government of the Russian 
     Federation in February 2022.''
       ``If I have to beg for mercy for the release of Brittney 
     Griner and Paul Whelan myself, I am prepared to do so,'' 
     explained Rep. Jackson Lee. Brittney Griner grew up in 
     Houston, Texas, was a collegiate All American star basketball 
     player at Baylor University where she won a national 
     championship, won two Olympic gold medals as the leader of 
     the U.S. national basketball team, and is a WNBA superstar 
     playing for the Phoenix Mercury based in Arizona. Prior to 
     being held captive by the Russian government for several 
     months before having charges brought against her Griner 
     played in the Russian leagues in the United States' WNBA off 
     season.
       On May 3, 2022, the United States Government declared 
     Brittney Griner unlawfully detained and immediately moved her 
     case to the Department of State under hostage negotiation. 
     The U.S. Department of state is a leading Government agency 
     which serves an

[[Page H8368]]

     integral role in foreign policy and the advancement of the 
     American people. ``We thought there might be a glimmer of 
     hope, but we were obviously wrong,'' Congresswoman Jackson 
     Lee explained.
       While on trial Alexander Boikov, a member of Griner's legal 
     team, requested Griner's acquittal stating that the 
     prosecution failed to prove criminal intent. Charges brought 
     against Griner are drug smuggling and cannabis possession, 
     which the prosecution has categorized as a significant 
     amount. Griner was in possession of less than one ounce of 
     cannabis oil, which demonstrates how corrupt Russia's court 
     system is. By padding smuggling charges, Russian courts were 
     able to lengthen Griner's sentence when evidence only 
     substantiated drug possession charges.
       While playing for the Phoenix Mercury in Arizona, Griner 
     legally obtained and frequently used cannabis to treat 
     chronic pain from an injury. Griner took her career in the 
     Russian basketball league seriously and decided to travel to 
     Russia, even amidst the political unrest, so she would not 
     let her teammates or Russian fanbase down.
       The Biden administration has offered the trade of Russian 
     illegal arms dealer Viktor Bout for the trade of both Griner 
     and Whelan. Congresswoman Jackson Lee urges Russia to act on 
     this deal and reassures the American people ``We are not 
     violating our integrity as Viktor Bout has served majority of 
     his sentence.'' Bout, nicknamed ``the merchant of death,'' 
     was convicted on November 2, 2011, and sentenced, to twenty-
     five years in prison on charges of conspiracy to kill U.S. 
     citizens and officials, and conspiring to provide aid to a 
     terrorist organization. Inversely, Griner is currently 
     imprisoned on charges for 0.702 ounces of cannabis oil and 
     serving a nine-year sentence. ``The American people must come 
     together, and ensure our citizens are brought home,'' 
     explained Rep. Jackson Lee.

                              {time}  1515

  And so, Mr. Speaker, let me express my appreciation to my colleagues. 
I hope they see the pain that her family is feeling. None of us can 
stand in their shoes.
  Because none of us can stand in their shoes, we have to plead to 
Vladimir Putin. Let our important and crucial leaders listen to this 
plea. Listen to our anguish. Listen and see this picture versus the 
ones that I have shown, this picture. Just look at them. From Olympian 
to a cage. The Olympian to a cage.
  I am going to do everything I can.
  I have asked the Embassy, and I want to know what kind of shame they 
are experiencing, not giving Americans visas for us to go to our 
embassy in Moscow?
  What are they thinking that they can live in a world like this, 
locking people up so they can play gotcha and be inhumane and stick it 
in the eye of the American people?
  Well, I will tell you, as I stand here today, let me take this fist, 
this fist, to make the promise that all of our hostages should be free. 
I hope the State Department's team of hostage negotiators gets the 
additional funding to grow the team.
  But to the families of hostages who are in pain, some who don't know 
whether their loved one is alive, and they live with the pain every day 
that they have not been able to honor them if they are not.
  Mr. Speaker, I hope that I have said something to ignite the 
conscience of the American people and to ignite the conscience, if you 
will, of all of my colleagues.
  Free Brittney Griner now.
  Free Paul Whelan.
  Free Brittney Griner now.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the rule by which the House has 
passed H. Res. 1132, ``Calling for the immediate release of Brittney 
Griner''.
  A very important component of the rule currently before the House is 
that it: ``Provides that House Resolution 1132 is hereby adopted.''
  I fought hard for passage of H. Res. 1132, introduced by Congressman 
Stanton, myself, and Congressman Allred, because, by raising our voices 
for Brittney Griner, we raise our voices for bedrock American values 
and priorities that are intrinsic to our national character.
  H. Res. 1132 calls for the release of Brittney Griner and, in so 
doing, puts Congress on record emphatically defending true American 
values such as our devotion to human rights, respect and dignity for 
each person, the right to due process, and justice based on truth.
  Each of these have been offended by Russia unjustifiably holding 
Griner, and by the Russian distortion of a judicial system that extends 
her detention, preventing her release to return home, without a factual 
or legal basis for doing so.
  Brittney Griner, who grew up in Houston, Texas, is an extension of 
all of us. She represents quintessential American stories and 
qualities. The injustices inflicted upon her by Putin and his acolytes 
in Russia could have been imposed on any Americans within their reach.
  The denial of basic rights from Brittney offends all Americans 
because they are rights to which we believe all people are entitled. We 
do not accept the dehumanization that is commonplace in Russia, and our 
values compel us to seek justice for Brittney, her immediate release, 
and her return home to her family and friends.
  As a mother who has raised a family, I can only imagine the gut-
wrenching pain that her parents, family, and friends must be feeling 
right now. There is no worse feeling than when someone in your family 
is in imminent danger and they are beyond your reach to help them.
  As a Black woman, I can say there's no greater fear than having a 
loved one being wrongfully placed in a situation or environment over 
which there is no control.
  For any of us, if we had a loved one placed in this situation, we 
would be doing everything in our power to ensure their prompt and safe 
return.
  We would be calling and seeking the help of everyone possible--
including the media, the US State Department, and even allies in 
Russia.
  We would press every politician and public figure to fight against 
the corrupt government of Russia to ensure that our family member is 
guaranteed their natural born rights to due process, a fair trial, and 
a prompt release from detention.
  No American citizen should be detained in a foreign country for 
months, denied access to American consular officials, and, dependent 
upon the performance of a Russian lawyer, especially in absence of 
substantial evidence of a crime.
  Ms. Griner is suffering from Russia's heinous demonstration of power 
and control that stems from centuries of bigotry and hatred embodied in 
an autocratic leader who is the very antithesis of everything Ms. 
Griner represents.
  Ms. Griner's detention is primarily based on the country of her 
citizenship, in a game of political leverage. Since she was targeted 
because of being an American, every American should take this 
personally. Her detention is an offense against our country, and 
against our people.
  Griner was detained on February 17, 2022, her initial release date 
was set to be May 19th, it was then shifted to June 19th, and when that 
date approached, it was delayed to July 2nd.
  That is not justice--it's oppression. We call on Putin and the 
Russian government to comply with their international treaty 
obligations.
  By passing the rule and adopting H. Res. 1132, the House insists, 
alongside the Griner family, that Brittney Griner must be immediately 
and safely released and returned home to the US.
  We are unified in demanding respectful treatment and justice for her, 
in accordance with American values.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________