U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-14th, introduced legislation on Tuesday, June 27, which, if passed, would require more transparency from the U.S. State Department to Congress regarding how it determines who has been wrongfully detained in a foreign country.

The legislation is informally known as the Marc Fogel Act. Fogel, a Butler native, has been detained in Russia since August 2021. Legislators from Pennsylvania, including Reschenthaler and Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16th, have been pushing for Fogel’s release.

“Since last year, I have urged the State Department to classify (Fogel) as wrongfully detained and prioritize securing his release,” Reschenthaler said in a statement. “The department has failed to do either and refused to explain its inaction — effectively stonewalling my efforts to bring him home,”

The act would require the State Department to turn over all relevant documentation if it has failed to decide whether someone has been unlawfully detained “within 180 days of any review of a case of a United States national detained abroad.”

Fogel, 62, was detained after Russian authorities said they found a half-ounce of medicinal marijuana on him. He was convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to 14 years of hard labor in prison. Prior to his arrest, he had been working as a teacher at an Anglo-American school in Moscow.

Fogel’s case has drawn comparisons to the high-profile case of WNBA player Brittney Griner, who was similarly detained in Russia in February 2022 after she was found in possession of a small amount of hash oil. It took three months for the State Department to determine that Griner was wrongfully detained.

“The Marc Fogel Act will provide transparency into the State Department’s wrongful detainment determination process and help ensure that Americans imprisoned overseas are not forgotten,” Reschenthaler said.

According to Reschenthaler, Fogel meets six of the 11 criteria used by the State Department to determine whether someone has been wrongfully detained as established by the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery Act.

In November 2022, Kelly and Reschenthaler signed a resolution of inquiry asking President Joe Biden and the State Department to turn over all documents relating to its review of Fogel’s case for “wrongful detainment” status, including collected phone records, audio recordings and documents.