[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Pages 16045-16046]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                               ALAN GROSS

  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, Monday, December 3, will mark the third 
anniversary of the imprisonment of Alan Gross by Cuba as a political 
prisoner.
  In 2009, Mr. Gross went to Cuba on a USAID contract to assist the 
Jewish community in improving access to the internet by installing 
wireless equipment. He was arrested by the Cuban government and held 
for 14 months before being charged as a spy. After a sham trial, Mr. 
Gross was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
  Alan Gross a Maryland native, is a former social worker who spent a 
quarter of a decade working in international development--helping 
people around the world. A graduate of the University of Maryland, Mr. 
Gross has lived in Potomac, MD for many years. I've met his wife on 
numerous occasions and her continued strength and focus inspires me. 
While her husband has been held in a Cuban prison, she has held down 
the fort and held the pressure on the Cuban government for its poor 
treatment of her husband.
  Despite facing severe health problems and complications caused by his 
imprisonment, Alan Gross has remained strong. He has developed a daily 
routine to maintain his strength. Yet he has lost more than 100 pounds, 
has difficulty walking, and has a large mass behind his shoulder that 
has gone untreated. The information shared by the Cuban government 
about Mr. Gross's medical condition is incomplete and raises new 
concerns for his family.
  Mr. Gross's family has also encountered substantial health problems 
of their own over the past 3 years and they are facing significant 
financial hardship. His mother has inoperable lung cancer and the 
family is concerned they will not have a chance to be together to say 
goodbye. The family's contact with Mr. Gross remains extremely limited.
  I have been hopeful that America and Cuba could move closer 
together--in trade, in community connections, and for the individual 
families that have been separated. Yet, concern over the detention of 
Alan Gross has put a hold on efforts to improve relations and the case 
shows that Cuba is not serious about moving forward and has stalled any 
effort in the Senate to move towards normalizing our relationship.
  President Obama has stated that until Cuba's current government 
improves human rights and freedoms, the embargo against Cuba remains in 
our Nation's national interests. What had become a yearly effort to 
modify the embargo was halted in the Senate this year because of the 
continued detention of Alan Gross. The Cuban government needs to heed 
what it has heard from Senators and now hears from me: if you unjustly 
imprison our citizens, we cannot and will not improve the relationship 
between our countries.
  In a recent letter to the Cuban government, I and several of my 
Senate colleagues called for the release of Mr. Gross on humanitarian 
grounds. The government's response has called our request illegitimate. 
This is not the way to move forward. That is why I will join with 
Senators Cardin and Moran to submit a resolution that will apply 
additional pressure on Cuba to

[[Page 16046]]

let Alan come home. I want to close by sending my continued thoughts 
and prayers to Mr. Gross, his wife Judy, and their family. I think of 
the challenges you are facing daily and I remain hopeful that you will 
all be reunited soon. Your strength and determination inspire me as you 
face difficult challenges.
  I urge the government of Cuba to release Alan Gross immediately. I 
promise I will continue standing up for Alan and calling for his return 
home to Maryland.

                          ____________________