H. Con. Res. 404 Agreed to October 18, 2000

One Hundred Sixth Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE SECOND SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,

the twenty-fourth day of January, two thousand

Concurrent Resolution

Whereas Mr. Edmond Pope of State College, Pennsylvania, is a

husband, father, grandfather, son, and United States businessman;

Whereas Edmond Pope has visited the Russian Federation 27 times

in order to foster better business and university-based research

relationships;

Whereas Edmond Pope traveled to the Russian Federation in late

March 2000 in order to purchase commercially advertised underwater propulsion technology, as stated in his visa approved by

the Government of the Russian Federation;

Whereas Edmond Pope was arrested on April 3, 2000, in Moscow,

imprisoned in Lefortovo, and charged with espionage;

Whereas the Russian who allegedly committed an act of treason

by aiding Edmond Pope was released and has been living with

his family;

Whereas Edmond Pope has been treated for hemangiopericytoma,

a rare form of cancer, that was in remission prior to his travel;

Whereas Edmond Pope’s father is dying of multiple myeloma, a

type of bone cancer that can be hereditary;

Whereas Edmond Pope should receive routine medical care by a

qualified, trained professional in order to monitor the possibility

of a recurrence of cancer due to his high-risk potential;

Whereas Edmond Pope has missed his annual monitoring visit

resulting in a 14 month lapse since his last visit;

Whereas Edmond Pope’s prison conditions have caused a dramatic

loss in weight and his physical stature has deteriorated;

Whereas Edmond Pope has been denied the basic human right

of proper medical attention deserving of an individual in his

condition;

Whereas two Americans have died in the past few months within

prisons in the Russian Federation and another individual has

recently died in Lefortovo;

Whereas Edmond Pope has been unjustly arrested and detained

for more than 5 months, preventing him from celebrating his

30th wedding anniversary and the marriage of his son, and

during which time his mother-in-law passed away;

Whereas recent events have shown that trials in the Russian Federation involving alleged violations in the area of national security

can take several years;
H. Con. Res. 404—2

Whereas it is unlikely that Edmond Pope would survive a lengthy

trial; and

Whereas United States business and academic interests with the

Russian Federation are beginning to be detrimentally impacted

by this event: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That—

(1) the Congress calls on the Russian Federation, under

the leadership of President Vladimir Putin, to immediately

release Mr. Edmond Pope of State College, Pennsylvania, and

to ensure that proper and qualified medical attention is provided to him in order to ensure that another loss of life does

not occur in a prison in the Russian Federation;

(2) it is the sense of the Congress that if Edmond Pope

is not released immediately the President should continue all

efforts afforded to the administration to secure his release,

including the consideration of—

(A) terminating all assistance to the Government of

the Russian Federation under the Foreign Assistance Act

of 1961 and the annual Foreign Operations, Export

Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act for

purposes of preparing the Russian Federation’s entrance

or accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO); and

(B) opposing any further debt relief of obligations owed

to the United States Government from the Government

of the Russian Federation; and
H. Con. Res. 404—3

(3) the President should increase efforts to secure appropriate medical attention for Edmond Pope.

Attest:

JEFF TRANDAHL,

Clerk of the House of Representatives.

By

Deputy Clerk.

Attest:

Secretary of the Senate.