[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 18878-18879]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         REMARKS ON ALAN GROSS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ELIOT L. ENGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, December 2, 2010

  Mr. ENGEL. Madam Speaker, tomorrow marks the one-year anniversary of 
the imprisonment of Alan Gross in Cuba. Today, I come to the House 
floor not in my role as Chairman of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee 
nor as a Congressman interested in U.S. policy toward Cuba.
  Instead, I come here as a father and a husband to urge the Cuban 
government to release Alan Gross on humanitarian grounds.
  Alan's health continues to deteriorate. He has lost 90 pounds and has 
developed disc problems that have caused partial paralysis in his leg. 
This could become permanent if he does not have surgery. He also has 
developed severe pain in his hips.
  Perhaps even more devastating than his own health is Alan's not being 
able to be with his daughter who was recently diagnosed with breast 
cancer. His daughter has had several surgeries and is now undergoing 
chemotherapy. As a father to a daughter around the

[[Page 18879]]

same age, it absolutely breaks my heart that Alan cannot be by his 
daughter's side to give her the emotional support that she needs.
  The United States and Cuba have had a difficult relationship for a 
long time. But, Alan Gross is not a politician. His work brought him to 
Cuba because of his passion for the country's Jewish community.
  Earlier this year, I met with Judy Gross in the Capitol. She told me 
that Alan jumped at the chance to work in Cuba, because he loves the 
Cuban people and wanted them to be able to communicate better with the 
rest of the world. She explained that he never would do anything to 
harm them.
  Judy Gross tells me that Alan is a family man. He is a very devoted 
son who called his mother every morning. She is 88 years old and fears 
she may never see him again. She is emotionally distraught about Alan's 
situation, and this is translating into a decline in her physical 
health.
  There are times that we come to the House floor to engage in 
impassioned policy debates. There are times when we argue amongst 
ourselves about the right direction for U.S.-Cuba relations. Now is not 
one of those times.
  Madam Speaker, today, on the eve of the one-year anniversary of Alan 
Gross' imprisonment, I stand in this chamber to plea for Alan's 
release. Not just for Alan's sake, but for the sake of his wife, his 
mother and his two daughters, I urge the Cuban government to 
immediately release Alan Gross.

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