Pro-military lawmakers put to test by Rep. Ryan

We aren’t suggesting that U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, had an ulterior motive when he introduced a bill last week that gives Brazil a financial incentive to send former Newton Falls resident Claudia Hoerig back to Trumbull County to stand trial for the murder of her husband, Air Force Reserve Maj. Karl Hoerig. However, seeing as how so many members of Congress regularly tout their unwavering support for the military, Ryan’s measure will serve to test his colleagues’ sincerity.

If he isn’t able to secure bipartisan support in the House and Senate, the American people would be justified in questioning whether senators and representatives are simply paying lip-service to our men and women in uniform.

After all, how better to demonstrate support for them than to ensure that the murder of a true-blue Air Force officer doesn’t become a footnote. It has been four years since Karl Hoerig was found shot to death in his Newton Falls home. The investigation determined that his wife, Claudia, who was a Brazilian citizen when she married him, had fled the United States and returned to her native country. She is now living there, secure in the knowledge that the Brazilian government will not send her back to stand trial on a charge of aggravated murder with a gun specification.

What gives her such confidence? First, the Brazilian government has rejected Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins’ request for her extradition, arguing that in 1988 Brazil amended its constitution to prohibit the extradition of Brazilian citizens. Second, the failure by the U.S. State Department and the Justice Department to get Brazil to change its mind. Third, the suggestion by Brazilian officials that the trial be held in the South American country.

Given such intransigence on the part of a key trading partner, Congressman Ryan, along with others on Capitol Hill, are exploring other avenues.

The bill he has introduced withholds $14 million in annual U.S. assistance to Brazil until that country amends its constitution to comply with the 1961 treaty the two countries signed that provided for the extradition of any person accused or convicted of a crime carrying a jail sentence of one year or more.

This legislation should be a no-brainer for Republicans who are in the majority in the House, given their penchant for claiming to be more supportive of the military than their Democratic colleagues.

A vote for Ryan’s bill would be a vote for justice — an American was killed and the accused is an American citizen.

American citizen

In arguing for extradition, the Justice Department pointed out to the Brazilians that Claudia, 46, should be returned to the U.S. because she gave up her Brazilian citizenship in 1999. She swore her allegiance to the United States during her National Oath Ceremony in 1999 and renounced her allegiance to any foreign state.

Just because she has Brazilian roots does not make her a citizen of Brazil.

Republicans in the House would do well to join Ryan in pushing the legislation through, while the Democratic controlled Senate and Democratic President Barack Obama should be aware that the heavily Democratic Mahoning Valley won’t forget if Karl Hoerig’s murder goes unpunished.

The political stakes are high, indeed.