[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 8]
[House]
[Pages 10908-10910]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             RAISING THE CASE OF ROBERT LEVINSON WITH IRAN

  Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 36) calling on the 
President and the allies of the United States to engage with officials 
of the Government of Iran to raise the case of Robert Levinson at every 
opportunity, urging officials of the Government of Iran to fulfill 
their promises of assistance to the family of Robert Levinson, and 
calling on the Government of Iran to share the results of its 
investigation into the disappearance of Robert Levinson with the 
Federal Bureau of Investigation, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution.
  The text of the concurrent resolution is as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 36

       Whereas United States citizen Robert Levinson is a retired 
     agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a resident of 
     Florida, the husband of Christine Levinson, and father of 
     their 7 children;
       Whereas Robert Levinson traveled from Dubai to Kish Island, 
     Iran, on March 8, 2007;
       Whereas, after traveling to Kish Island and checking into 
     the Hotel Maryam, he disappeared on March 9, 2007;
       Whereas neither his family nor the United States Government 
     has received further information on his fate or whereabouts;
       Whereas March 9, 2009, marks the second anniversary of the 
     disappearance of Robert Levinson;
       Whereas the Government of Switzerland, which has served as 
     the Protecting Power for the United States in the Islamic 
     Republic of Iran in the absence of diplomatic relations 
     between the Government of the United States and the 
     Government of Iran since 1980, has continuously pressed the 
     Government of Iran on the case of Robert Levinson and lent 
     vital assistance and support to the Levinson family during 
     their December 2007 visit to Iran;
       Whereas officials of the Government of Iran promised their 
     continued assistance to the relatives of Robert Levinson 
     during the visit of the family to the Islamic Republic of 
     Iran in December 2007; and
       Whereas the Government of Iran, including through a 
     statement made during an interview with NBC News broadcast on 
     July 28, 2008, has declared that its officials are willing to 
     cooperate with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the 
     search for Robert Levinson: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) commends the Embassy of Switzerland in Tehran, Iran, 
     and the Government of Switzerland for the ongoing assistance 
     to the Government of the United States and to the family of 
     Robert Levinson, particularly during the visit by Christine 
     Levinson and other relatives to Iran in December 2007;
       (2) notes that Iranian officials ensured the safety of the 
     family of Robert Levinson during their December 2007 visit to 
     Iran, and have promised their continued assistance;
       (3) urges the Government of Iran, as a humanitarian 
     gesture, to intensify its cooperation on the case of Robert 
     Levinson with the Embassy of Switzerland in Tehran and to 
     share the results of its investigation into the disappearance 
     of Robert Levinson with the Federal Bureau of Investigation;
       (4) urges the President and the allies of the United States 
     to raise at every opportunity in all appropriate multilateral 
     and bilateral fora the case of Robert Levinson; and
       (5) expresses sympathy to the family of Robert Levinson 
     during this trying period.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Georgia (Mr. Scott) and the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Georgia.


                             General Leave

  Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Georgia?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this 
very important resolution, and I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, last month, President Obama delivered a very important

[[Page 10909]]

video message to the Iranian people and to Iran's leaders, coinciding 
with Iran's Festival of Nowruz, a 12-day holiday marking the new year.
  Mr. Speaker, I support President Obama's spirit of engagement, and I 
share his view that the United States and the international community 
should try to persuade Iran, through both diplomacy and economic 
sanctions, to comply with its legal obligations under the Nuclear Non-
Proliferation Treaty and under numerous United Nations Security Council 
resolutions.
  Mr. Speaker, Mr. Robert Levinson, a retired agent with the Federal 
Bureau of Investigation, disappeared in Iran over 2 years ago. There is 
no better time than now, in the spirit of engagement with Iran, for the 
Government of Iran to share the results of its investigation into Mr. 
Levinson's disappearance with the FBI. Indeed, the Iranian President 
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in an interview with NBC on July 28, 2008, stated 
that the Iranian Government was willing to cooperate with the FBI in 
the search for Mr. Robert Levinson. Iranian officials also promised 
their continued assistance to his relatives during the Levinson 
family's visit to Iran in December of 2007.
  This resolution under consideration urges President Obama and our 
allies to raise the case of Mr. Levinson with the Iranians at every 
opportunity. Indeed, this process has already begun. During a March 31 
conference in The Hague, Ambassador Richard Holbrook handed an Iranian 
diplomat a diplomatic letter asking Tehran to ensure the quick and safe 
return of Mr. Levinson, as well as freelance journalist Roxana Saberi 
and student Esha Momeni, both of whom are being held in Iran. The 
resolution also urges the Government of Iran to fulfill its pledge to 
cooperate with the FBI. Both of these requests are more than fully 
appropriate.
  Mr. Speaker, our hearts go out to the Levinson family. And we remain 
deeply committed to learning Mr. Levinson's fate in Iran and, if 
possible, hopefully returning him home safe and sound.

