On the recordDecember 31, 2012
My thanks go to the chair of the committee, the gentlewoman from Florida, the ranking member from California (Mr. Berman), and the new ranking member from New York (Mr. Engel) for giving us a chance to try to achieve not just justice but love, the love of a father for children for whom he grieves daily because they were illegally and abusively kidnapped. As the gentlewoman from Florida pointed out, this kidnapping was in violation of a decision by the family court in Massachusetts giving full custody to the father. Members will not be surprised to learn that there have been very few complaints, that I've ever heard of, of there being a bias in favor of fathers in those courts. Some say there's a bias in favor of mothers. There is certainly a presumption, as I understand it, in favor of mothers. So for a court to say unequivocally that the father gets sole control is a strong indication of the unfitness of the mother. And so the case is very clear; but I want in my remarks, Mr. Speaker, to address the Government of Egypt. There's a new government in Egypt. There are points of friction between Egypt and the United States. We have a great interest in a good relationship. The foundation of peace in the Middle East began in 1979 with the Camp David Accords. America has consistently provided Egypt with more foreign assistance than all but a handful of nations.…
