Recognizing March 9 As U.S. Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Day

Floor Speech

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Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, thank you for the time.

As we witnessed President Biden's State of the Union speech last night in this historic House Chamber, the gallery was filled with families that are in mourning, Mr. Speaker.

They are in mourning because their loved ones are captive by a rogue terror group or by an authoritarian country or by a Nation not living up to the rule of law. Some 56 Americans, Mr. Speaker, are held wrongfully detained by another country or by a terror group.

This week, we had many of those families in the gallery last night. We had the parents of Evan Gershkovich, The Wall Street Journal reporter, held in Russia.

We had families whose loved ones are somewhere in Gaza, held by the terrorist group Hamas--Americans, and we don't know where they are or what their condition is.

In last year's defense authorization bill, Congresswoman Haley Stevens and I created a provision that was passed by this House and by the Senate and signed into law by President Biden that designates March 9, tomorrow, Mr. Speaker, as U.S. Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Day, so it is perfectly appropriate that last night in this gallery those families came.

Why March 9? The death of Bob Levinson, the longest held American held hostage abroad. This week, Congresswoman Stevens and I met with the Foley Foundation and the McCain Institute who are working mightily with Members of Congress and with our diplomats to free those 56 Americans identified as being held illegally and wrongfully abroad.

Haley and I met with Sagui Dekel-Chen's family, one of the Hamas--I hope to say hostages, not a victim of Hamas.

We met with the family of Zack Shahin, held by the United Arab Emirates for the past 16 years. We met with the family of Kai Li, held in a Shanghai prison.

The countries that hold Americans wrongfully are many, and I think it is important that this House keep those families top of mind every day.

In my office, Mr. Speaker, I have a beautiful inlaid box from Syria, a custom in their country, and it is dedicated to Majd Kamalmaz, formerly a constituent of mine in Little Rock. His family now lives in north Texas. He is in Syria somewhere in one of Assad's jails.

Mr. Speaker, we need to constantly remember these families and America's obligation to not leave Americans held wrongfully detained abroad and reunite them with their family.

It is an obligation of our country, it is an obligation of this legislative branch, and we are committed to working with the administration to bring them home.

Mr. Speaker, there are Americans held in Iran. Iran is a country that Americans need to focus on because it is intricately related to everything that we see in our news.

The mullahs in Tehran are on the march against peace and prosperity in Europe, the United States, the Middle East, and across the globe.

Today, I want to put a human face on that march of terror and partnership in terror across the globe. I remember Sarina Esmailzadeh, who was wrongfully beaten to death by the Islamic Republic security forces in 2022.

Sarina was, Mr. Speaker, just 16 years old. Like young people all over the world, young people in our gallery today, young people listening in America today, Sarina was an avid social media user.

She began to upload vlogs of her volleyball, singing, and enjoying life. As she posted, she was seen breaking the rules set by the Iranian regime, including not wearing a hijab, singing, expression opinions openly as a woman.

Sarina said herself that she understood the stakes of posting these videos, but she did not let that scare her. What an inspiration to young people across the globe.

In one of her videos, she said: Why should my life be so different from teenagers in Berlin or New York, just because I was born in Iran?

And when referencing all that, it is banned for women but not for men in Iran.

In September of 2022, she took to the streets in Karaj, and alongside hundreds of others, protested the Iranian regime. During the protest she was beaten to death by the Islamic Republic's security forces. All she wanted was to create an Iran that represented fully the Iranian people. Her dreams were to make the most of her life, but under the rule of the Iranian regime, this is impossible.

Iran is the world's number one state sponsor of terrorism, and their barbarism spreads across far from their borders, Mr. Speaker, and Americans witness it every day.

Iran has a stated purpose of wiping Israel off the map, destroying it as a country, wiping out the people. That is a stated goal of the nation of Iran led by the mullahs there. They are backing Hamas financially--Hamas--with training in Gaza on the attack. They back Hezbollah in southern Lebanon in their attacks on the northern part of Israel.

Iranian proxy forces, the Houthis, are disrupting global shipping in the Red Sea, affecting goods and supplies coming to Europe and coming to the U.S. The Houthis are disrupting that shipping.

Who backs them? Iran.

Who gives them targeting advice? Iran.

Who gives them the missiles to attack ships in open navigation? Iran.

Who is supplying the drones, Mr. Speaker, to Russia, to aid the invasion of Russia of its sovereign neighbor Ukraine, causing murder and mayhem daily across the nation of Ukraine; where is that munition coming from? Where are those drones coming from? Iran.

Who threatened to murder Americans like former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo here in the United States? Proxies of Iran.

The constant attacks on U.S. personnel and our allies in Iraq and Syria, who is making the attacks? Proxy militias from Iran.

All of this is culminating in their desire for a nuclear weapon to change the balance of power in the world.

Iran is behind all of this. Their brutality should not be tolerated by Western countries who believe in security in the region, and as my good friend from Texas (Mr. Green) just talked about, the basic human rights that we stand for in this country.

We must continue to press this regime further, not fund it as is the case with the Biden administration freeing up billions of dollars to Iran for their use. It isn't a peaceful use, I can assure you, Mr. Speaker.

We must continue to press the regime. Iran's reign of terror against its own citizens like Sarina, they are exporting that terror around the Middle East into the Red Sea. It is destabilizing and it is damaging to a peaceful future not only for prosperity in the Middle East but across the globe. Congratulating Buck Layne's Retirement

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Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Buck Layne, a good friend, on his retirement from the Searcy, Arkansas, Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Buck joined the chamber in February of 1991 after applying for an executive vice-president position. He then went on to give 33 years of dedicated service and hard work for the betterment of the Searcy community, serving as president and CEO of the chamber most recently.

During his time with the chamber, Buck has made impressive strides to build an economic development strategy and produce new jobs and careers for all the citizens of Searcy in White County.

From expanding existing companies in the city to bringing new ones, Buck had significant accomplishments.

I congratulate him for his outstanding work in Searcy. I thank him for our years of collaboration, and I wish him the best in his retirement. Remembering the Life of Bob Brooks

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Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember the life of Arkansas Chief Deputy Attorney General Bob Brooks. Bob passed away suddenly after a brief illness on February 11.

Bob was beloved by Democrats and Republicans, old and young, in Arkansas. He was a graduate of the University of Arkansas and the University of Tulsa College of Law. He served as chief of staff for longtime Arkansas Congressman Jay Dickey, and he led in our State as Governor Huckabee's director of the Arkansas Ethics Commission.

Most recently, he served Tim Griffin as Arkansas' Chief Deputy Attorney General. He loved his job so much, and it was always hard, Attorney General Griffin tells me, to get him to go home each night as the office closed.

Bob was a dedicated public servant who represented all that is good in Arkansas through his professionalism, his wit, and his great sense of humor.

I remember Bob for his selfless commitment to public service, his long desire to get back to Arkansas to be in a dream job, and I thank him and his memory for our warm two decades of friendship.

Martha and I are praying for his friends, his family, and his loved ones during this difficult time. Bob will be missed dearly by many. Congratulating Danielle Ziemba

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Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Senior Airman Danielle Ziemba.

Danielle was recently announced as a recipient of the Air Force's 2023 GEICO Military Service Award.

This annual award is given to one enlisted member from each of the six service branches and the National Guard for their achievements and contributions to the men and women they serve with.

Danielle did an outstanding job in her training. She deserves this award. It is a great recognition of her commitment to the Air Force and to her fellow airmen and airwomen, and I congratulate her on this important accomplishment.

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