Calling on the Government of the Russian Federation to Immediately Release United States Citizen Paul Whelan

Floor Speech

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Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Speaker, I am so grateful to the exceptional leadership of the House Foreign Affairs Committee for shepherding this resolution to the floor and calling on the Russian Federation to immediately release Paul Whelan.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman McCaul, Ranking Member Meeks, our subcommittee leadership, Chairman Kean, and Ranking Member Keating for their steady bipartisan urgency in the consideration of H. Res. 272.

Paul Whelan has been wrongfully detained by the Kremlin since I was first elected to Congress in the winter of 2018.

The first time I introduced this legislation demanding that Russia release my constituent, I was eager to assure Paul and his family that his government was behind him.

The second time, I was heartbroken that he was still waiting for justice.

Now, during the third Congress of Paul's detention, I am furious.

Throughout Paul's detention, the Russian Government has repeatedly violated his rights, denied him proper medical care, and refused to provide any evidence to substantiate the charges against him.

Paul was held in pretrial detention for over 18 months in the notorious Lefortovo Prison. Then his trial was held behind closed doors, and his defense was prohibited from calling witnesses--a sham trial.

Paul now serves a 16-year sentence of hard labor in a prison camp where he has been since August of 2020, facing unbelievably harsh conditions, injury, and illness. Here in the United States, we can't even fathom the conditions that he faces on a daily basis.

Today, we have the opportunity as a Congress to denounce Paul's wrongful imprisonment and to stand up to Vladimir Putin and his Kremlin cronies.

We will continue to come together as a Congress to make it clear that American citizens will not be used as political pawns by Mr. Putin, period. End of story.

I have said before that Paul's detention was the canary in the coal mine for the lawlessness that we now see on a global scale from Mr. Putin.

Since Paul's detention, Mr. Putin has seized marine veteran Trevor Reed, basketball star Brittney Griner, and most recently, The Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, the first reporter to be unlawfully detained by Russia since the Cold War.

Today, I am also proud to recognize the citizens who have taken up the fight to return their loved ones hand in hand with the United States Government. As co-chair of the Hostage Task Force alongside Mr. French Hill, we are standing up to these attacks on Americans for simply being Americans. I thank Mr. Hill for helping to fight for Paul.

I have spoken several times on this House floor about my deep admiration for Paul's sister, Elizabeth Whelan, who has become a true partner to my office and the people of Michigan's 11th District.

In late April of just this year, Elizabeth joined America's U.N. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield in a session of the U.N. Security Council that was being chaired by Russia's Foreign Minister.

In stunning testimony, she called on him directly to release her brother. Looking him straight in the eye, Elizabeth stressed that she didn't even know what her brother looked like anymore. Coverage of this event made it all the way to Paul's prison in Russia, strengthening his resolve and reflecting the bravery of his sister.

That is the incredible family that Paul comes from. The fortitude of the Whelan family should be an inspiration to all Americans. Every single day I see them stand up for freedom, democracy, and justice. They are fearless, and they are the reason Paul will come home.

This is deeply personal to me, and it should be to all Americans. Not a single day goes by that I do not think about Paul and his family. Their pain is unimaginable, and no family should endure what the Whelans have.

It has been my mission to see Paul returned to Michigan and be reunited with his family and his beloved dog, Flora, a golden retriever who has outlived her breed by many years and is now 15. She is waiting for her owner to come home.

I thank my fellow Members of Congress for their continued advocacy on behalf of Paul, as well as all the families of hostages and wrongful detainees who are facing the unthinkable every single day.

If Paul is watching, he knows we are praying for him, we are rooting for him, and we will not stop fighting for him.

If Vladimir Putin is watching, he knows that the world's strongest democracy and the seat of the world's power is united against him today.

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Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Speaker, if Vladimir Putin is watching, he should know that the United States will not stand by and watch as his lawless regime continues its reign of terror.

Release Paul Whelan now. Release Evan Gershkovich. Mr. Putin should end his years of human rights abuses and his illegal war against Ukraine. Enough is enough.

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