Calling on the Government of Iran to fulfill repeated promises of assistance in the case of Robert Levinson, the longest held United States civilian in our Nation's history.

IV 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 218 Calling on the Government of Iran to fulfill repeated promises of assistance in the case of Robert Levinson, the longest held United States civilian in our Nation’s history. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 12, 2019 Mr. DEUTCH (for himself, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Ms. FRANKEL, Mr. WALTZ, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. MCCAUL, and Mr. CONNOLLY) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Af- fairs RESOLUTION Calling on the Government of Iran to fulfill repeated prom- ises of assistance in the case of Robert Levinson, the longest held United States civilian in our Nation’s his- tory. Whereas United States citizen Robert Levinson is a retired agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a resident of Coral Springs, Florida, the husband of Christine Levinson, father of their seven children, and grandfather of their six grandchildren; Whereas Robert Levinson traveled from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to Kish Island, Iran, on March 8, 2007; VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:43 Mar 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR218.IH HR218 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 218 IH Whereas, after traveling to Kish Island and checking into the Hotel Maryam, Robert Levinson disappeared on March 9, 2007; Whereas, in December 2007, Robert Levinson’s wife, Chris- tine, traveled to Kish Island to retrace Mr. Levinson’s steps and met with officials of the Government of Iran who pledged to help in the investigation; Whereas, for 12 years, the United States Government has continually pressed the Government of Iran to provide any information on the whereabouts of Robert Levinson and to help ensure his prompt and safe return to his family; 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; Whereas, in November 2010, the Levinson family received a video of Mr. Levinson in captivity, representing the first proof of life since his disappearance and providing some initial indications that he was being held somewhere in southwest Asia; Whereas, in April 2011, the Levinson family received a series of pictures of Mr. Levinson, which provided further indi- cations that he was being held somewhere in southwest Asia; Whereas Secretary of State John Kerry stated on August 28, 2013, ‘‘The United States respectfully asks the Govern- ment of the Islamic Republic of Iran to work coopera- tively with us in our efforts to help U.S. citizen Robert Levinson’’; VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:43 Mar 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR218.IH HR218 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 218 IH Whereas, on September 28, 2013, during the first direct phone conversation between the heads of governments of the United States and Iran since 1979, President Barack Obama raised the case of Robert Levinson to President of Iran Hassan Rouhani and urged the President of Iran to help locate Mr. Levinson and reunite him with his family; Whereas, on August 29, 2014, Secretary of State Kerry again stated that the United States ‘‘respectfully request[s] the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran work cooperatively with us to find Mr. Levinson and bring him home’’; Whereas, on January 16, 2016, the Government of Iran re- leased five United States citizens detained in Iran; Whereas, on January 17, 2016, President Obama stated that ‘‘even as we rejoice in the safe return of others, we will never forget about Bob’’, referring to Robert Levinson, and that ‘‘each and every day but especially today our hearts are with the Levinson family and we will never rest until their family is whole again’’; Whereas, on January 19, 2016, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest stated that the United States Government had ‘‘secured a commitment from the Iranians to use the channel that has now been opened to secure the release of those individuals that we know were being held by Iran . . . to try and gather information about Mr. Levinson’s possible whereabouts’’; Whereas the Government of Iran’s most recent commitment to assist in and the diplomatic channel dedicated to locat- ing and returning Bob Levinson have not yielded any meaningful results; VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:43 Mar 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR218.IH HR218 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 218 IH Whereas, on November 23, 2016, the United Nations Work- ing Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) issued Opinion No. 50/2016, concerning Robert Levinson in which the UNWGAD found Iran responsible for the arbi- trary detention of Mr. Levinson; Whereas, on April 25, 2017, the Department of State issued a statement noting that ‘‘On the sidelines of the April 25 meeting in Vienna of the Joint Commission overseeing implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Ac- tion, the U.S. delegation raised with the Iranian delega- tion its serious concerns regarding the cases of U.S. citi- zens detained and missing in Iran, and called on Iran to immediately release these U.S. citizens so they can be re- united with their families’’; Whereas, on March 9, 2018, Department of State Spokes- person Heather Nauert stated, ‘‘Iran committed to co- operating with the United States to assist us in bringing Robert Levinson home and we call on Iran to fulfill this commitment’’; Whereas, on November 26, 2013, Mr. Levinson became the longest held United States civilian in our Nation’s his- tory; Whereas March 9, 2019, marks 12 years since the disappear- ance of Robert Levinson from Kish Island, Iran; and Whereas the Federal Bureau of Investigation continues to offer a $5,000,000 reward for information leading to Mr. Levinson’s safe return: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:43 Mar 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR218.IH HR218 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HRES 218 IH (1) recognizes that Robert Levinson is the long- 1 est held United States civilian in our Nation’s his- 2 tory; 3 (2) notes that repeated pledges by officials of 4 the Government of Iran to provide their Govern- 5 ment’s assistance in the case of Robert Levinson 6 have not led to any meaningful progress in locating 7 or returning Robert Levinson; 8 (3) urges the Government of Iran to take mean- 9 ingful steps towards fulfilling its repeated promises 10 to assist in locating and returning Robert Levinson, 11 including by immediately providing all available in- 12 formation from all entities of the Government of 13 Iran regarding the disappearance of Robert 14 Levinson to the United States Government; 15 (4) urges the President to make clear that the 16 return of Robert Levinson is a priority to the United 17 States and commit to redoubling United States Gov- 18 ernment efforts to secure the release of Robert 19 Levinson; 20 (5) urges the President and the allies of the 21 United States to continue to press the Government 22 of Iran at every opportunity to locate and return 23 Robert Levinson, notwithstanding ongoing and seri- 24 ous disagreements the United States Government 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:43 Mar 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR218.IH HR218 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HRES 218 IH has with the Government of Iran on a broad array 1 of issues, including Iran’s ballistic missile program, 2 sponsorship of international terrorism, destabiliza- 3 tion of the Middle East, and human rights abuses; 4 (6) notes that in addition to these other serious 5 issues, further delay in locating and returning Rob- 6 ert Levinson remains a significant obstacle to im- 7 proving United States-Iran relations; and 8 (7) expresses sympathy to the family of Robert 9 Levinson for their anguish and hope that their or- 10 deal can be brought to an end in the near future. 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:43 Mar 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR218.IH HR218 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS