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[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1175 Introduced in House (IH)]

106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1175

To locate and secure the return of Zachary Baumel, an American citizen, 
             and other Israeli soldiers missing in action.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 18, 1999

 Mr. Lantos (for himself, Mr. Gilman, Mr. Gejdenson, Mr. Abercrombie, 
    Mr. Ackerman, Ms. Berkley, Mr. Berman, Mr. Blunt, Mr. Burton of 
  Indiana, Mrs. Capps, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Crowley, Mr. Deutsch, Mr. Diaz-
Balart, Mr. Dixon, Mr. Dreier, Mr. Engel, Mr. Faleomavaega, Mr. Foley, 
 Mr. Forbes, Mr. Frank of Massachusetts, Mr. Franks of New Jersey, Mr. 
 Frost, Ms. Granger, Mr. Green of Texas, Mr. Hastings of Florida, Mr. 
Hayworth, Mr. Hoeffel, Mr. Holden, Mr. Horn, Mr. Hoyer, Mrs. Kelly, Ms. 
    Kilpatrick, Mr. Lazio, Mr. Levin, Mr. Lewis of California, Mr. 
   LoBiondo, Mrs. Lowey, Mrs. Maloney of New York, Mr. Mascara, Mrs. 
McCarthy of New York, Mr. McGovern, Mr. McNulty, Mr. Meehan, Mrs. Meek 
  of Florida, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Moore, Mrs. Morella, Mr. Nadler, Mr. 
  Pallone, Mr. Pitts, Mr. Porter, Mr. Rangel, Mr. Rodriguez, Ms. Ros-
Lehtinen, Mr. Salmon, Mr. Saxton, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Sherman, Mr. Shows, 
   Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mr. Stump, Mr. Sweeney, Mr. Talent, Mr. 
  Tancredo, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Mr. Waxman, Mr. Weiner, Mr. 
    Wexler, Mr. Brady of Pennsylvania, Mr. Bentsen, Mr. Bryant, Mr. 
  Hinchey, and Mr. Rothman) introduced the following bill; which was 
          referred to the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
To locate and secure the return of Zachary Baumel, an American citizen, 
             and other Israeli soldiers missing in action.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (a) Zachary Baumel, an American citizen serving in the 
        Israeli military forces, has been missing in action since June 
        1982 when he was captured by forces affiliated with the 
        Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) following a tank 
        battle with Syrian forces at Sultan Ya'akub in Lebanon;
            (b) Yehuda Katz and Zvi Feldman, Israeli citizens serving 
        in the Israeli military forces, have been missing in action 
        since June 1982 when they were also captured by these same 
        forces in a tank battle with Syrian forces at Sultan Ya'akub in 
        Lebanon;
            (c) these three soldiers were last known to be in the hands 
        of a Palestinian faction splintered from the PLO and operating 
        in Syrian-controlled territory, thus making this a matter 
        within the responsibility of the Government of Syria;
            (d) diplomatic efforts to secure their release have been 
        unsuccessful, although PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat delivered 
        one-half of Zachary Baumel's dog tag to Israeli Government 
        authorities; and
            (e) in the Gaza-Jericho agreement between the Palestinian 
        Authority and the Government of Israel of May 4, 1994, 
        Palestinian officials agreed to cooperate with Israel in 
        locating and working for the return of Israeli soldiers missing 
        in action.

SEC. 2. ACTION BY THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE.

    (a) The Department of State shall raise the matter of Zachary 
Baumel, Yehuda Katz, and Zvi Feldman on an urgent basis with 
appropriate government officials of Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian 
Authority, and with other governments in the region and other 
governments elsewhere which in the Department's view may be helpful in 
locating and securing the return of these soldiers.
    (b) Decisions with regard to United States economic and other forms 
of assistance to Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, and other 
governments in the region and United States policy towards these 
governments and authorities should take into consideration the 
willingness of these governments and authorities to assist in locating 
and securing the return of these soldiers.

SEC. 3. REPORT BY THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE.

    (a) Ninety days after the enactment of this legislation, the 
Department of State shall deliver a report in writing to the Congress 
detailing its consultations with governments pursuant to section 2(a) 
of this Act and United States policies affected pursuant to section 
2(b) of this Act. This report shall be a public document. The report 
may include a classified annex.
    (b) After the initial report to the Congress, the Department of 
State shall report in writing within 15 days whenever any additional 
information from any source relating to these individuals arises. Such 
report shall be a public document. The report may include a classified 
annex.
    (c) The reports to the Congress identified in paragraph (a) and (b) 
above shall be made to the Committee on International Relations of the 
House of Representatives and to the Committee on Foreign Relations of 
the Senate.
                                 <all>
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