[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 7406]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           NICOLE--KIDNAPPED

  (Mr. POE of Texas asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, Brazil has become a haven for stolen 
children from the United States. There are over 50 kidnapped children 
in Brazil.
  Fox News 26 in Houston, Texas, first brought attention to the story 
of one little girl who was stolen from her father--my friend and 
constituent, Marty Pate. Marty lives in Crosby, Texas, and he has not 
seen his daughter, Nicole, in 4 years. Her mother, Monica, is a native 
of Brazil. She took Nicole on a trip there in 2006, and she never came 
back.
  Legal documents from Texas give Marty joint custody, and 
international law requires Brazil to return Nicole to America. Marty 
wants to see his daughter and have her visit her family in the United 
States, but officials in Brazil are still stonewalling and are ignoring 
their legal duty.
  Our State Department must pressure Brazil to follow its international 
treaty obligations, and Brazil must stop sanctioning the kidnapping of 
American children.
  Marty has the right to be reunited with his kidnapped daughter, 
Nicole.
  And that's just the way it is.

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