>> this weekend on the c-span agoork, friday night at 10 on c-span, i conversation with john paul stevens. of founder and former chair microsoft, bill gates, on the ebola virus outbreak in west africa. , they evening at 8:00 director of the smithsonian museum. saturday night at 10:00, the history of the republican party. noon, supremet 12 court lack of her. -- biographer. historians talk about world war i. former fbi agent on

catching the unit bomber suspect. sunday afternoon on a american artifacts at 60 rpm, the 100th anniversary of the panama canal. let us know what you think about the programs you're watching. call us at the following number. e-mail us at the following address. or you can send us a tweet. join the c-span conversations but like us on facebook. follow us on twitter. in march, marine sergeant andrew tahmooressi was arrested. he is still being held in a mexican prison. his case was taken up by a house foreign affairs subcommittee. advocates and veteran , including montel williams, -- two-hour hearing

>> 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 ask 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 subcommittee can submit their opening remarks for the record. now i yield myself as much time

as i may consume to present my opening remarks. welcome, everyone, to this important hearing. marine sergeant andrew tahmooressi is in custody in mexico. i want to thank chairman royce and all of my colleagues that have come back to washington to take part in this hearing. this is a busy time when members are campaigning in their districts, elections are a few weeks away. the fact that so many members have come back for this hearing attests 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 advocating for her son. montel williams, your work on 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

you are appearing on behalf of a good friend. i would like to thank you personally for your wonderful service to our nation. not long after the v.a. scandal story broke in my hometown of phoenix, exposing widespread mismanagement of veteran care on the part of the v.a., i first traveled down to tijuana to visits marine sergeant andrew tahmooressi 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. how he 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. haunted by the hypervigilance that is a hallmark of his ptsd. even 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 from 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 tahmooressi's circumstances are different and 's, but itbergdahl/

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 crossing 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. if we in congress do not have -- don't do everything in our power to get sergeant tahmooressi, an injured war hero, back to the states for treatment, then what are we doing here? making sure our combat veterans 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.

i am optimistic about mexico's energy reforms, the growth of its middle class, and the diplomatic relationship 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 talked 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. i am disappointed and more could 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 for 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 royce separately, that he has the authority within mexican law 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 -- obtained 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 the attorney general 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

treatment that he so desperately needs will send a message and demonstrate to our military men and women who are 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. >> thank you very much. most importantly, thank you to our witnesses today for taking your time to calm 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. mrs. tahmooressi, your story, what you and your family have gone through, more importantly,

what your son is going through, is incredibly heartbreaking. i have never met you before, have never met your son, but hearing your story, hearing the story from those of you who served with him, he is our brother. he is part of our family. he is part of the family of those who have worn the uniform, from whatever branch of service, and who have gone through that fight together, and to see what he is facing now, one of our own, is unimaginable upon coming home. when we serve overseas, the one bright light that we have is that we can come home, and that ome home to our loved ones and to some sense of normalcy. to see now that what he's going

through, to not have that bright light, is despicable and unimaginable. there is no question that our government needs to do whatever it takes to support sergeant tahmooressi as he seeks justice and freedom in mexico. there is no question the state department must make this a priority. while we hope the mexican court and government will do the right thing, and recognize that this case must be dismissed as soon as possible, the reason why we are here is because we know and understand that we cannot let up, that action is necessary, and we need to continue to apply that pressure to force that action and to bring him home. i want to thank each of you for coming today, for your championing sergeant tahmooressi and his freedom. , and continuing to push for this action and being his voice in his absence. thank you all for being here and i look forward to hearing from you. >> thank you. the chair now recognizes the chairman of the full committee, mr. royce.

>> thank you, subcommittee chairman for your work on this issue, for holding this hearing. we had an opportunity to go down and talk to sergeant andrew tahmooressi in his cell. i do want to share, jill, and .bservation sergeant buchanan was absolutely right. he said this was one of the most impressive young man he has served with. he is a very fine young man. he has been through a lot. i think this committee has played a role historically in trying trying to make certain that, in foreign policy, we look after the interests of those men and women who have served this country. in this particular case, a young

man who made a wrong turn, and has now found himself six months after his diagnosis in this situation. now, matt and i had approached the government of mexico on several occasions. one of the things that you had us do was try to get him moved from the prison in tijuana. he is now in tecate, and in a better place, and he expressed that, and we are respectful of our relationship with mexico, but it has been six months. i now feel in our discussions, which we have had in the past, discussions with the foreign minister, and now last thursday, i had a long discussion with the attorney general. with the case -- with the argument that i think we are making here today, the argument that he cannot get ptsd treatment, but less than 10 days

before he was taken into custody, he was diagnosed with just that diagnosis. as the attorney general shared with us, it is within his ability to make a decision, based on humanitarian grounds, if the diagnosis shows that this, in fact, was the case. we sent him that diagnosis, and we sent him subsequently the diagnosis also that we have now from the doctor in mexico. i think -- as matt has raised the point -- it is important to consider, since we have raised this with the state department, . our government took steps to have one soldier released in exchange for five senior taliban leaders. five senior taliban leaders who

had all committed serious offenses, war crimes. all five would be holed up in auled up in front of the hague for crimes against humanity based on the terror they visited on afghan and u.s. forces. all five were determined to be a serious danger to the united states, and yet, at the end of the day, those five, with close ties to osama bin laden and to mullah omar, and to the haqqani terrorist network, have all found their way out of custody. the question is, what steps is -- has the government taken in order to ensure the release of this young marine? and that brings us to the hearing today. as members of congress, we must see to it that u.s. servicemen

and women who are put in harms way to defend our country are properly cared for when they return back to the united states. when they were injured, as andrew was injured by a grenade. mrs. tahmooressi, i am pleased that you are with us today, and i'm equally pleased that we have with us a brave marine who served two tours, combat tours in afghanistan. your son did this, jill. we talked with him about his service. during his time when he was deployed with the second but to iran, sixth marine regiment, he received a meritorious promotion. a battlefield promotion under meritorious conditions. this speaks to his valor and to his love of country.

and to discuss his service, it's an honor to have robert buchanan with us today. i met robert at my office some months ago when he came to talk to me about his comrade and about the effort he was undertaking along with you, jill, in order to secure his release. and he served with your son, as you know, and said, as i indicated, that he was one of the bravest young men he had served with. i must admit here, too, robert has been very brave himself and earned the purple heart after sustaining injuries himself from an ied explosion. we want to thank him and others for traveling all the way to washington. as many of you know, these

physical injuries as a result of that ied attack that andrew sustained leads, at times, to psychological difficulties that we call ptsd. the fact that the san diego veterans affairs hospital diagnosed him less than 10 days prior to this event on the border, and the fact that it results in hypervigilance and memory and can't issue lapses and depression, the fact that he will not be able to receive treatment in mexico -- trayvon . it is because of this that i,

together with congressman salmon, have pressed his case with the attorney general of mexico. last week, after our conversation, i must say, i am confident that a humanitarian release of andrew will occur very soon so he can start getting better and get the treatment he needs. i believe the case that is being made here is a compelling one that will result in the right decision, the correct decision, the humane decision from the attorney general. thank you very much. >> thank you, mr. chairman. pursuant to committee role seven, members of the subcommittee will be permitted to submit written statements to be included in the official hearing record. without objection, the hearing record will remain open for seven days to allow statements, questions and extraneous materials related to the length and limitation of the rules. >> mr. chairman, i request unanimous consent to recognize one of our colleagues, debbie wasserman schultz, who represents the home district of mrs. tahmooressi in western florida, to join us on the committee today. she has been actively advocating on this issue, working closely

with jill and the obama administration and mexican government to try to secure andrew's release. >> without objection. so ordered. >> first i want to introduce the panel, and thank you again for traveling. i know you have busy schedules. mrs. tahmooressi is a resident of florida and is the mother of marine corps sergeant andrew paul tahmooressi, an active active reservist. mrs. tahmooressi is a licensed registered nurse in florida. she has been serving at miami children's hospital since 1980. from everything i have seen, in my conversations from her, one heck of a mom. glad to have you here, mrs. tahmooressi. lieutenant commander williams is founder of the montel williams ms foundation. mr. williams is working on ways to improve the treatment for soldiers who have experienced

