III 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 805 

Commemorating the tenth anniversary of the murder of James Wright Foley 

and calling for the moral courage to prioritize the return of Americans 

held captive abroad and take all necessary efforts to deter international 

hostage taking and arbitrary detention. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 1, 2024 

Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself and Mr. GRAHAM) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Commemorating the tenth anniversary of the murder of 

James Wright Foley and calling for the moral courage 

to prioritize the return of Americans held captive abroad 

and take all necessary efforts to deter international hostage taking and arbitrary detention. 

Whereas James W. Foley was an American freelance journalist, an author, teacher and humanitarian from New 

Hampshire; 

Whereas James dedicated his career to robust, independent, 

and compassionate journalism that took him to war zones 

and classrooms alike; 

Whereas, upon his return after being detained for six weeks 

in Libya, James said, ‘‘for some reason I have physical 


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courage, but, that’s nothing compared to moral courage. 

If I don’t have the moral courage to challenge authority, 

to write about things that might have reprisals on my career, if I don’t have that moral courage, we don’t have 

journalism’’; 

Whereas, on November 22, 2012, James was kidnapped while 

reporting on the conflict in northern Syria; 

Whereas, on August 19, 2014, James Wright Foley was publicly beheaded by ISIS, his death then used as propaganda to recruit for jihad against the United States of 

America; 

Whereas, on September 4, 2014, the James W. Foley Legacy 

Foundation was established to inspire the moral courage 

needed to secure the freedom of Americans taken captive 

abroad, prevent future hostage-taking, and promote journalist safety; 

Whereas the Foley Foundation participated in the National 

Counter Terrorism Center task force, ordered by President Barack Obama to evaluate United States hostage 

policy and engagement with families of those held captive; 

Whereas, on June 24, 2015, President Obama issued Presidential Policy Directive 30, which committed to ‘‘achieving the safe and rapid recovery of U.S. nationals taken 

hostage outside the United States’’ and established the 

current United States hostage enterprise, which includes 

the Hostage Response Group (HRG) at the National Security Council, the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs (SPEHA), and the Hostage Recovery Fusion 

Cell (HRFC) that together pursue recovery strategies, 

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tages, and coordinate the use of diplomatic, law enforcement, intelligence, and military capabilities to resolve 

international hostage-takings; 

Whereas the Foley Foundation has worked since 2014, in collaboration with the United States Government’s hostage 

enterprise and families of United States nationals taken 

hostage abroad by terrorists or criminals and those 

wrongfully detained by nation states to help reunite families; 

Whereas, in 2019, after negotiating the release of a United 

States citizen wrongfully detained in Iran, President 

Trump reiterated that ‘‘the highest priority of the United 

States is the safety and well-being of its citizens. Freeing 

Americans held captive is of vital importance to my Administration, and we will continue to work hard to bring 

home all our citizens wrongfully held captive overseas.’’; 

Whereas, since 2019, the Foley Foundation has annually 

published research in the ‘‘Bringing Americans Home’’ 

report, which evaluates the experiences of American families with a loved one held captive abroad, returned hostages and detainees, and government and nongovernment 

experts; 

Whereas, in December 2020, Congress passed, and President 

Trump reaffirmed the United States commitment to 

bringing home American citizens by signing into law the 

Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking 

Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 1741 et seq.) to prioritize 

and provide assistance to Americans wrongfully detained 

abroad and to their family members; 

Whereas, in September 2021, Alexanda Kotey pleaded guilty 

to eight counts of kidnapping, torture, and accessory to 


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murder of four Americans, including James Wright 

Foley, Kayla Jean Mueller, Steven Joel Sotloff, and 

Peter Edward Kassig; 

Whereas, on August 19, 2022, the Department of Justice 

convicted former British jihadist, El Shafee ElSheik in 

Federal Court in the Southern District of Virginia for 

the kidnapping, torture, and murder of Americans 

Sotloff, Kassig, Mueller, and Foley, as well as three British citizens; 

Whereas, under Democratic and Republican presidents, the 

United States has successfully freed more than 120 

Americans from unjust captivity abroad; 

Whereas President Joe Biden’s July 2022 Executive Order 

14078 (relating to bolstering efforts to bring hostages 

and wrongfully detained United States nationals home) 

declared that hostage taking and the wrongful detention 

of United States nationals constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, 

and economy of the United States; and 

Whereas the targeting of United States nationals for use as 

political pawns by nation states is a grave threat to the 

security of United States nationals traveling abroad, 

seeks to hold the United State Government hostage, and 

strains international stability: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) stands with all those who have been taken 

3 hostage or wrongfully detained, those who have been 

4 released, and the families and friends who fight for 

5 their freedom; 


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1 (2) prioritizes the return of all innocent United 

2 States nationals targeted for kidnapping or wrongful 

3 detention abroad and will continue to take the nec4 essary steps to deter our adversaries from using 

5 Americans as tools for their geopolitical ambitions; 

6 (3) acknowledges the need to urgently work 

7 with allies and partners to develop a coordinated ap8 proach to deter and prevent international hostage9 taking; 

10 (4) condemns the practice of targeting and 

11 wrongfully detaining Americans in order to threaten 

12 American sovereignty and interfere with United 

13 States foreign policy; 

14 (5) supports efforts to ensure that the United 

15 States Government hostage enterprise is properly 

16 resourced and authorized to address the evolving dy17 namic of hostage-taking and wrongful detention, in18 cluding through the Hostage Response Group at the 

19 National Security Council, the Hostage Recovery 

20 Fusion Cell, the Special Presidential Envoy for Hos21 tage Affairs, and supporting departments and agen22 cies to speed the safe return of United States na23 tionals held hostage abroad and deter future hos24 tage-taking; 


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1 (6) commends the personnel, past and present, 

2 of the hostage enterprise who have endeavored to 

3 faithfully execute the mission of recovering Ameri4 cans unjustly held captive abroad; and 

5 (7) recognizes August 19, 2014, as a solemn re6 membrance of the national security threat posed by 

7 maligned captors and its sacred obligation to protect 

8 United States nationals abroad from being taken 

9 captive unjustly. 

Æ 


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