>> a quorum being present, this subcommittee will come to order. we will limit the opening statements to myself, ranking member, and chairman of the full committee. members will then be given ample time to answer questions. if we have time for a second round of questions, we will do so. i like to start by recognizing myself and present my opening statement. without objection, the members of the subcommittee can set -- submit their opening remarks for the record. now i yield myself as much time as i may consume from opening remarks.

welcome, everyone, to this important hearing. korean sergeant andrew tahmooressi, iranian custody in mexico. i want to thank chairman royce and all of my colleagues that have come back to washington to take away sin this hearing. this is a busy time when members are campaigning in their districts, elections are a few weeks away. in fact, so many members have come back for this hearing the tests to the fact that this is an extremely important issue that we want to resolve as quickly as possible. i want to thank our witnesses, particularly mrs. tahmooressi, who has been steadfast and strong inner advocate for her son. , your work ons behalf of veterans is important and noble and it's a pleasure to have you speaking on behalf of andrew. finally, retired marine sergeant robert buchanan, who served with andrew in afghanistan. from the bottom of our hearts, we appreciate your great service

and we appreciate the fact that au are appearing on behalf of good friend. thank you personally for your wonderful service to our nation. not long after the v.a. scandal story broke in my hometown of , exposing widespread mismanagement of veteran care on the part of the v.a., i first traveled down to tijuana to visit sergeant tim received in prison. i had been following his story, how he observed with distinction in the marine corps on the battlefields of afghanistan, returning home to the united states with physical and psychological scars of war. he made his way to southern california where he was diagnosed with ptsd, living mostly out of his truck where he carried all of his belongings, including his three registered guns. have you got turned around and found himself at the mexican border where it is illegal to have guns.

by the time i visited andrew in may and again in june, with chairman royce, he had been through a lot. he attempted to escape and take his own life. so, he was polite, soft-spoken, a brave american who had defended this country and now needed our help to return home. here is an interesting anecdote. on my way back to visiting andrew the first time, just as i was crossing the border back into the u.s., i heard on the news that the obama administration has negotiated with the taliban for the release of army sergeant bergdahl. sergeant hammer received's circumstances are different and sergeant bergdahl, but it still struck me, as it does now, that sergeant tahmooressi served his country with honor twice in afghanistan and now finds himself in a mexican prison after getting turned around and

.rossing the border i am mystified that president obama could not find time between negotiating with terrorists to call our ally, the mexican president, to appeal to him, on behalf of our marine. we in congress do not have anything in our power to get sergeant hammer received, and injured war hero, back to the states for treatment, and what are we doing here? veteransre our combat are taken care of when they return is one of our most honored and sacred obligations. as chairman of the subcommittee, i have been supportive of our bilateral relationship with mexico, committed to our security partnership, and helping mexico reform and improve its justice system. our commercial relationship with mexico is strong and vital. today i feel the same way. mexico'smistic about

energy reforms, the growth of its middle class, and the diplomatic trade that we share. but our significant and growing bilateral cooperation must also come with the ability to resolve important issues. particularly, along our shared border. i firmly believe that sergeant tahmooressi meant no harm or willfully violated mexican law when he crossed the border. when i talk on several occasions with the ambassador from mexico, who by the way, has been the attorney general of mexico in the past, echoed to me the same thing, that he did not believe that sergeant tahmooressi had any evil intentions with weapons in his car. now, he has spent over six months in prison, what amounts to a wrong turn. couldisappointed and more not be done to address the situation in a far more timely manner.

the fact is, mexican citizens violate u.s. law on a regular and continuing basis, illegally crossing our southern border. mexican officials respond by asking the u.s. for compassion and amnesty or their citizens to remain in the u.s., but frankly, compassion goes both ways. mexico does not have the ability to provide sergeant tahmooressi with the care he needs. our war hero needs to come home. last week, i spoke with the mexican attorney general, who explained that while sergeant tahmooressi had broken mexican law by approaching the border with weapons, his combat related ptsd could not be adequately treated in mexico. the good news is, the attorney general explained to me, and i understand chairman roy separately, that he has the authority within a second lot to dismiss sergeant tahmooressi's case on humanitarian grounds once he has expert testimony that verifies his combat

specific ptsd diagnosis. chairman royce and i obtain the appropriate medical reports and forwarded them to the mexican attorney general's desk this past friday. in addition at the court hearing yesterday, a mexican psychologist submitted his official diagnosis confirming andrew's ptsd. now, with all the information available to him, i'm confident and hopeful that attorney will do the right thing and will soon order the release of andrew so he can begin his treatment and move forward with his life back home with his family and friends. once again, we are asking our men and women in uniform to embark on a mission of fighting on behalf of our nation in a war against the terrorist organization isis. making sure sergeant tahmooressi is brought home and provided the t -- treatment that he so desperately needs will send a

message and demonstrate to our military men and women in harms way, that america stands up for our soldiers and our marines. that is how it should be. i look forward to hearing from all the witnesses, and i thank you for being here. i now yield to the ranking member. [inaudible] most importantly, thank you to our witnesses today for taking your time to come in and allow us the opportunity to hear directly from you and to allow us the opportunity to elevate your story and sergeant tahmooressi's challenges to the american people. , your story,ssi what you and your family have gone through, or importantly, what your son is going through, is incredibly heartbreg.