[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 13964]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                        INTERNATIONAL ABDUCTION

  (Mr. LAMPSON asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, on June 29 and July 6 two articles appeared 
in the Washington Post about Joseph Cooke and his fight to regain 
custody of his two children.
  Both articles, in error, stated that Joseph Cooke, whose children 
have been held in German foster care for over 8 years, was recently 
allowed a 2-hour visit. Unfortunately, Joseph did not get to see his 
children. However, his mother, Patricia, did get to see her 
grandchildren, but did so at a drastically limited time.
  For 8 years this family struggled silently, attempting to bring about 
justice on their own. In February, Joseph joined me at an event where 
for the first time he spoke publicly about the abduction and wrongful 
retention of his children. It was a difficult day, but one that led to 
the outpouring of support and attention from the media and the American 
public that this issue deserves.
  The retaliation by the German Youth Authority and the Weh family, and 
their attempts to control the behavior of wronged American parents, is 
exactly why we need to continue pressing for action on this issue. We 
cannot let American parents be bullied into keeping their mouths shut. 
The German Youth Authority should be ashamed of itself for using access 
to one's children as a means to avoid bad press.

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