tv Key Capitol Hill Hearings CSPAN October 2, 2014 1:00am-3:01am EDT
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safe. texas is exceptional. i am running for governor and asking for your vote to make it even better. >> i want to thank both of the candidates and my colleagues for joining us for this texas debate joining us for this texas debate tonight. >> tonight candidates for governor of minnesota participated in a televised debate sponsored by pioneer
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public television. and jeff n a democrat nikollett. hannah >> tonight's debate highlights issues important to greater minnesota. the final stretch of the 2014 race starts now. the 2014 minnesota gubernatorial debate is hosted by the coalition of greater minnesota cities, the rochester post bull -- bulletin and is brought to you by the public television stations of minnesota with support from aarp of minnesota.
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this election season aarp is focused on making sure older voters know where the candidates stand on issues that matter. ind out more at aarp .org/yourvote. by al-corn clean fuel. they believe in producing sustainable renewable products for the world. al-corn. education minnesota, 70,000 teachers, school staff and higher education faculty working together to gear our students for successful lives. and ask me minnesota council five, a union of 43,000 workers who advocate for excellence, dignity in the workplace and opportunity and prosperity for all working families. and now from the mayo
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significantic center, the minnesota gubernatorial debate th your moderator jeff probst. > good evening, and welcome to yo civic center for the 2014 gubernatorial debate. i'll moderate tonight's debate. the first of five that will be held in the state. tonight's event is organized by greater minnesota cities. and it's being broadcast live on public tv and well beyond and thanks to our public tv sponsored tonight. >> we're joined by the three major candidates. incumbent governor mark dayton, republican commissioner jeff hnson and independence
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candidate hannah nicollett. thank you for being here and you can applaud. [applause] >> ok. leer the ground rules. i read the question. you have 90 seconds to respond. we have timekeepers to keep us on track. i have the discretion to allow a 30-second rebut tall. or i'll ask another one if the candidate hasn't addressed the question. so it behooves the candidate to address the question. e'll have a lightning round. very quick yes or no questions. then we'll resume with more questions and the candidate has two minutes of clothing statements. -- so that's a lot of work to do in an hour.
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we determined who gets to respond to the next question. we have one hour. we appreciate if you hold your applause. candidates have a lot of friends here tonight as you know. and the best way you can help your candidate is by holding your applause until the end. so are we ready to roll? first question is on minnesota's economy and tax and spending issues. one of the first task is to ubmit a budget to the state. they stimmed a surplus of $3 million for the next budget. what changes would you make in minnesota's budget and tax system to enhance minnesota's business climate? you go first followed by governor dayton and ms. nick let. >> i just want to thank you and the hosts reporting this together tonight.
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i do appreciate i. i think here is where you're going to see a fundamental difference as to where we put the economy. i've been told that every state that surrounds us has billboards up open for business. come to us. we don't have those billboards. and unfortunately, those billboards are working we learned from the bureau of labor statistics last week that over the past year minnesota has actually had the worst job growth rate in the midwest and the 44th worst in the country. we've seen underemployment in minnesota is at 53% which means that half the people in the state are actually overqualified and probably underpaid. and that all directly relates to our taxing and regulatory and in some cases spending policies in this state. you are going to see my work hard to reform our taxes. i have a strong belief that the tax system should be low, broad and simple. and almost any economist will
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tell you that that's what you immediate to do. i suspect you'll see big changes in the second biennium rather than the first because we will only have a few weeks to make changes. but if we have a simple tax system, we're going to encourage the growth of the good jobs that we've been losing to states around us these past few years. >> thank you. the state projected $6.1 million. so i would say that the fiscal situation of the state at that time was dire. now we're looking at a surplus the $3 million and it was transferred over the health care access fund. we don't owe the schools anything and we eliminated most
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of the rates from the other accounts. so we've got a sound fiscal platform from which to go in the future. now, the next -- revenue forecast at the end of february will set the table for what we have to work with. but, you know, i don't see raising anyone's taxing. i think we make taxes less regressive in minnesota due to the actions we took in 2013. we have the cost of government which has been wildly claimed in the past as the best barometer as the best taxation in the capacity of the people in state. one of the hosts has been record. e have spending under control. we have higher education. in all day kindergarten. were we have 160,000 new jobs in which to go further. >> ms. nicollett.