blast related traumatic brain injuries. it is great to have you here and see you again. lieutenant commander williams began his professional career in the u.s. marine corps. he holds a bachelors in engineering and minor in international security affairs from the u.s. naval come at it -- u.s. naval academy. sergeant buchanan is a marine corps veteran and a purple heart recipient who was honorably just charged after six years of service. thank you. mr. buchanan was a machine gun squad leader during the training for his deployment with the battalion and help train andrew as a machine gunner. while on deployment in afghanistan, he fought side-by-side with andrew. in august 2010, sergeant buchanan's vehicle ran over and an ied, resulting in him earning his purple heart award. since his exit from the marine corps, he has been active in his community's veterans organizations and has been

attending american legion posts. he is currently working on his business degree. finally the ceo for the mission , of concern veterans. they work to preserve the freedoms and prosperity of veterans and their families. an infantry captain in the army national guard, he served in afghanistan in 2012 where he was the senior counterinsurgency instructor at the counterinsurgency training center in couple. previously, he served in iraq with the third brigade of the 101st airborne division for their 2005-2006 deployment. he earned two bronze stars and a combat infantry badge for his time in iraq and afghanistan. mr. hegseth graduated from princeton university, completed a masters in public policy at harvard university's jfk school of government. jill, even though i will enforce

it on everyone else, i will not mess with somebody's mother. the way it works, you are given five minutes for your testimony. after four minutes, the amber light goes on. when you start speaking, it is green. the amber light means you have one minute to wrap it up. the red light means to stop for everyone except for mrs. tahmooressi. mrs. tahmooressi, you are recognized. >> mr. chairman, ranking members of the committee and congress, thank you for the invitation to testify today. i am grateful for the committee's interest regarding sergeant tahmooressi, my son, and his ongoing incarceration in mexico. as a mother of a high achieving young man, there are a few horrific memorable quotes i recall and wish to share with you regarding my son. i believe these quotes will not only frame the character of my

son, yet will also highlight the current predicament my son is in. in 2006, at the age of 17, he said, mom, i can scheduled for my solo flight today. i will be getting checked off on my private pilot license. at age 18, after graduating from public school, having been afforded the florida bright scholarship, he said, i'm not ready for college yet. i'm going to go to alaska. i want to be a commercial fisherman. one of his favorite shows at the time was "deadliest catch." in 2008, mom, god just nudged me to join the military. i'm going to enlist in the marines. 2010, he would phone home when he could with battle stories. i and a brave mom, a mob that a marine. in 2010, mom, we just got hit with an ied. in 2012, i blacked out.

i felt a top the mrap, hit my head on one part and i was blacked out. they found me. 2013, mom, i am dropping out of the aeronautical university where i was enrolled in a bachelors degree for the commercial pilot degree because i cannot concentrate on the academic work. march 31, 11:25 this year. mom, i got lost, i made a wrong turn. i'm at the mexican border. you need to know this because i have been surrounded by military. in case anything happens to me, i need you to know where i am. the following morning, april 1, 2014, mom, i've been arrested. please secure me an attorney.

april 5. mom, i'm not going to make it through the night. whatever you do, do not come down here to investigate. do not come down here to ask questions. you will be killed as well. i need you to go underground. i need you to cancel your bank accounts, let the broward sheriffs office know, but i will not make it through the night. do not come down to investigate. april 14. mom, i tried to kill myself because the guards and the inmates were going to rape, torture, and execute me for personal information. i needed to protect you. may 1, mom, it has been 25 days. i have been in four-point chain restraints, spread eagle in the infirmary.

these quotes, horrific in varying degrees for a mother, pale in comparison to andrew's statement that my time in mexico has been far worse than my two combat tours in afghanistan. andrew is under contract with the u.s. marine corps. he is still a marine and will always be, but he is an inactive reservist until august 4 2016. he was discharged active duty october 2012, serving unselfishly in operations enduring freedom, multiple combat tours, being meritorious we promoted on the field. andrew felt privileged to serve the war on terror. he thought in an infantry battalion as a section lead and a 50 caliber gunner. he volunteered and was willing to lose his life for freedom, liberty, and the elimination of oppression. he fought not for one political party, yet for the world at

large, including mexico, who does not send their military to foreign combat. suffering symptoms suggestive of combat related posttraumatic stress disorder throughout 2013 while attending university, andrew packed up his ford f-150, the same one that he drove to alaska, with all of his possessions, including his three u.s. legally purchased firearms. his first purchase was in 2007 on the way to kodiak, alaska. that was a shotgun for his protection. he arrived in san diego at the invite of a friend who has a purple heart, 100% disability, who said, come up here we have the best va system in the country. so we did that. on march 12, he received his crisis intake, positive screens for posttraumatic stress disorder.

at the time, he was ordered the cognitive therapy group therapy, the veteran group therapy. he attended on march 20. indeed there is a third medical record in his veterans administration record on the morning of march 31, that famous day when, at 10:30, he pulled out of a parking lot on the california side, a very confusing area, lots of construction going on. he had just come off that on-ramp earlier in the day. as he pulled left and made a sharp left back onto the on ramp, thinking it was headed north to san diego. in a few hundred feet, a blind curve into a barricaded mexican customs lane. there was no way to turn around at that time. in fact, there was no signage at the border at the time. with no visible signage indicating how to turn around

and with no u.s. presence at the border, andrew purposefully stopped at the first mexican official and said i got lost, made a wrong turn, and am here by mistake. i have all of my possessions including three legally purchased firearms. can you bring me back to the border? he thought the customs agent was going to flag him an escort vehicle. but over time the military came aboard. that is when he dialed 911. no one was able to help him including the operator. these facts are recorded and is his evidentiary statement in the courts of tijuana. arrested on weapons and ammunition possession now incarcerated in a mexican prison, andrew is despondent and desperate to return to the united states. his ptsd treatment plan has been aborted. it was aborted on april 1 as mexico did not have the ability to provide combat related ptsd expressive group therapy, as

recognized here. he phones home every day. he is buried complementary and appreciative for the actions of the congress, the white house, in responding to the we the people.gov petition that was responded to on august 28. at that time, the white house responded that they would ask for urgency. today, the urgency to influence expedition is an effective. it is six months and we are still connecting dots. we still do not have the authenticated 911 call in the record. it is supposedly held up in a department in mexico. today, there is new signage at the border for wayward drivers that make that error that andrew made. i'm sure there are hundreds each day that do it.

there is now a new sign that says return to the usa erected in may, and the graffiti laden sign on the on ramp has also been changed. so should any motorist make the mistake now, they do have a way to come home. mr. chairman, i urge attention and collaborative action among the united states and mexico for an expedient resolution of andrew's mexican judicial process, expecting wholeheartedly that release to the usa is justified. my son is despondent without treatment. he needs to be home. thank you very much and i look forward to your questions. >> thank you, mrs. tahmooressi. lieutenant commander williams. >> [inaudible] thank you, chairman salmon, ranking members, chairman royce, members of the subcommittee and full committee. it is extreme the critical that we hold this hearing today and i cannot thank you enough for doing so. also thank you to all the members that made it a point to come back to this hearing today. you have to understand your peers must recognize the fact

that veterans are watching today and for those of them who did not come back, this will be remembered. while the scope of this hearing is limited the case of andrew tahmooressi, i would be remiss to remind this committee that his case is merely a symptom of a greater policy error and how we addressed the needs of our returning soldiers. the failure is unfortunately even more pronounced when it comes to ptsd. we throw this term around lightly, but we have to recognize that 30,000 new cases of traumatic brain injury occur every year in our services. and it does not matter whether or not soldiers go into a combat situation or not. the majority are for training exercises. we currently have over 600,000 veterans suffering from residual symptoms from traumatic brain injury right now in the v.a. system. our veterans from iraq and afghanistan often feel absolutely abandoned by our government.

they have a reason to feel -- -- so. before i begin, my testimony is more than five minutes. there are some points that have to be made. as we addressed it over and over again, andrew made a wrong turn. we have thrown up a couple of terms related to ptsd with that by saying hypervigilance, but we have to slow down and take a minute to understand what that means. although jill cannot say it and others will not, we know for a fact that sergeant tahmooressi's time in this prison has been worse than his time in prison. -- in both combat situations. he will come back to the u.s. it will be treated for his combat ptsd but also his incarceration ptsd. to me this is an abomination. six months. he did not hesitate to say, aye, aye, sir. to go off and serve.

