[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 150 (Wednesday, September 25, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S6463]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 3300. Mr. SCHUMER (for Mrs. Shaheen (for herself and Mr. Graham))
proposed an amendment to the resolution S. Res. 805, commemorating the
tenth anniversary of the murder of James Wright Foley and calling for
the moral courage to prioritize the return of Americans held captive
abroad and take all necessary efforts to deter international hostage
taking and arbitrary detention; as follows:
Strike all after the resolving clause and insert the
following: ``That the Senate--
(1) stands with all those who have been taken hostage or
wrongfully detained, those who have been released, and the
families and friends who fight for their freedom;
(2) prioritizes the return of all innocent United States
nationals targeted for kidnapping or wrongful detention
abroad and will continue to take all necessary steps to
secure the release of Americans and deter our adversaries
from using Americans as tools for their geopolitical
ambitions;
(3) acknowledges the need to continue working with allies
and partners to develop a coordinated approach to deter and
prevent international hostage-taking;
(4) condemns the practice of targeting and wrongfully
detaining Americans in order to threaten American sovereignty
and interfere with United States foreign policy;
(5) supports efforts to ensure that the United States
Government hostage enterprise is properly resourced and
authorized to address the evolving dynamic of hostage-taking
and wrongful detention, including through the Hostage
Response Group at the National Security Council, the Hostage
Recovery Fusion Cell, the Special Presidential Envoy for
Hostage Affairs, and supporting departments and agencies to
speed the safe return of United States nationals held hostage
abroad and deter future hostage-taking;
(6) commends the personnel, past and present, of the
hostage enterprise who have endeavored to faithfully execute
the mission of recovering Americans unjustly held captive
abroad; and
(7) recognizes August 19, 2014, as a solemn remembrance of
this national security threat and the United States
Government's sacred obligation to protect United States
nationals abroad from being taken captive unjustly.
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