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>> first of all, i would like to thank you for having me. after that, where we're going i agree that -- they came without a statistics in regard to our private role. our economy is growing at about .8%. and we need -- we need private sector job growth because that's what creates wealth. wealth is stuff and services that people actually want. and government jobs aren't usually wealth producing some of the first thing i'd like to do is get rid of the corporate tax. it's the third higher in the nation. there's nothing you can do about the fact that med tronics are going to ireland where they vonl 12.15%. it's also only 4% of revenue. first thing to go is we would put a fail on having a business
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in minnesota. and i would expect it then that we would grow revenue. when you make it cheaper, businesses want to come to your state. i would also address our regulations. we have -- we have an abundance -- if you have a wet land. your business, your business whatever it is. some of these would conflict with one another. i say we go to one standard and the answer is yes or no. >> we're tufe a good start. >> question number two is on local government aid. they help. l.g.a. has been successful in city and has helped provide services. in 2014 cities had the third . west levy inthrough during
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so here's the question would you make lga a budget priority r -- funding levels. it's your turn to go first. >> i made it a priority because it is essential for providing the kind of services that people depend upon such as and , fire protection, the way it's been setup creates governments anisettes up a term by which they can operate. the two main sources of revenue, one is the appropriate tax. minnesota do that cities have noticed that over services to be
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cut. and the , 14 incress result was that it was noted. and the state in the nation. an he history of the last some need k and do ed investigations. er a quit on the machinery. who wants to dominate. they budget for the next day which will depend on the forecast i mentioned earlier. but it absolutely will continue to be a strong priority of mine. >> ok. >> i believe it's a priority in the sense that it's an issue of unfunded mandate. the city requires them to provide services that they don't pay for. so that's been a problem for
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cities. they don't have the funs to pay for the services that they're required, you know, like protection that they're acquired by the state to provide. so in the way that i see it, any service that the state requires, the city -- but you don't expect to pay for it yourself. so i believe that if the state is requiring it of a city then we should be willing to pick up the tab for it. whether it's child protective services is under the constitutional responsibilities of. and so child protective services falls under that -- falls under that balloon. >> thank you. >> ok. >> there was an increase in local government ed. but they were the largest portion of it and that's at the
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direct expanse of communities in greater minnesota. my has been a pretty -- in ways this stays. whether you're looking -- wherever we spend our education. whether you're locking at so of the regulations that are killing our form farmers and our loggers in this state. that ther you look at there's a central philosophy. i believe the original intent of lga. it is for community who is have a low property tax and the suer to provide like like and water. i think we've moved. and we're directing it. the.
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i won't make that promise but i will promise to do everything i can to direct the money that's already in local government add the communities that actually need it because that's not actually happening right now. >> unemployment rates right now in rochester are 3.3%. you look at the projects downtown in both the cities as well as st. carl. the focus has been on greater minnesota and that's why the economy is expanding. men estion number three,
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chure was this the news today. the geographic of disparities have been linked in access to to the hospital and clinic systems. . . nicollett is your turn >> they just had the largest enrollee prefered one drop out of the program. we're now looking at and they had the lowest rates. and of course there have been all kinds of problems and the whole rollout went out.
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so would probably have to -- will probably have to fix it as long as there is a federal mandate that requires that we have federal health insurance here at the state. and i don't see handing over federal control if we have a federal exchange and then we lose the federal subsidies. that addresses another subject which is our -- which is how much we receive back from the federal government already. minnesota sends $90 million and we only receive about $50 million. so we get about 50 cents to every dollar. if we don't have menchure then we don't have the necessity thatss that come on the exchange. you don't receive the federal subsidies. we need to implement it. if i learn anything as the software developer is that you don't reinvent the wheel.
