III 

Calendar No. 365 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 99 

Calling on the Government of Iran to fulfill its promises of assistance in 

the case of Robert Levinson, the longest held United States civilian 

in our Nation’s history. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 10, 2015 

Mr. NELSON (for himself, Mr. RUBIO, and Mr. COONS) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

FEBRUARY 10, 2016 

Reported by Mr. CORKER, with an amendment and an amendment to the 

preamble and an amendment to the title 

[Strike out all after the resolving clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[Strike the preamble and insert the part printed in italic] 

RESOLUTION 

Calling on the Government of Iran to fulfill its promises 

of assistance in the case of Robert Levinson, the longest 

held United States civilian in our Nation’s history. 

Whereas United States citizen Robert Levinson is a retired 

agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), a 

resident of Coral Springs, Florida, the husband of Christine Levinson, and father of their seven children; 


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•SRES 99 RS 

Whereas Robert Levinson traveled from Dubai, United Arab 

Emirates, to Kish Island, Iran, on March 8, 2007; 

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, Christine, 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 more than eight 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 indications 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 Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to work cooperaVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:57 Feb 10, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR99.RS SR99

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•SRES 99 RS 

tively with us in our efforts to help U.S. citizen Robert 

Levinson.’’; 

Whereas, on September 28, 2013, during the first direct 

phone conversation between the leaders 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 

the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran work cooperatively with us to find Mr. Levinson and bring him 

home’’; 

Whereas the United States Government is currently engaged 

in regular, direct negotiations with the Government of 

Iran over its nuclear program; 

Whereas March 9, 2015, marks the 2,922nd day since Mr. 

Levinson’s disappearance, and he is now the longest held 

United States civilian in our Nation’s history; and 

Whereas the Federal Bureau of Investigation has announced 

a $5,000,000 reward for information leading to Mr. 

Levinson’s safe return: Now, therefore, be it 

Whereas United States citizen Robert Levinson is a retired 

agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), a resident of Coral Springs, Florida, the husband of Christine 

Levinson, and father of their seven children; 

Whereas Robert Levinson traveled from Dubai, United Arab 

Emirates, to Kish Island, Iran, on March 8, 2007; 

Whereas, after traveling to Kish Island and checking into the 

Hotel Maryam, Robert Levinson disappeared on March 9, 

2007; 


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Whereas, in December 2007, Robert Levinson’s wife, Christine, 

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 more than eight 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 indications 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 Government 

of the Islamic Republic of Iran to work cooperatively with 

us in our efforts to help U.S. citizen Robert Levinson.’’; 

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; 


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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 July 14, 2015, the Governments of the United 

States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, Germany, and Iran agreed to the Joint Comprehensive Plan 

of Action; 

Whereas, on January 16, 2016, the Government of Iran released five United States citizens detained in Iran, Jason 

Rezaian of California, Saeed Abedini of Idaho, Amir 

Mirzaei Hekmati of Michigan, Matthew Trevithick of Massachusetts, and Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari; 

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, on November 26, 2013, Mr. Levinson became the longest held United States civilian in our Nation’s history; 

and 


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Whereas the Federal Bureau of Investigation has announced a 

$5,000,000 reward for information leading to Mr. 

Levinson’s safe return: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) recognizes that Robert Levinson is the long3 est held United States civilian in our Nation’s his4 tory; 

5 (2) notes the pledges by current officials of the 

6 Government of Iran to provide their Government’s 

7 assistance in the case of Robert Levinson; 

8 (3) urges the Government of Iran, as a humani9 tarian gesture, to intensify its cooperation on the 

10 case of Robert Levinson and to immediately share 

11 the results of its investigation into the disappearance 

12 of Robert Levinson with the United States Govern13 ment; 

14 (4) urges the President and the allies of the 

15 United States to continue to raise with officials of 

16 the Government of Iran the case of Robert Levinson 

17 at every opportunity, notwithstanding serious dis18 agreements the United States Government has with 

19 the Government of Iran on a broad array of issues, 

20 including human rights, the nuclear program of 

21 Iran, the Middle East peace process, regional sta22 bility, and international terrorism; and 


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1 (5) expresses sympathy to the family of Robert 

2 Levinson for their anguish and expresses hope that 

3 their ordeal can be brought to an end in the near 

4 future. 

5 That the Senate— 

6 (1) recognizes that Robert Levinson is the longest 

7 held United States civilian in our Nation’s history; 

8 (2) notes the repeated pledges by and renewed 

9 commitment of officials of the Government of Iran to 

10 provide their Government’s assistance in the case of 

11 Robert Levinson; 

12 (3) urges the Government of Iran, as a humani13 tarian gesture, to act on its promises to assist in the 

14 case of Robert Levinson and to immediately provide 

15 all available information from all entities of the Gov16 ernment of Iran regarding the disappearance of Rob17 ert Levinson to the United States Government; 

18 (4) urges the President and the allies of the 

19 United States to continue to raise with officials of the 

20 Government of Iran the case of Robert Levinson at 

21 every opportunity, notwithstanding ongoing and seri22 ous disagreements the United States Government has 

23 with the Government of Iran on a broad array of 

24 issues, including Iran’s ballistic missile program, 


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1 sponsorship of international terrorism, and human 

2 rights abuses; and 

3 (5) expresses sympathy to the family of Robert 

4 Levinson for their anguish and expresses hope that 

5 their ordeal can be brought to an end in the near fu6 ture. 

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A resolution calling 

on the Government of Iran to follow through on repeated 

promises of assistance in the case of Robert Levinson, 

the longest held United States civilian in our Nation’s 

history.’’. 


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asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
Calendar No. 365 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 99 

RESOLUTION 

Calling on the Government of Iran to fulfill its 

in our Nation’s history. Levinson, the longest held United States civilian promises of assistance in the case of Robert 

FEBRUARY 10, 2016 

Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the 

preamble and an amendment to the title 


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