how dare we as a nation, hesitate to get that young man back? we sit here in the city and discuss sending more young people off to die. i have a son that is 21 years old who is asking me over and over again, should i serve? right now i am telling him no. that is coming from a guy that did 22 years in the service. our government does not respect you enough. how dare they treat him the way that they do and the way that they will? andrew's incident is clearly triggered by his ptsd. the hypervigilance when he made that turn in mexico, he made a decision to leave. when he got in his car, he was probably already triggered. just as some of you understand, i suffer from ms, i have scars

in my brain that are synonymous with concussive brain injury. so some of the symptoms are talk about our what i lived through on a daily basis. sometimes depression, sometimes hypervigilance. i can walk in this hallway and feel protected but be afraid to walk into the bathroom. this is what these young men lived through. it is said that we have one of our own right now being held in a prison while we talk about it. it is clear, everyone understands, he is not going to get the treatment he is due. he has served the time, i believe, for any crime that he could have committed. bring him home and let's treat him appropriately. but his treatment was not be just for combat ptsd. remember, treatment for ptsd from being in prison rests on our shoulders.

now, i want to clearly say, i have the utmost respect for the mexican government and the mexican people. i am not one of those who is going to join into the fray of screaming for invasions and all of those things. what i will scream for is the one part of political diplomacy that has not been reached yet. -- used yet. congressman salmon, you pointed it out. it is called political compassion. compassion is what is needed right now. we should not let this case go by and then deal with the other 600,000 soldiers who are suffering and can make the same mistake. my testimony is much longer than five minutes. i would please ask the members to, the entire thing. i would like to leave you with one other point. every nation on this planet and all people are judged, no matter

what religion, faith you are, we are all judged by what we do for the least of us. andrew is one of the best of us. america's treasure. if we cannot treat the best better than we treat the worst, how dare you ask another gentleman to put on the uniform? thank you so much. >> lieutenant commander, without objection, your full testimony, everybody's full testimony will be entered into the public record. i appreciate your great comments. sergeant buchanan. >> mr. chairman, ranking member, members of the committee, thank you for the invitation to testify today. i am forever grateful for the committee's interest in the overview of sergeant andrew tahmooressi's dire need to get

the a hospital treatment as soon as possible. -- v.a. hospital treatment as soon as possible. first off, i want to say, i knew andrew -- i was a corporal when he came to our unit. i was the guy that made sure he had a haircut on monday, a fresh shaved every day. if you have any questions about who andrew truly was, i recommend that you ask sergeant mark podlowski, his brother in arms, his best friend. the two were inseparable the entire time i knew them. you do not truly know a man until you have deployed to combat with that individual. i had the pleasure of taking part in training and deploying to afghanistan with sergeant tahmooressi. he was truly one of the best junior marines i have the pleasure of working with. you task something out to him, there was not a second thought, it would get done. he was the kind of guy that his peers looked up to.

from the get-go, the first day i met his group, when they came to our unit, sergeant podlowski and sergeant tahmooressi stood out amongst their peers. he had a humble attitude, always eager to learn and be the best marine he could be. this was a marine who received a combat meritorious promotion. let me go back. sergeant andrew tahmooressi was -- meritorioust leet promoted to corporal. that alone speak to somebody's character. to be combat meritorious with promoted in this day and age amongst our field, it is a rarity and in honor -- an honor with our gun club, if you want to call it. this alone speaks to the volumes to what kind of individual

andrew is and can attest to his character. on andrew's last appointment to save the life of a fellow marine by securing tourniquets on him after he stepped on an ied, causing him to lose both of his legs. it is in these moments that a man's true character is tested and andrew shined. he did not run away. he ran to help. congressman matt salmon, ed royce, and duncan hunter, i want to personally thank you guys. you have spearheaded our cause in getting andrew home. from the bottom of my heart, i want to thank you personally. they have all sent out multiple letters in support to the state department and the white house. i also had the opportunity to sit down face to face with congressman ed royce. from the get-go, we had his immediate and unflinching

support toward getting andrew's release. the crime that andrew is being charged requires intent here weapons trafficking is not in -- not a negligent crime and true intent was proven as being an accident. please help us get this combat veteran home and into the v.a. for much-needed medical care. every day he is there is a day longer that it will take for him to readjust to civilian life. every military member comes back with different luggage from war. it take different amounts of time to readjust and -- in civilian life. we all have good days and bad but isolation is the last thing that anyone needs. please help us get him home so that he can get the treatment that he needs. thank you. >> thank you, mr. buchanan. mr. hegseth.

>> thank you for the opportunity to be here today. i want to thank chairman salmon, duncan hunter, and everyone else who came back to be here for this important hearing. your forward leaning support for veterans in our military matters and is noticed. i also want to thank my witnesses who are allowing a soldier to hang out with a bunch of marines. ms. tahmooressi, your courageous advocacy on behalf of your sun inspires us all. sergeant buchanan, thank you for having the back of your fellow marine. lieutenant commander williams, using your platform the way that you are makes a huge difference, thank you. i am the ceo of concern veterans i am the ceo of concern veterans for america. our mission is to fight for the prosperity of all americans and the well-being of veterans. we represent a number of growing american families who refuse to accept the status quo in washington. we fight like hell, aggressively and passionately to ensure america's veterans are no longer treated like second-class citizens in their own

government. the ongoing situation with sergeant tahmooressi, who has now been held for 184 days by the mexican government, is another example of our federal government leaving a man behind. in the military we leave no man behind. we are leaving in an active reservist behind in mexico. andrew tahmooressi is a united states marine. he is a machine gun or an infantryman. a decorated combat veteran who deployed twice to afghanistan, meeting the enemy in combat. sergeant tahmooressi literally saved the lives of his fellow marines. he was so good, as everyone said, a meritorious battlefield promotion, which is unheard of. there is no doubt this guy is an american hero, plain and simple. but his service comes with a physical and psychological cost. let me assure you, ptsd israel -- it is real. and if left untreated, especially for those that took place in the horrors of war, can

become deadly. 22 veterans in america today take their own lives. many more struggle in silence. as has been reported widely already, sergeant tahmooressi was diagnosed before he crossed the border and attempted to take his own life in a crowded tijuana prison. the condition has only been exacerbated by his treatment there and lack of treatment in the u.s. he does not face ptsd because he is weak or a coward or a victim. he faces the invisible wounds of war. right now, he faces them alone, with a fewan, advocates fighting for him on the outside. left untreated, these hidden wounds that can lead to the bottle, that can lead to reckless behavior, detachment and societal withdrawal, following my tour in iraq, i

know i dealt with all three. but much worse, these scars can end in suicide. unless, of course, there is a lifeline. seeking care for post-traumatic stress through peer to peer counseling, alternative therapy, family support, or care at the v.a. saves lives. those who manage post-traumatic stress -- they are not ticking time bombs are victims. with the right to be the right place at the right time most soldiers and marines come back and become leaders and pillars of our communities, which we need so badly today. my bottom line to this committee and this government, and to the mexican government is this. sergeant tahmooressi needs and deserves immediate treatment for his post-traumatic stress. shame on anyone at home or abroad that does not move heaven and earth to make that happen. in combat, men like sergeant tahmooressi never have enough troops or ammunition, never have enough time or enough equipment, but they still get the job done. the same should be expected from the united states government. no excuse for inaction is good

enough. he should be released immediately. in the story. -- end of story. before leaving home for the testimony, i kissed my two young sons. i am willing, as a soldier and citizen and father, to someday cause for to the the freedom to fight. but in doing so, i only ask that my government do everything possible before, during, and after they serve to stand right beside them and be there for them. ms. tahmooressi expected the very same thing. is she going to receive it is the million-dollar question. in closing, the contrast before this committee, this congress and this white house could not be more stark. it has been mentioned twice but it's worth mentioning again. this administration negotiated with the taliban and exchanged five terrorist killers with american blood on their hands for the release of army sergeant bowe bergdahl, a soldier who deserted his unit on the front lines two months into his first

tour of duty. as everyone has heard, sergeant tahmooressi did two tours of duty, highly decorated. sergeant bergdahl cost american lives. sergeant tahmooressi save lives. does that not matter? it is time to bring our marine home, long overdue, and get him the care he deserves. thank you for the opportunity and i welcome your questions. >> thank you. i will yield myself five minutes for questions. mrs. tahmooressi, i want to start with you. interestingly, mr. hegseth, after the release of bergdahl, there was a lot of media scrutiny about that arrangement, that trade. the president very boldly said on national tv that as commander in chief, he leaves no soldier behind. that was his policy. i want to ask you, mrs. tahmooressi, has the president

contacted you about this case? >> no, he has not, mr. chairman. >> to the best of your knowledge, has the president made any phone call to the president of mexico to intercede on andrew's behalf? >> not to my knowledge. >> i had a personal meeting with vice president biden the week before the president was to speak with the president of mexico. vice president biden assured me that they would be on top of it. i was told after the phone call that the president did not bring it up. very disappointed. can i ask you, mrs. tahmooressi, how have the mexican authorities treated you as you search for information regarding your son and his location? have they been forthcoming or have they left you in the dark in the process? >> well, the judicial process is one that is done in secrecy, in a sense. i attend all of andrew's hearings.