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we find software and administrative handling of an exchange that's actually working well and we tailor it to minnesota and implement it ere that would be my suggestion. governor, you desperately wanted to be the first state in the country to implement obamacare in this form. it's hurting thousands of people. 14,000-plus people who have been forced because of menchure. we've seen rates increase. they're about to spike next year. we have the highest deductible in the country. we have parents with babies who can't get their baby insured for months because this is such
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a mess. i can't sleep over it. hundreds of thousands of minnesotanas can't sleep. so i'm going to ask for a state innovation waiver so we can bring some of the things we had back. so in the short term i will tell you right now i will fire every member of that board and staff because they're incompetent. i will take away their ability to make rules without public input and they will work very hard to remove barriers for the public sector to come people. we used to be the best in the country. we're not anymore. i think it's time that we have a governor who will do something about i. >> -- about it. >> governor? >> for the second year now in a row minnesota will have the lowest rates of any hale
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exchange in the country. so we succeeded in keeping the insurance cost relatively low. there's a 4.5% increase. it varies from one place to another. we brought it down by 40%. have the second loast uninsured thousands of people had access that they didn't have before. qualification for preexisting conditions because of feelings on the total amount of expenditures, lifetime. a number of other days where this has opened the door for people to be able to afford and be assured of they'll have quality care. ey're misleading 140,000 people. and we're required to become so.
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so they in turn have to adjust those plans. that's one of the purposes of the affording care act is to insure people to insure people that they're going to have coverage. over half of the bankruptcies country. and most of those people have insurance. >> we're looking for straight up yes or no answer. >> do you support the new mandate, commissioner johnson? >> absolutely not. this is a great example of a difference between the governor and me where the belief is government always knows beth best. should choose rs
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if they want a sprinkler system or not. >> and people who put out their and are no no position it's for their safe rather than in those residents. >> >> i want to make sure that every luxury is availability to put into building codes. it's only affordable to the wealthy. >> if you're at a lower income that could make a difference. every 5,000 you add on to the price of a house, eliminates people. so i support affordable housing and i wouldn't mandate it. >> responding to the governor's
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comments on firefighter. >> sure. i don't think the lobby or how much we agree should be dictating our policy what it comes down to is exactly what hannah said. because of this new mandate which the parties didn't seem to like. they're pricing some people out of being able to buy. >> number two in the lightning round, the state has created a $to 20 million fund to expand the infrom structure. he will earn an additional $2 million for next year. dayton -- that's one offer my favorites. limited between $3 million. it's a very expensive proposition buzz that's a step in the right direction.
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>> well, i support broadband access. and i do think it's a hindrance to be able to do business. you know, our new mail service is the internet. but as far as how it's been aloe cate. my concern is that -- right now we're at about 99. down low speeds. 25%.'re looking at about i would probably rather see because what we've had problems with is that the government has been competing with target usiness.
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>> $200 million is very important. we're on the cusp of new technology. so we're looking at satellite nd what noment >> we want to make sure that the scrools hooked up. and make sure that all of our areas that are currently not covered right now are covered. i do want to ask -- so would you support the task? that are d to areas not already connected. >> ok. >> i don't know if i would support that exact number. i don't know where i'd end up. i can tell you that the broad babbed connectivity would be a grown wrong. if we be a competitor, every area of the state has to be
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connected. i'm not a big fan of the market but if we can use the money to i would this man. >> do you support develop ys of between rochester. the project's called zip rail. so we're going with ms. nick let first this time. >> the rails that i'm most concerned about right now. we have farmers with grain that's sitting on rail and not able to move. -- it's t a cry sick $7 million. and we have 1,000 bridges. so we keep drafting millions on people rail and even though, you know, even though i've got nothing against it, my concern is that we're not focusing on
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our needs instead focusing on our wants. we need those roads an bridges. having good roads and bridges is essential to your economy. and that's where i would focus the effort right now. and coming up with $7 million. so i believe that we can easily find the seven to nine billion that you need. it's setting us back. that would be my primary concern. i'm less concerned with rails. those should be secondary. >> commissioner? >> show me the cost benefits analysis. they're in efficient use of transportation dollars. i'm skeptical. if somebody can prove that to
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me then i'll certainly consider it. >> mr. johnson needs to go hrough a couple. i strongly supported the medical center and the state of but this area will be transformed. may yo is probably -- he's going to be a phenomenal impact on our state. the industry and minnesota between -- you ever seen nnesota and mayo has that -- opportunities and a zip rail line which it has to have connection. >> a few more lightning rod questions. the most recent proposal to the minnesota constitution qur ighly.
