[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 1627]
[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. Madam Speaker, I rise today to begin my series of one-
minutes that recognize the enormous problem that this Nation has with 
children who have been abducted internationally. There are over 10,000 
American children who have been taken to foreign countries, like Saif 
Ahmed from my district.
  My constituent, Melanie Al Mufti, was awarded sole custody of her son 
in 1998, but he was abducted by his father, Sayed Ahmed, to Cairo, 
Egypt, that same year. He was ordered to return the child to Texas, but 
instead, he ignored the order, and since then there is an FBI warrant 
out for his arrest.
  Melanie contacted me that year, and I have been working closely with 
her ever since. She has worked with the Egyptian courts. I have worked 
with the Egyptian government, even spoken with President Mubarak. Yet 
Melanie has not had contact with her son since his abduction.
  Melanie and parents like her need our help. I will be introducing 
bills that will focus on reuniting parents with their children. Madam 
Speaker, it is time for Congress, the media, and the American people to 
stand up for Melanie and Saif and the other American families who are 
being kept apart. We must bring our children home.

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