supposedly, it is to be open to the public, but each and every hearing i attend, the presiding judge asked that i set out in the hallway because there is not enough space in the courtroom. i have not been given any information forthcoming from mexico officials other than a fact sheet that did come out some time ago. yet, i have some questions about their facts. >> i was mystified when he told -- you told me that the judge would not allow you, the mother, to come in and sit in the hearing. you have to sit outside? >> correct. and it is interesting, it is always a hearing room selected with no windows. all of them have windows except for the one that andrew's court proceedings are going on in. >> how about the folks at the consulate in tijuana? have they been helpful? >> the local department, counsel

general andrew erickson, who actually served with andrew in afghanistan 2012. from a personal standpoint, like making sure andrew has a toothbrush, making sure that i'm escorted in and out safely, because there are travel warnings. in the beginning, they had red alert travel warnings to mexico. americans were supposed to keep a low profile because of the high risk of kidnapping. they do escort me in and out, but it is the state department local level, on april 14, that translated the va medical record that i got in san diego. it is the state department in tijuana that flew in the doctor from the u.s. embassy in mexico city. dr. regal did a full evaluation that day. i witnessed it. i received the report from the state department approximately may 1, with the diagnosis of ptsd.

it was translated and supposedly given to the judge, but it was never used, as it was never entered into court as evidence to substantiate ptsd. i don't know if it was not considered legitimate, a u.s. source. that is why, just two days ago, six months into this ordeal, a mexican psychiatrist has come into validate combat related ptsd, which i find ironic, because they do not send their military to combat. the mexican psychiatrists are considered legitimate but not dr. regal, who did a full evaluation from our u.s. embassy in mexico city on april 14. but those documentations have not seem to be effective or considered important. works thank you. lieutenant commander williams, you mentioned in your testimony that him being imprisoned for six months is extremely

counterproductive to his ptsd. could you elaborate on that a little bit? >> i was afforded an opportunity to speak to andrew three days ago. this is my first time speaking to him. i tried my best to keep this off of my -- knowing that when i enter the fray, the press may take it in the wrong direction. he said to me the other night, we talked in general -- i said, are you doing ok? he paused and he said, i have a hard time keeping the bad thoughts out. this is just two days ago. this is a key statement from somebody suffering. he was sending the message to let me know and let his mom now,

it is not going well. but he could not say it any other way. so why am i so concerned? again, this is not about me, but most of you know i suffer from ms for the last 20 years. diagnosed in 1990. i have scars on my brain that are equivalent of a concussive blast. the symptoms i recognize. i am in a treatment protocol for them now and am doing well. however, i know, one day, two days without treatment, these things come back. unfortunately, andrew being involved in a concussive blast, we have just now determined that he has -- well, ptsd, but they have not looked at his brain yet. there may be residual of facts -- effects that would cause this a little longer to be treated and now for him to sit in a prison -- the rumors are he has been beaten, he has been treated

like a pow, not a person incarcerated for making a mistake. he said it to his mother and to his peers, his treatment here is is worse than being in afghanistan. and for a person suffering to make that statement, he knows it. when we get them home this is , just the beginning, but it's also an example of what we need to make sure we take care of for the other guys. >> thank you very much. the chair yields to the gentleman from hawaii. >> thank you all for your very heartfelt testimony. i wish we had more time. i know it's difficult to capture everything you are conveying in such a short time. i understand and can appreciate everything each of you has communicated with regards to posttraumatic stress, with regards to the treatment andrew needs, but i want to take a step

back for many people who may be watching or listening who may not have learned the uniform who may -- or who may have not had a family member who has warned the worn the uniform. uniform and has not had that firsthand experience each one of you has related and put us in a position of any one of us going there. any one of us missing that turned, anyone of us not seeing a sign and ending up in a position where you are getting arrested after making an honest mistake. each of us would be ready pissed off. each of us would be not acting --the coldest of manners calmest of manners understanding , the unknown that lay ahead.

on top of that, understanding the strong case for his character you have made, the strong case of his service and his commitment he has had throughout his life only adds to that understanding and goes to the point of what is occurring, there's absolutely no excuse for it. the most unfortunate thing is that bureaucracy is being allowed to be used as an excuse for his continued incarceration and is being blamed for why no action has been taken. as many of you said, whatever it takes, he should be brought home. my question for jill is after the september 9 hearing, it has then reported your son's lawyer expressed confidence that a favorable ruling may be close and i'm just wondering if the assessment has changed since

then and how you expect things in the near-term to go from the mexican judicial standpoint. >> thank you. andrew's current defense attorney, we have had two attorneys previous to him who did great service to andrew. i selected off of the department but hee reference sheet, states a high degree of confidence that there was a hearing on september 9 where the video surveillance was watched for eight hours and it definitely corroborated andrew's truthful and forthcoming statement by the mexican officials and customs agents. so he believes he's very close

to resting the case now and expects an action of either dismissal or acquittal within the next couple of weeks, especially since the two psychiatric evaluations one from the defense and one from the prosecutor has been filed yesterday and ratified at 5:30 in the afternoon. i believe we are several weeks i believe we are just several weeks away. we are hopeful. >> thank you. >> and for mr. williams, i know that you as well as jill and others have talked about specific actions, phone call from the president, you mentioned the petition that over 00,000 people have signed. what specific actions do you feel will actually truly be feekive in gaining andrew's release that we can advocate for nd we can push for here.

>> first, i want to apologize for not acknowledging you as a ranking member and say thank you for your service. it is right now 11:05. if this hearing is going to stop in the next 10 minutes, i think the president needs to pick up the phone in 15. make the call. make the call to that -- [applause] f you're not going to call the president, call this woman, this once child. he's a father. i'm father. i need to say something else that i didn't say earlier. the reason why i jumped out and decided to become more public, and please, believe me, it's not about me. i have a daughter right now, who's been going through cancer treatments for a year. she's in her second round and came back. the worst of it the last couple of days. this woman, since june has sent

a prayer to my family every day for my daughter. those who wonder why i'm here, this is a father and a mother who have to ill children and i know a lot of us who have suffered from posttraumatic stress don't like to use that term. but if we use it appropriately and use of the right way, it can be treated. it is an illness. i would beg the president make that call. if that can't happen, i would beg that maybe this committee, we issue a joint statement to the president in mexico and say the world is watching. it's time for you to act. >> thank you all very much. >> thank you. the chair recognizes the full chairman of the committee. mr. royce? >> i wanted to go just to sergeant buchanan. i think all of us are hopeful our friend andrew will be back

here soon but what advice i think i would ask would you give him and us on how best approach his ptsd treatment? i would also ask that question of mr. heck since he is a veteran and works regularly with those who have gone through what andrew has gone through. >> thank you for your question. he needs to be with his brothers. the guys who trained with them, deployed with them, know what he is going through. it doesn't matter what rent or what your job was, we've all warned the uniform. when you are readjusting, something about him is his humble attitude. he'll always wants to help. part of the problem is he will elp other people before he

helps himself. he just started though the a v.a. treatment, the process. he was just at the beginning getting diagnosed. that's nothing. that's the first of many steps. it's a long process in the v.a. system. we need to get him in there. get him with his friends, start the healing process. like everyone is saying, isolation is the last thing a marine, combat vet needs that's suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder. so -- >> i will go to mr. hicks, you mentioned also the trade that the united states made for five senior taliban leaders, including former director of intelligence for the taliban.

one of their senior commanders nd one was chief of staff. the chief of staff was implicated in the death of thousands of shia. all five have been involved in coordinating attacks against american and coalition forces and three of the five were directly linked to al qaeda. the united states has taken an action to get them released. one of those five told a senior telegram official and this was reported on the news, his next step would be to return to afghanistan to carry out attacks against american and coalition forces there. let me ask you your thoughts on this and what can be done in order to secure the release of

sergeant tahmooressi? >> knee and my those men in guantánamo for a year. this is personal for those of us who serve in those combat zones. to know what it took, to know the number of boots on the ground who sought those men and locked them up so we don't have to face them again and then to know that our golf is willing to give them away. and then sort of the -- -- a rose garden ceremony with a family of someone who everyone knows who's looked at the case eerted his -- deserted his unit. and miss tahmooressi can't get a phone call. use the pen, use your phone and call the president of mexico and get this done. it's not hard. it's not political. and senator buchanan was perfect

on his remarks about the v.a., peer-to-peer counseling. talking with the men you serve with. also at times with the v.a. there's alternative therapy. quet also and this is not the hearing for departments of veteran affairs, but you talked about bureaucracy. how many sergeant jones and sergeant smiths are attempting to access health care at the .a. and made to wait weeks and months? you know how many mothers i meet on the road when we do events who said i lost my son to suicide as he was waiting for treatment at the department of veterans affairs? that's a scandal just like this one. and another nation where the statement turns its back, as lieutenant commander williams talked about, on those who have given so much for this nation. trading deserters for terrorists and making veterans wait for asic care, unacceptable. >> thank you, mr. chairman. the chair recognizes chairman smith, chairman of the subcommittee on human rights and former chairman of

the veteran affairs committee. >> thank you very much, chairman salmon. i think this hearing perhaps more than anything else that has happened so far will give additional help to andrew and hopefully he knows the strong bipartisan support, the concern and prayers that go out for him >> -- and i would just say to my olleagues, i am not shocked or surprised until montel williams made a oint about pick up the phone and calling a pastor in the united states. this is about calling a friend, an ally in which we have a robust trading relationship. it is a dereliction of duty on the part of the president that he has not made this phone call and put the full-court press on

the mexican government also to release andrew. let me mention, sieved as chairman of the committee for 26 years, including as chairman. ptsd -- this argument has -- been over. the care, even though often delayed the v.a. provides, they have literally written the book for how to care for veterans who are suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder. delay is denial. one day of a delay is denial. i also think it needs to be pointed out six months of an attention to any service connection disability, be it physical or psychological, causes that condition to fester and to worsen. is very going appeal simple and very direct -- release andrew now, today, so he

can procure badly needed treatment for ptsd. he is a hero. he is a bhan who the american people and this congress looks up to and says thank you. and yet he languishes in a mexican prison and we need to do more. again we write law, we fund programs and we do oversight. as congress. it is the executive branch that has direct contact with the and that f mexico phone has to be raised to his ear. and he has to not get off the phone until andrew is released. so i want to thank you. this is powerful testimony and to hear a mother make such an articulate and strong appeal on behalf of her son and has three distinguished americans do so in a way that has to be heard, it has to be heard at 1600 pennsylvania avenue.

it has already been heard by members of congress and my colleagues have done yeoman's work. thank you to duncan hunter and so many others who have done so much for so long that the president has to do his part. andrew has to be on a plane getting the health care he needs. delay is denial. i thank my friend and i yield back. >> i thank the gentleman. i would like to now recognize the former chairman of the full committee, and a great american, the gentlewoman from florida. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. thank you to the chairman of the full committee. wow, incredible witnesses. thank you so much. jill, i wanted to followup on a few things we discussed when we met in miami. i'm aghast that you still have ot heard from the white house. do you play golf? >> no. >> i know you are a nurse at miami children's hospital. that's just walks away from the biltmore. they have a wonderful golf

course. should we invite him to play a few rounds of golf with you, get his attention? mr. chairman, i would like to request unanimous concept to submit a statement from a swept of my congressional district, oliva and jon hammer, jill knows them well. they're parents of a marine veteran, jon hammer, who similarly was arrested, detained for weeks and weeks and weeks in mexico. it's an absolute shame and disgrace that we even need to be here to say -- it says quite a lot about the priorities of this administration. it should not be up to the moms. it should not be up to the wounded warriors, to the family, to the friends and mr. tahmooressi has so many friends to wage this awareness campaign to get our government to act, to press the administration for

andrew's release. and i wanted to ask you about the process you had to go through with the lawyers in mexico and i'm recalling some of the same things that oliva had to go through because it's important that we recognize the similarities between the cases. tahmooressi took a wrong turn, ended up in the twilight zone. and we must get him back. i know that the conflict is prohibited from providing legal advice, but it does give folks some help in finding a suitable lawyer, both you and oliva had to go through a number of lawyers before you could find a good and trustworthy one. is that correct? could you describe the process that you went through to find your lawyers and consulate provided you with a list but was it a list of vetted individuals or more like, ok, here's an abbreviated version of the

old-fashioned yellow pages, select from this and i will have you respond in a second. finally, i would like to ask about andrew's health and his injuries from afghanistan. and ask the panel for their recommendations on how we can better serve our combat veterans who return home. as we heard, an zrufered at least two separate concussions. been d today he has not evaluated from traumatic brain injury. there should be no reason why the veterans shunyi return home, don't get the immediate attention they deserve medically. what do we need to do to make sure that these brave men and women aren't falling to the cracks when they return? and as we heard from mr. williams, the alarming number of veterans who take their lives every day, we need to do more as a society and government to address this issue today.

jill, i will start with you. if you could tell us about the process of finding a lawyer. >> when i got that phone call april 1, mom, i have been arrested, get me an attorney. i did the responsible thing, i reached out to my congresswoman debbie washington-schultz. her staff led me to george rivas of the citizen services in washington, d.c. he said go to the website. there's a website tijuana, mexico, u.s. consulate services and look at the list. so i started down the list and i reached this gentleman's name. i phoned him. he answered the phone. he spoke english, which it is -- tijuana is 10 miles away from san diego yet there's a language barryer. this particular lawyer spoke english, actually u.s. trained. u.s. trained. and he was listed as criminal defense attorney. that experience, i was getting a reputable attorney and he was probably the most scrupulous and

exploitive person i have ever met in my life. he served in the disclosure antement before the judge as attorney and translator and he scripted a mistruth. mistruth. a he purgered my son. he scripted a mistruth and told that this is mexico, forget anything you know about american law. this is mexico, who i believe we sent $100 million to in the past couple of years to help -- help them reform their judicial system. this is an attorney that told andrew that he must say that he st arrived in san diego that day. he was rushing to meet a friend. he's never been to mexico before and he got lost.

when andrew called me that afternoon and said, mom, where did you get that attorney? he just lied and he told the judge that i have never been to mexico. mom, i stood up twice. the prosecutor was there, the defense attorney, andrew he stood up twice to say, no, because he must have understood that. no, i have been to mexico. this attorney hushed hip, told him to sit down. when i called up this attorney that night and i said you said what? i said, my son has been to mexico and my son never lies. my son has some faults, we all do but lying has never been. he's a man of integrity. he said to me, mrs. tahmooressi, this is mexico. you have to forget everything about america. we don't practice common law. we do oral arguments. they are not going to check

niffeds. i said they're not going to pull bank accounts? i pulled his bank account. i see he's been in tijuana twice. and i got validation that he had walked into mexico with his best buddy from the purple heart that invited him to san diego. within hours of arriving to san diego, they were already in tijuana, it must be a popular place in tijuana for the marines to visit. i knew he had walked into mexico one other time. he told me he had walked out of mexico that day when he got in his truck purposefulfully to head back north to san diego because he had stayed at a hotel the night previous, old town san diego. he was headed back because he got triggered in tijuana upon nightfall. he got triggered and thought, i need to get out of here and to my friends in san diego. so that was my experience with the first mexican attorney. and that is why his -- andrew's original court date, i think it was august -- i'm not sure of

the exact date. but he had to go into court and say, judge, i requested this attorney no longer represent me. you know in a sense i fired this attorney because we could not proceed with the lies. we could not proceed with -- we could not proceed with the lies. that was my experience with selecting an attorney. and by the grace of god though, a great man from -- serving california. he's a criminal defense attorney, phil dunn. he heard me on a radio station or tv maybe and he called me and said, jill, i'm sorry, but you don't know how to pick mexican attorneys. i'm going down with you and we will pick an attorney. so we did. we went down there. but this time the state department, the same state department that referred me to the list, we met in their boardroom and we said please provide us a list, a short list.

nd as we typically rank number one as preffal, please provide a short list. so we did. we went through the list and selected at least four to five different firms and selected mr. anita is the next day. >> thank you very much. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california, mr. will bacher. >> thank you very much to all the leaders who have divided their time and effort to make sure this hearing was an incredibly significant hearing that is happening and let me thank mr. tahmooressi for sending me a tweet the other day for something i did not even notice was going to happen. so i did redo my schedule. thank you. we are defining ourselves today.

we define ourselves by our action, especially in times of crisis. andrew defined himself at a time of war, he joined the united states marine corps. i come from a marine family. and i know what that means. i will just say i also know andrew did not do anything intentionally wrong. i went to tijuana and i retraced his steps. i retraced his steps. on the way back when i drove out of that parking lot and made that turn to the left, it appeared i could testify to everybody today, it appeared i was going into california, and once you made that turn, there was no going back until you were in mexico. there is no doubt that this problem was not caused by any to in some andrew

way not respect the law of mexico. that is very evident. today mexico is defining itself, however. mexico is defining itself to us. i have a warm spot in my heart for mexico. i like mexican people. i think that i am speaking for most of us here today. and mexico we look at as a friend. i hope the people of mexico are listening because this thing isn't cleared up soon, there will be hostility they don't deserved being heaped upon them because they will be proving themselves to us that they are not our friend and we shouldn't treat them that way. if they treat an american hero like that, we can no longer treat mexico as our friend. i would hope in a very short time we can celebrate together with the people of mexico, with you and resubmit a friendship

but it will all depend on whether they do the right thing now. they will define themselves that way. we are defining ourselves. the president is defining himself. shame on president obama for not making that 30-second telephone call to the president of mexico and getting this thing settled a long time ago. he's the commander in chief. that means he's personally the commander of people who volunteer to fight our wars, and he doesn't think he cares enough about them to make a phone call, what are they -- are they going to feel more betrayed? they are being betrayed. mr. chairman,end, that i understand the president is in washington today that we not wait for the president and we put a call, a conference call

into the president or today thin the next half hour we call the white house and personally request each and every one of us go and see him to have a meeting to have him talked to about this case. this has gone on long enough. e have a hero -- >> mr. wolf, the -- if the gentleman would yield, i would just relay i myself as well as mr. matt salmon in meeting with the vice president relayed that request, that the president do make that phone call. i would suggest it's quite appropriate for other members here likewise to contact the white house and make that request. >> i think we went to the second guy. now it's time to go to the guy n top.

i would ask my colleagues to join us today in that telephone call. finally, let's just hope and pray and our thoughts are with you. this is a travesty that a brave hero has been treated like this. he did his duty. it's up to us to do our duty. the president of the united states is not doing his. so let's act on this. thank you very much. >> thank you. i yield to the gentleman from texas. > thank you, chairman. sergeant tahmooressi, a marine, he exemplified exactly what -- i believe it was ronald reagan said about the marines. there are two groups that understand the marines. marines and the enemy. and i think that is a true statement. his hearing to me is more than about the way america has

handled this situation of your son, jill. it is an example and a symptom of a bigger problem that our marines and soldiers that have testified have talked about. the idea, the government released five terrorists who killed americans are are on a battlefield again doing the same thing. they're in guantanamo. you have been to guantanamo bay prison. people need to see what it's like. it's no mexican jail. it's a lot better than a mexican ail. we heard about the mex kane incarceration system. as a former judge, i heard about it at the courthouse. but a prisoner, palestine, being threatened and assaulted while

incarcerated, that's wrong. no matter who he is. whether he's mexican national or merican. but still there he is. in that six months, and this is not about the president, but he has had an opportunity to make a phone call in the couple of six months. he called july 3rd, the united states men's soccer team congratulating them. june 20th he congratulated the san antonio spurs head coach for their victory. so he can make those ongratulatory calls. let's make one more and make a statement to the mexican president. i have sponsored with the hairman a house resolution 620 sponsored by 81 members of congress, republicans and democrats. it calls on the mexican government to release our

sergeant. we hope that we can get this solution adopted at least by action before we have to take a vote on it. i think the problem is about letting the contacting the mexican president. maybe that's something we ought to be doing. but that is one avenue we are going through legally to try to get something done. you have all been excellent witnesses. you don't hedge on anything. i wonder why there is no witness here from the state department, why they're not here testifying what they are doing or not doing about the marine that we have been talking about. commander williams, your comment going back to about this is bigger. it's a symptom of other things. our veterans coming back, how they're treated, waiting in line

to die at the veterans administration hospital. i have been -- and i'm not very i.t. savvy, but i have been getting constant tweets i think they're called from citizens in texas complimenting you and demanding congress do something. about our marine. there have been 37 young men and women from my congressional district in texas killed in iraq or afghanistan. men and women from all races, all branches of the service. their photographs are on my wall here in washington, as many other members. we are not forgetting this marine. we are not forgetting any of them, whether they were killed in action or whether they're they come hether back with the wounds of war as you talk about. american public i think stands with our military, all of them.

because as it has been said, the worst casualty of war is to be forgotten. we're not going to forget those who come back and we're certainly not going to commit -- forget sergeant tahmooressi while he's in a mexican jail. it's long past due to come back. i think i'm out of time. so i will yield back to the chairman. i have some questions but i will ask you later. >> mr. chairman -- >> yes? >> can i make one comment and i will hold it tight. >> please. >> congressman paul, i want to thank you for bringing up house resolution 620. as you pointed out, 80 members of congress, both sides signed onto this. unfortunately we need to get this to the floor. it would send an incredible message today, to the president of the united states if the house and congress would go ahead and at least call a vote on this. i should also say that what you stated, the american public knows about sergeant tahmooressi but i don't understand, sir,

what's going on at the political level. in the last 12 days, two governors sat down and had conversations, one from each side, with president nigh ito and neither one of them has raced this question. we asked them both to do so. i was in a meeting yesterday with an individual who is a grand funder of a lot of the campaigns going on across this country right now. he sat with president knee ito -- nyoto three days ago, four days. i said why didn't you tell me that? i would have called you. here's what's unfortunate, we're holding this hearing today, most of the american public has some weird idea he must have done something wrong. that's where you're not backing him. one of the points that has to be made when you talked about the fact he made a wrong turn and you followed this, that wrong turn, what people have to understand is submitted as evidence in the mexican court right now is the video of sergeant tahmooressi pulling up to the checkpoint. in that checkpoint, they gave

him a green light. he could have entered the country, buried his guns, come back, figure out a way to get one back every week. he put his hands up and said, hey, i made a mistake. now that right there is clear enough for anybody in america, for us to understand this is not us trying to get for some reason there are some people who claim he's had to have done something wrong. this is not us trying to get a soldier who has done something wrong back. this is trying to get a soldier back. sorry, sir. >> the chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania. >> mr. marino. >> thank you, chairman. i want to thank you all for being here. mr. tahmooressi, to you and to your family, from my family, we pray for andrew daily. and chairman, i ask unanimous consent to enter into the record a letter that i wrote to -- that i dated july 10th of 2014, to the ambassador of mexico to the

united states of america respectfully asking for the immediate release of sergeant tahmooressi. can i have this letter entered into the record? >> without objection, it's ordered. >> thank you. did not receive a response. again, ma'am, my staff and i will assist the chairman in any which theyor any way request to continue to work on the release of your son. as commander lieutenant williams said, you and your son and veterans deserve more, have a right to more and we need to see that is accomplished. apologize for how

inappropriately you have been treated and i apologize for the inappropriate level of concern by the white house. i'm truly disappointed in that. the president said on numerous occasions he has a pen and a phone and he can do what he wants. at this time, mr. president, i'm asking you to use your pen and your phone that you so continually tell the american people you're going to use. i'm disappointed that you have to be here today, ma'am. i'm disappointed that vets have not received the appropriate care that you should be receiving in this country and the president needs to step up and show you the proper attention. our allies, mexican government also, need to do what is right and need to do it immediately. and again, my respect. i yield back.

>> i thank you, gentleman. the other gentleman from texas, mr. stockman, is recognized. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i appreciate congressman matt salmon and his efforts throughout all of this. in tangent i have to say, if your son is a gun runner, he's one of the worse i have ever seen. to openly raise his hands, furthermore, don't think he brought enough to make any money. it's so bizarre, the whole thing is upside down. what is good is bad and bad is good in this nation. he is unbelievably over there and i actually sat with the counsel general from mexico right after he was taken. gave him a stack of papers on your son. i said look, this is going to grow into something really bad for both of our countries. you continue to hold our hero. this isn't going to end up well

for either of our nations. please show compassion. if you show compassion, you will hit the park. we all at time in texas, we have them come across our border accidently and turn them around. in fact they were shooting .50 caliber machine guns at us and we let them go back in. this so-called lack of -- it's lack of friendship by our allies is so disturbing. i for one am puzzled by it. i would hope this committee in the future here reconsiders the amount of money we're sending down there. i don't think we should keep investing in trip. if we have friends like this, we don't need enemies. i know we shouldn't get into bashing them but i'm really frustrated the because i see the lack of compassion on their side and i see compassion on our side. we just want balance. that's all we ask for. there are some other people that haven't been announced that have come up on the hill on your behalf.

william chatfield, who's a marine came up here and lobbied. i don't want to use the word lobby but spoke on your son's behalf. larry ward from operation speaks has been up here. sam bushman, great guy, he's been up here with his organization, lobbying on your behalf. in my office, prentiss leblanc, a marine has been pushing very hard and anna marie hoffman has been pushing. some of the things i want to just -- i don't know. we are trying to struggle and do something but it feels like we're pushing against jell-o sometimes. every time we push, congressman ted poe, we think that will be the answer and it seems to follow on deaf ears. we talk to the president's people, it falls on deaf ears. this hearing seems to be falling on deaf ears. we have nobody here that should be here. you're here, that's great. but there should be other people here that can pull strings that should be in this hearing, hearing this powerful testimony.

and they're not here. and that's disappointing to me personally because i think in the long run, this will do damage to congress too. we haven't taken up and do damage i think to the institution of the presidency that there's so much silence, silence is deafening. these are heroes from every standpoint and we continue to be silent and industries disturbing. i just -- i would just ask, is there any more we can do too -- besides calling the president, but is there anything we can do outside of what we're doing now that would move the process forward? >> thank you. i mean just simply i would like to see more than 81 signatures on the house resolution 620. so if you could reach out to all of your colleagues because i believe mexico would find that profoundly intimidating maybe if there was more than 81

signatures on that house resolution 620. but thank you for all of your efforts and thank you so much for coming in out of session to hear about andrew's fight for freedom and the plight of our veterans in america. thank you. >> thank you. the chair recognizes a former veteran and congressman from florida, and a dear friend, congressman desantis. >> mr. chairman, thank you for holding this hearing. sergeant tahmooressi is an american hero who fought for us with honor and distinction in accordance with the finest traditions of the united states marine corps and yet he finds himself languishing in a mexican prison for six months. his imprisonment is unjust and the length of his detention is a national disgrace. i think the witnesses here have been phenomenal. i'm only first-term member but i sat through a lot of

congressional hearings and i really want to applaud you. i think you all have brought tremendous insight into this issue and i think it will help educate the american people about andrew's plight but it's inexplicable to me this is even necessary to have this. this should have been resolved long ago and people have mentioned we would like to see action from the white house. it's interesting, if you look 22 usc 1732, this is the law of the land right now, states -- whenever it is made known to the president that any citizen of the united states has been unjustly deprived of his liberty by or under the authority of any foreign government, it shall be the duty of the president forthwith to the demand of that government the reason of such imprisonment and if it appears to be wrongful in violation of the rights of american citizenship, the president shall forthwith demand the release of such citizen. if the release demands it is so unreasonablely delayed or refused, the president shall use such means not amounting tookts of war not otherwise prohibited

by law as he may think necessary and proper to obtain or effect wait the release -- affect wait the release. all of the facts and proceedings relative thereto be soon and as practicable be communicated to the president by congress. i'm not aware of the president taking any action so far to bring our marine back and i don't think we received any information in congress about actions that have been taken. so i would say, mr. president, we have a man down. pick up the phone and do your job on behalf of our marine. [applause] >> and i think it could be solved very quickly like that but i do think, even though it's the president's duty, and i think this falls on him, we do need to speak in congress and not just in a hearing, not just in press releases but in actual votes. so that means absolutely we call up house resolution 620 and we

voted out of the house of representatives. it means, i believe, to say to mexico we send you hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign assistance. that money stops until our marine is brought back to the united states. we need to stop talking in this town and start acting. so i am very glad that you called this hearing. i would like to see more action. and i think there are a lot of other things the president can do. obviously pick up the phone. we have a lot of leverage we can use on mexico to secure our marine's release. and this needs to happen as expeditiously as possible. and i yield back. >> i would like to just say for the record that when we go back into session, if our -- if our man is not back home, we will be moving that bill and we will be moving it out of the subcommittee and i will have every intention to work with leadership to get it expedited on the floor as quickly as

possible. i do have a sneaking suspicion and very optimistic view that good things are going to happen very, very soon and congressman from florida, i know we have all heard that before. but i have reason to believe that maybe some optimism might be in vogue right now. i recognize the gentleman from florida. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i want to thank you, chairman royce, mr. hunter, for going and doing what you have done. the stellar work you have done. i want to thank you all for showing up and doing again, i agree with everybody up here, you guys have done a great job. rs. tahmooressi, the story you're telling exemplifies only the love and concern a mother or parent can have for a child. and the things that you have shared with us are great. i'm reading this here, it says mom, i did this.

mom, i scheduled my solo flight. and you went through this whole list and the last one i can't ead. it's to disturbing, to hear the excitement of our kids. mom, dad, i did this. and to have this turn out, to me it's unconscionable we have gotten to this point. i think of everything we have gone through in this country with our relationship with mexico and it's been brought up, get $300 million a year in foreign aid. they're a neighbor. they're a friend. they're a trading partner. they're an ally. they don't send their young to defend freedom around this globe as we do. again, the store yea you're telling, it's interesting how you brought out the path and turn that's we make in life often lead us in the wrong direction but how many of us

have made a wrong turn that have had this kind of consequence in our life? not many of us. especially as rapidly as it has for your son and monumental for a wrong turn. and i see a young man who went down there who made a wrong turn realized he made a wrong turn, goes to the security guards and says hey, listen, i mad a wrong turn. i want to go back to america and, oh, by the way, i have three guns. i'm telling you what i did. now, as it was brought up, if you're doing that to smuggle them in there, wouldn't say that. obviously, it was a mistake. it was a wrong turn. they need to let them go and for our president not to stand up, he ned his release, yet negotiated and released and i feel legally five of the

all-star players on the taliban team for one of our marines. i'm always happy to get one of our soldiers home. but if we can do that, and he can do that, he can do this and just ask for him to be returned. we don't want to make an international incident out of this. we just want our marine home. we want your son, your comrade home. we want him home. i guess i just want to say i as a u.s. congressman, i apologize to the president of mexico that our marine, one of our citizens came into your country and made a wrong turn. he admitted that. i apologize he made a mistake. and i hope you find in your heart the ability to forgive him and release him so that we don't -- we can put this to an end and get on with his life and on with his treatment. i just want to thank all of you

hat have served. we are well aware of the number of suicides that happen every day in this country. we need to get him treated and get him back. i thought it was interesting president obama along with sergeant bergdahl stated it was a medical emergency, it was a risk to his life that we bring this young man home. if that was true then, it's true now. and i urge this president to pick up the phone and use this pen and bring this man home. with that i will yield back. we're with you. we will do whatever we can. god bless you all. >> thank you. i recognize the gentleman from california, who is also former veteran, also worked tirelessly on behalf of sergeant tahmooressi. great guy and good colleague, duncan hunter. >> thank you, mr. much. thank you very much for holding this and thank you everybody for coming out. number one, we don't call it the marine corps.

we call it america's marine corps. sergeant tahmooressi is a son of america. he's a marine who fought for every single person. when we have marine generals testify, they say it's your marine corps. it's america's marine corps and that's how we should be looking at this case. frankly, i'm tired of the lip service of the thanks for your service while i watch the president give speeches in front of our men and women in uniform so that he could look sexy on elevision. it's just lip service. he doesn't care. secretary kerry does not care. the state department for all of the little things they have done for you, they have not gone out of their way. the first lawyer you got was off their website that they vetted. they do not care. but people in this room care. i would say too when a parent gives their son or daughter up and entrusts their lives to the u.s. military, to the united

states marine corps, you gave your son up for your country and he did it willingly and proudly. i look at those pictures popping up, he's a stud. he is a young killer of bad people. and that's why he joined to go serve his country. and to see him now and what they have reduced him to in mexico and to read that excerpt that you said he told you, where he was tied spread eagle and beaten and threatened with rape, that is appalling. this isn't yemen. this sent somalia. this is supposed to be one of our number one neighbor's, mexico. but i would advice everybody we don't allow our marines at camp pendleton where i was stationed, we don't allow them to go to mexico. the sailors in san diego, not allowed to go to mexico. xico is more than rose rita, cozumel. mexico they make $5 a day. that's their new minimum wage.

it's not a first world country. there's a reason we don't allow our marines and sailors to go to mexico from san diego. they don't get leave sheets there at camp pendleton. they're not allowed to do it. andrew does not just deserve this and he doesn't have a right to this, to this hearing and to this attention, he's earned it. along with about 1% of the u.s. population who served in the military. an even smaller slice of that has served in combat situations. he's earned this attention here today. he's earned this congress coming together and this committee holding this. this is what we're here for. this is why we're in congress. this is why we run for congress and win is to represent people like him so we can go fight for him when people like our own president won't. i will tell you what, i'm tired of hearing about the president making a phone call. what kind of low bar do we have set for this president. we ask you to make a phone call. he had to get his tail and play over mexican golf courses and

get him out of jail in person. that is a low bar to set for the commander in chief. a commander in chief that should go, should go to hell and back for one of their men or women as has been left behind been stated. i have a question for the panel, would you allow your marines or oldiers to go to mexico today? >> no, congressman. >> sergeant? >> negative, congressman. >> commander? jill, would you allow your son or any of your friends who or their kids to go to mexico? >> it's too dangerous, no, i wouldn't. >> in 2011 when afghanistan was raging, you had nine times more likely of a chance to be killed in mexico than to be killed in afghanistan. nine times. afghanistan was safer than mexico was. this is not -- this does not

sound like a good neighbor. it doesn't sound like a neighbor that makes our ford trucks and does deals with all of our big american corporations so they could have $5 a day labor in mexico. you nomex costole andrew's chance at a quick recovery. and i think that montel hit that right on the head. they stole his chance at a quick recovery. by getting rid of this case and acquitting him or throwing this case out now today, or this week or some time soon, they at least set him on a slow, uphill path to being healed. and i will tell you, montel, you are dead on, this is much worse than afghanistan. he probably would want to go serve two, three tours in the most horrible, dirtiest, grittiest combat place on earth than to sit in a third world country jail. thank you all for what you're doing. thank you, mr. chairman, for doing this. god help us if we can't get one of our own back out of the

clutches of a not-so-great government like mexico. [applause] >> thank you. i recognize the gentleman from florida, mr. jolly. >> thank you, mr. chairman. to the panelists, i thank you for your service. i want to associate myself of comments of my colleagues, particularly mr. hunter, we are elected to work. we are elected to actually get things done. as members of congress and president is as well. every member of this panel, every member of this body at some point has probably run against the dysfunction of washington. and when we're elected, we don't have the luxury of resigning ourselves to that dysfunction. we have responsibility to work. that means holding hearings like this. that means actually putting your name on important pieces of legislation like house resolution 620. the issue clearly is leadership. the facts are as clear as they can be. we have established today that we have to get andrew home, that the president has not done

enough. but also importantly as mr. hegseth said, p.t.s. is real. we talked about getting andrew home but we also talked about a very important condition and that is p.t.s. my question for miss tahmooressi is, can you walk us through very briefly -- because i will have a couple other questions as a mom, what you noticed in andrew as p.t.s. began to progress with him. >> thank you. he got out of active duty october 2012. and pretty much immediately enrolled in embry. he was accepted in january. that probably wasn't the weissest thing to do. it is hard to acclimate from the battlefield into a college environment, especially when you have a difficult time relating to your peer group now. so i think it began just having a difficult time relating to the peer group. he would see a classroom full of, you know, people his age but they were disrespktful.

they got up and left. and a marine, you definitely bow down to authority. so he started getting aggravated, frustrated. he was having flashbacks, really difficult times sleeping. so he would wake up screaming. and we would hear him wake up screaming. so a lot of restless nights, agitation. and also suspicion. as the year progressed in '13, he did have a hyper vigilance to self-defend. he still had what i call a hunter/prey syndrome. i don't know if that's a legitimate word. to me he was always hyper vigilant and '13 is when he purchased his concealed weapon. so he had the shotgun in 2007 when he went to alaska but then he felt the need to have himself armed with a handgun and being a marine, he carried a rifle for

those four years. and he was responsible for the biggest gun on the battlefield, .50 caliber. so when he made his third -- his second purchase in '13, his third firearm, the rifle, that also kind of made sense to us. i mean we knew that was his tool of the trade. that's what kept him alive for four years. >> let me pause a second. i want to be respectful of time. we know we had a wait list. i had a conversation with a mother like you refer to mr. heck awaiting treatment in the v.a. and committed suicide on the wait list. what do we need to do more? >> as the congressman said, delayed care is denied care. we hear all of the time from the v.a., it's great when you get in. if you can't get in, you don't get the treatment you need. we have to cut through the bureaucracy. we have to hold leaders accountable for their performance. we need to provide transparency and we need to give a veteran a choice.

if they can't be seen in a timely manner in a v.a. facility, with not a private facility? >> put a choice card in the hand of veteran and let them control their health care. that's the chance of shattering the v.a. bureaucracy right now. you're right. i have one last question, mr. williams, you made an extremely powerful statement in your opening statement today. that you couldn't counsel your son to put on the uniform and carry the flag of the nation. that appears to be failure in leadership, probably systemic perhaps in this body as well as the administration. my question for you is what do you need to see change to find yourself in position to say yes to your son, to say it is ok to put on the uniform and carry the flag. >> over the course of the last four, five months i have been extremely vocal and i'm not going to let up.

i gave the president in this last bill the 90 days that was requested to make a change. i'm keeping my mouth shut for about another 35 days. at the end of 35 days, believe me, i'm not going to stop. all of the claims that were made in this bill that was passed so far don't believe these things were being implemented. just the idea the fact our soldiers were supposed to have the right to go and visit outside hospitals and get assistance that they couldn't get. that's not happening as quickly as we think. one of the things giving a card to say go see a civilian, each soldier has said this and will say this over and over again, we need to be with our brothers. simplest thing this body can do and congress can do, authorize our veterans to go to d.o.d. facilities. augment those facilities to see those troops. this is where we grew up being treated. why should we not be treated by the same people right now? you could end the back log

immediately. >> and the card is intended to empower the individual to stay in the v.a., go to d.o.d., stay with their guys if they want to. but if they need immediate assistance elsewhere and want to go there, put the individual in charge of their own health care. let them control their own health care. thank you. i yield back. thank you, mr. chairman. >> i thank the gentleman. this hearing has been a fantastic hearing. jill, i know that not so long ago, just a few short hours ago, you were actually in mexico sitting outside the courtroom as ordered by the judge to support your son. and now here you are across the country here in washington, d.c. as a tireless advocate and wonderful example of what an american mother is all about. thank you. god bless you. and all of you panel members, you know, your service is truly humbling. i think that the consensus of

this panel discussion, which focuses on a brave soldier who gave his country his everything, it is a lot broader. do we stand for them? and you made a reference to, you know, the veterans administration. , likechucked $17 million we've really done something stupendous. in the last 60 days the calls haven't stopped. and i don't see anything changing. and i don't see anything better. and i'm dubious that it will get better until major things happen. until there's a major mindset change that we care about those that