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should the threshold be raised to insure the consensus. and christopher johnson, you're first. i think it's proven to have orked in the past. >> last one. >> my great grandfather would turn over in his grave. but i don't think. we have automobiles from other companies. they own a shop on sunday. not more -- population is -- not here sundays so it gets hurt to say one day, you can do this. you can't do that, ok?
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>> yeah, you know, any legal product should be able to sold any day. >> we have a religious holiday for christians. saturday night is sabbath for jewish people so why ded did we pick sundays in particular. it seems unfair to others. but regardless any legal roduct will be sold any day of the week. >> i wouldn't support that. and i'm against the fact that 60% of minnesotans. ok. commissioner johnson. >> and this is frustrating to me because everybody says let's do it. but the last two years there. we'll get it down. thank you. >> after that a little
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excercise. we'll go to -- this one's about definition medical center which is topic a. it's a new approach for public private partnership. the plan calls. before approves. the commission of efforts that ill drive economic growth. for targeted so here's the question. do you agree with how it was structured as a way to support regional development. and we'll just sport similar artnerships elsewhere. nicollett you're up first. >> besides the plan that i blive it's been put in place d it's a medical ma'am avement and so, you know, we
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should keep our promises but problem with the multiplyier is their our attorney general and our governor's office aren't even in chunecation right now. i don't know if you've seen our -- we've been working as a team. so all i've -- five of us have pulled together. we're working on. and we believe in. that's what i believe in being a teen player that's kind of what we see the roll finding talent. and tag ling issues. the fact that the attorney general and ghove nor aren't even in communication. i would like to see us working ghent. thank you. >> commissioner johnson. >> i believe that the emcee is very good for rochester and is
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very good for minnesota. role to play in public-private partnerships when it comes to paying for things like roads and bridges. i would have had a difference of opinion on the definition of infrastructure with respect to this. had i been a legislator, i would not have supported it. had i been governor, because i recognize the importance of it, i would have figured out how to work that difference out. so i think it is something that s important. as hannah mentioned, it will come up again next year because we had an understanding of what was in the bill and there was a disagreement with the attorney general office. some people have said it is an asy fix. there is never an easy fix when you open something controversial.
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it will probably be difficult. i will work to get it done as governor. > governor dayton. >> it would not mean to be fixed if it did not exist at all. they said we had this vision for the future of the state of minnesota. a medical care, medical technology. it was bipartisan. the representation in rochester is bipartisan. we want to partner with you, and you, mayo, the private donations you're going to race. you would not have had anything to fix. so in this case, we will get this matter resolved the beginning of the next legislative session. we will proceed. it is a phenomenal project for the state of minnesota, for easons i described before. should it be a model for other
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partnerships of that type? bsolutely. this is where there is disagreement. i believe there is a real to rovide incentives and to partner in order to make these projects happen. you can look at jackson, minnesota, you can look at shutterfly, all over the state there are projects we have moved forward. the same kind of seeding that is crucial to get the projects going. >> commissioner johnson, can you envision this model being used in other parts of the state? >> i can see it being used in other parts of the state as long as the definition of infrastructure is truly about infrastructure, roads in particular. there would probably be some negotiation.
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>> i would agree when we provide what we promised to provide as a state for a new infrastructure, roads, sewage, all of that, then it is absolutely effective. yes, provided we are providing transportation and nfrastructure. >> ok. that leads into the next question, on transportation. minnesota faces offending challenge by every level. it will follow $12 billion short over 20 years. last year, a program was created to remove bottlenecks and increased capacities on highways. 10 received funding. and a task force of mayors are working to develop programs and plans to fund local road improvements. here is the question. what is your vision for investing in minnesota's transportation system?
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as well as the commerce program and how will it be funded? kind of a big question. commissioner johnson, you get the first crack. >> first of all, i will support the program. i happen to believe we do not spend enough money on roads. that might be the only area of government i'm willing to say hat. the problem has become, all of the energy, all of the focus in transportation is on everything but roads and bridges. it is on trolleys, streetcars, ike paths, and sidewalks and complete streets. that is exactly backwards. because we rely upon roads and bridges by far more than anything else. even if you do not drive a car, you reply upon roads and bridges to get goods to your grocery store or to get the firetruck to your house if you have a fire. my focus is going to be heavily n roads and bridges.
