[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 5964]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



           STATEMENTS ON SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS--APRIL 5, 2001

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SENATE RESOLUTION 66--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING THE 
RELEASE OF TWENTY-FOUR UNITED STATES MILITARY PERSONNEL CURRENTLY BEING 
               DETAINED BY THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

  Mr. THOMAS (for himself, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Warner, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. 
Murkowski, Mr. Biden, Mr. Lugar, Mr. Smith of Oregon, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. 
Brownback, Mr. Baucus, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Nelson of Florida, Mr. 
Lieberman, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Torricelli, Mr. Corzine, Mr. 
McConnell, Mr. Levin, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Wellstone, Mr. Daschle, Mr. 
Rockefeller, Mrs. Carnahan, Mr. Conrad, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Thurmond, Mr. 
Crapo, Mr. Dorgan, Mr. Bayh, Mr. Campbell, Ms. Cantwell, Ms. Collins, 
Mr. Edwards, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Hutchinson, Mr. Fitzgerald, Mr. Inouye, Mr. 
Johnson, and Ms. Snowe) submitted the following resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:
  Mrs. CLINTON. Mr. President, I rise in support of Senator Thomas' 
resolution, which calls for the immediate release of the crew members 
of the EP-3E that was forced to make an emergency landing at the 
Lingshui, Hainan airbase on April 1st. Securing the safe return of the 
crew and their aircraft is a top priority for our country and this 
resolution makes that clear.
  And I know that I speak for my constituents when I say that I am 
deeply concerned about the safety of the twenty-four U.S. crew members 
who are being held in China. My thoughts and prayers are with all of 
them and their family members, including the family of Kenneth Richter, 
a Navy cryptographer and native of Staten Island, New York.
  We are fortunate to have brave men and women like Kenneth Richter 
serve our country. It is a reminder of how the courage and hard work of 
those in our armed forces help to keep America free and secure.
  All Americans stand as one behind the President as our nation presses 
for the immediate release of our people and our aircraft. There is 
absolutely no justification for their detention for one minute, let 
alone so many days.

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