                              {time}  1415

  I strongly support this resolution, and I urge all my colleagues to 
do likewise. And I want to thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. 
Wexler) for introducing this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, over 2 years after disappearing on Kish Island in Iran, 
Robert Levinson, who my colleague has just described as a U.S. citizen 
and a resident of Florida, remains missing. During that time, the 
regime in Iran has continually obstructed efforts by the United States 
Government to investigate Mr. Levinson's disappearance. As Senator Bill 
Nelson stated on January 13 of this year at a hearing of the Senate 
Foreign Relations Committee, in Iran ``the door has been closed at 
every single turn.''
  Mr. Levinson is a 28-year veteran of the FBI and the Drug Enforcement 
Administration. He and his family, including his wife and seven 
children, deserve our every effort to determine his status and 
hopefully to secure his freedom and safe return home. Therefore, I 
strongly support House Concurrent Resolution 36, which urges the 
Iranian Government to intensify its cooperation on Mr. Levinson's case, 
with the Swiss Embassy in Tehran, and to share the results of its 
investigation with the FBI.
  This legislation also urges the President and U.S. allies to raise 
Mr. Levinson's case in all appropriate multilateral and bilateral 
forums and expresses our sympathy to Mr. Levinson's family during this 
very difficult and trying time.
  I thank my good friend and colleague Mr. Wexler, the chairman of the 
House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, for introducing this 
resolution.
  This is the kind of thing, Mr. Speaker, that everybody in the world 
ought to be concerned about. We have a young reporter who has 
disappeared over there and is unaccounted for. Mr. Levinson is 
unaccounted for. This Government of Iran should join the family of 
nations and start being like everybody else and admiring and living up 
to the human rights that we all respect and admire.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, this is a very important and 
timely resolution. As we have spoken to it, I think we all see its 
urgency, its humanitarian nature, and the very important challenge to 
the people of Iran and the leaders of Iran to do the right thing in 
this case.
  Mr. WEXLER. Mr. Speaker, I introduced House Concurrent Resolution 36 
earlier this year to shed light on my constituent from Coral Springs, 
Florida, Robert Levinson, who disappeared from Iran's Kish Island on 
March 9, 2007. More than two years later, there are disturbingly few 
known details about his whereabouts.
  What we do know, however, is that Mr. Levinson, a former FBI agent, 
was last heard from on March 8, 2007 by his wife Christine, while he 
was working in Dubai as a private investigator. According to his 
family, he checked into a hotel on Kish Island and checked out the 
following morning to fly back to the United States. Unfortunately, Mr. 
Levinson never arrived at the airport for his flight, and there is no 
accounting for what happened to him after he left the hotel.
  In December 2007, the Levinson family, with assistance from Swiss 
officials in Tehran, traveled to the hotel where Mr. Levinson was last 
seen and passed out flyers in Farsi with his photo. They also met with 
local Iranian authorities to seek their assistance in gaining 
information about Mr. Levinson's disappearance. The authorities in Iran 
pledged to assist the Levinson family in their efforts to determine 
Robert's whereabouts and to investigate the circumstances surrounding 
his disappearance. Despite its pledge, the government of Iran has not 
followed through on its promises to the Levinson family. In fact, the 
Iranian government has stonewalled any effort to gain pertinent 
information--claiming they have zero knowledge about Mr. Levinson's 
whereabouts.
  I want to praise the decision of the Obama Administration to raise 
Mr. Levinson's case directly with the Iranian government. During last 
week's hearing in the House Foreign Affairs Committee, I raised Mr. 
Levinson's disappearance with Secretary of State Clinton, and she 
confirmed that Mr. Levinson was mentioned in a letter delivered by 
Ambassador Holbrooke to Iranian officials at The Hague and reiterated 
her unwavering commitment to press this issue at every opportunity.
  While I am certain that Secretary Clinton and the Obama 
Administration will make every attempt to bring Mr. Levinson's home, it 
is critical that Congress express its unequivocal support for her 
efforts and send a clear statement that the Administration must employ 
every diplomatic tool at its disposal to locate Mr. Levinson and return 
him to the United States.
  House Concurrent Resolution 36 calls on President Obama and allies of 
the United States around the world to engage with officials of the 
Government of Iran to raise the case of Robert Levinson at every 
opportunity. It also urges officials of the Government of Iran to 
fulfill their promises of assistance to the family of Robert Levinson, 
and calls upon Iran to share the results of its investigation into his 
disappearance with the FBI. Passage of this resolution sends a clear 
signal that the Congress stands with the Levinson family and believes 
all efforts should be exhausted to ensure Robert Levinson is found and 
brought home safely.
  I want to once again express my unwavering solidarity and backing for 
the Levinson family and offer all of my support in their efforts to 
return Robert Levinson home. I urge all of my colleagues to support the 
passage of this resolution.
  Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for 
time, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Cuellar). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Scott) that the House 
suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 
36, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the concurrent resolution, as amended, was 
agreed to.
  The title was amended so as to read: ``A concurrent resolution 
calling on the President and the allies of the United States to raise 
in all appropriate bilateral and multilateral fora

[[Page 10910]]

the case of Robert Levinson at every opportunity, urging Iran to 
fulfill their promises of assistance to the family of Robert Levinson, 
and calling on Iran to share the results of its investigation into the 
disappearance of Robert Levinson with the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation''.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________