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yes, we do have a funding problem with that. the gas tax is not going to cover what we need to do. part of that his priorities. it is about saying we are going to put this at the top and rather than spending all of these other things, we're going to say this is where we are going to spend first and worry later. i'm also someone who would be willing to support binding when it comes to transportation rojects. that might require a constitutional change. i would be willing to push that forward. we've got to focus on roads and bridges over all of these other forms of transportation. > governor dayton. >> i agree about increasing expenditures and increasing the capacity. right now the department of transportation, 20% of its revenues for the bonds it has issued, it is a capacity and that is definitely something that needs to be addressed the ext legislative session.
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there is a $6 billion gap over 10 years between what we need to spend just to keep the system as it is now, maintaining the status quo, which is deteriorating over the last couple of decades. greater congestion. more accidents. more fatalities. so next session we are going to face up to coming up with additional money to make those investments to at least break even and ideally improve the system. some will say we will get -- which is important, but it will not come close to the additional expenditure necessary. the people of minnesota have to decide, through their elected representatives, are they satisfied? willing to pay additional money to be able to make that or do we want to improve things? or are we willing to let things to deteriorate, which will
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appen? > commissioner johnson, do you want to respond to that? >> yeah, just -- i, when i say we need to prioritize, my answer was not to find efficiencies, although i agree we need to do that. the problem is we have not made this a priority. particularly the last two years. if you look at the bonding bill, i would love to talk about the office building. we are spending more on that then roads and bridges. so the rarities have not been there. we need to actually put this at
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the top of the list. it is the only way to get it done. >> ms. nicollet, on to you. >> this is, constitution, transportation, one of the responsibilities of the government. it is a public good. not taking care of the roads and bridges costs money, whether you use the roads are not, because you end up thing for it. via emergency services. the return on investment, every dollar you put toward, just on a cost-benefit if it, every dollar comes back to you three dollars to four dollars each, versus light rail where you get .42 on every dollar. so the cost-benefit does not benefit all of minnesota. it is another instance where the twin cities and up getting the lions share. as far as priorities, we need to move those. somehow we found about $4 billion on the stadium and light rail. all of those things we have been throwing money at and meanwhile we have been neglecting roads and bridges for a long time. i have spent my entire life here. i am 40.
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i have been here a while. and i would like to see us, however we get it done, we need to make it a priority. so, first of all, we need to rioritize. we have to stop buying toys, when we need food. and after that, if we need to raise the gas tax by a certain number of sense to make it happen, we need to make it happen. >> thank your. the next question is on the workforce and jobs in minnesota. according to the department of employment, job creation across the state has been uneven since 2010. employers across minnesota including rochester say it is tough to find qualified mployees for many types of
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jobs and is as we evolve, there is concern about whether people will step into those jobs. as governor, would you support this $10 million program? in what other ways would you address the worker shortage and the shortage of trained workers? >> good question. if you can do your best, governor dayton, you are first, followed by ms. nicollet and commissioner johnson/. >> your preamble has its own contradiction. the way you say economic growth is not occurring around the state and then you say we don't have enough workers for the jobs and we don't have enough housing. we wanted to expand and create more jobs and can't because of barriers such as the lack of housing. working to increase the housing for people they want to hire. and down on the border, jackson hrough worthington, can expand because of water deficiencies, which the bonding bill is focused on correcting.
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so i dispute we don't have good economic growth going on over minnesota. not uniformly, but very much the same kind of moving forward. so yes we need to train people for the jobs. i was on the range looking for welders and engineers in order to expand. yes, absolutely. we need to realign the trading programs starting with high schools and even junior high schools and get them aligned with campuses to train young people for the jobs of the future, rather than the jobs of he past. that will require investment to bring modern technology to those facilities. the payoff is significant and when we should pursue. >> are you for the $10 million program? >> yes. the federal government has
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myriad job-training programs. i'm not sure there is a lack of funds. so in that respect, it is for the equipment, the technology and the building improvements that are necessary so that the people are able to get the jobs that are out there. >> ms. nicollet. >> would you repeat the question with regard to the $10 million program? >> i'm sorry. >> would you repeat the question? >> $10 million used for job training solutions. more generally, what would you do to generate more training programs for workers. >> ok. then you also mentioned economic development in the rural areas. so economic development, i would like to get rid of the corporate tax. i believe that would start more businesses in rural areas and in the twin cities. that is going to affect all areas of the state equally. we do need to get all areas of the stay connected to the internet. that is another area where rural areas are deficient. education is also an area three and need to address the achievement gap. we have schools that have major problems we have not addressed. we could look at him a we do not need to reinvent the wheel, there are areas that are having tremendous success and we could implement what they have done, provided we are willing to innovate. we have to be willing to make the changes at the state. and to not be student-focused and policies. so we attack education. we go after the business taxes that have been prohibitive. get rid of those. i believe we would flourish. and as a state, we provide for good infrastructure. ll of that provided in the rural areas, their connection, education, and we would see economic growth, without a doubt.
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>> ok. then you also mentioned economic development in the rural areas. so economic development, i would like to get rid of the corporate tax. i believe that would start more businesses in rural areas and in the twin cities. that is going to affect all areas of the state equally. we do need to get all areas of the stay connected to the internet. that is another area where rural areas are deficient. education is also an area three and need to address the achievement gap. we have schools that have major problems we have not addressed. we could look at him a we do not need to reinvent the wheel, there are areas that are having tremendous success and we could implement what they have done, provided we are willing to innovate. we have to be willing to make the changes at the state. and to not be student-focused and policies. so we attack education. we go after the business taxes that have been prohibitive. get rid of those. i believe we would flourish.
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and as a state, we provide for good infrastructure. all of that provided in the rural areas, their connection, education, and we would see economic growth, without a doubt. >> thank you. commissioner johnson. >> let me first mention when the governor said economic growth is going gangbusters in minnesota, it is not. we learned that from the bureau of labor statistics. they told us we are the worst in the midwest in job growth rate. the kauffman foundation, which s a nonpartisan group, shows if you look at the last four years, minnesota has the fewest number of new businesses in the country per capita. it is an issue all over this date. but it is problematic in greater minnesota and part of that is because we have not aid attention to greater minnesota these last few years. number one is
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infrastructure. fund growth in greater minnesota and work to expand broadband. i think that is important. another piece is economic development in general and having a governor willing to be a cheerleader for greater minnesota. i was born and raised in detroit lakes. we went to school in morehead. our roots are in greater minnesota. i am somebody who will be here a lot to cheerleading for greater minnesota. and finally, here is a difference between the governor and me, we have some opportunities around the state to create great jobs. one of them is mining in northern minnesota. those are literally hundreds of really good paying jobs. they are desperate for those jobs on the range. we are slow walking that process. i do not think it will open if the governor is reelected. i will do everything i can to get it open if i'm governor. >> i should give you 30 seconds to respond to the last part of hat comment.
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>> the commissioner has decided before the review process is omplete he is on one side, which means the final outcome, to jump in at this point before the environmental impact statement, which is close to completion, to jump in now and say forget about the environmental considerations and everything else, i'm going to pander to northern minnesota to try to get their jobs is irresponsible. >> i will let the other candidates to respond as well. >> yeah, governor, i did not say we should ignore the regulatory process. we have been through seven years. i have spent hundreds of millions of dollars and what we have seen is they can do this in an environmentally friendly way. which is important. i do not think we should make the review process easier. at least push through it to make sure it happens in a timely and fair way.
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we are dragging this out so we can say after the election we are not going to open this thing. >> ms. nicollet. >> regarding mining. the last impact study gave it a rating on par with the green line. so we are at a point where we could go ahead. my only concern is we've had some instances where we might have declared bankruptcy because there are a lot of cost involved. it takes about $200 million, provided that money is set aside and it is available and will not be abandoned. then absolutely. we need it for economic growth. > that is at for questions. now each candidate gets two minutes for a closing statement. again, we cut cards to determine who goes first. we have time for "texas hold 'em", if anyone is interested. hannah nicollet will go first followed by the commissioner
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nd the governor. >> i appreciate that because this is the only debate i have been confirmed to participate n. so i sincerely thank you for that. and i also want to make -- i should probably introduce myself. i am a mom of two kids. a three-year-old and a seven-year-old. my husband is over here. i'm a former software developer. people wonder, what does that have to do with the governor? i love to solve problems. and personally, i love to build teams. so my lieutenant governor candidate is by far the best. he presented a new model for developing ag policy. i believe in teambuilding. and the independent party. we are working together. that is how we would like to
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solve problems as a state. so why minnesota? i love my state. this is my dream job. i would rather be governor and president of the united tates. as such, i think we can work together much better than with he special-interest. the independent party needs a voice because we represent the eople. we truly do. hen 68% of the people said they wanted the viking stadium privately funded, what about privately funded the legislators not understand? when they can't get it passed, then they have backroom deals and when they had -- if you have more than four people in a meeting, you are subject to open meeting. they only had four people in the meeting. the press said they were talking about fishing regulations, all to give us hat we did not want. you should not need a high paid lobbyist whether you are a child, you are abused, you
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should not need a lobbyist to represent you. and my administration, you wouldn't. >> thanks very much. we can do that after closing statements. commissioner johnson, you are ext. >> thank you for all of you for being here. i have to admit really pleased we are finally having this first debate. i will be honest, it has been frustrating the last couple of months to watch some of the lies, governor, that you and some of your supporters have had on tv , whether it is i will cut the minimum wage. have never said that. cut education funding. i never did that. i've voted to increase
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education funding. t is nice to share our visions directly to people and let them choose on their own. but me tell you my vision. i am sharing it all over the state. it is a vision where every kid in the state has access to a great education and two great teachers, regardless of how rich or poor his or her parents are and where patients and doctors are making health care decisions, not government bureaucrats. t is a state where allocations understand the middle class work hard for our money and they spend it as carefully as though it is coming out of their own pocket. we are not seeing that right now. it is a state where entrepreneurs actually want to
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start a business in minnesota and where the existing businesses actually want to expand. and aware everyone who is willing to work hard and follow the rules has access to a good paying, full-time job. and most importantly, a vision of a state where we have ended this bitterness and envy over income differences and this belief the poor are poor and the rich are rich and all we can do is move around the money. instead we are celebrating people who are successful and we are never giving up on people who are poor and we are preaching every day i believe that the poor can become the middle class and the middle class can become rich and everybody who starts with nothing can achieve anything in this state. that is my vision for minnesota and that is why i am running for governor. thank you for being here. i would love your support. [applause] >> thank you, commissioner johnson. governor dayton. >> i would say, ms. nicollet, i think you should be in the other debates. independent party is one of the ajor parties in the state.
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i think you should be afforded the same opportunity. going back to the question at and -- i was born and raised in minnesota. obviously the state has been good to my family and yself. i started running for governor n 2009 because the state was headed in the wrong direction. even admitted the national recession, the slump in minnesota was greater than ther states. the tax system was regressive. it was not generating enough revenue to meet the needs of our public education system from early childhood through higher education. i came in in january 2011. e were in a fiscal mess. a $6 billion deficit for the next two years. along with a republican majority in the legislature, and myself, we cut $2 billion of spending, permanent cuts in the state expenditure. and we paid off the school
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debts over time. we raised taxes on the wealthiest 2%. middle income taxpayers received a cut in the last session. we invested that money in education. minnesota has been slacking relative to other states and relative to their needs. we instituted early childhood education. ll-day kindergarten. wo ways to address the achievement gap and the ability of the schools and the society to help young people from their early birth all the way until they can enter society as productive adults and citizens. that is the future i have an state. that is why i would like to continue as governor. [applause] >> thank you.
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we are done. we did a great job. we wrapped up before the satellite moved on. i appreciate the audience control. on behalf of the debate sponsors, we appreciate your fforts and wish you the best as the campaign goes forward. we would like to think this is going to be the best of the five debates. best wishes for the campaign. election day is november 4. you can vote right now. however you choose to do it, make your voice heard. thank you. good night. >> support from aarp of minnesota. this election season, aarp is focused on making sure older voters know where the candidates stand on issues that matter, find out more at aarp.org/yourvote. alcorn clean fuel.
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they believe in adding value to our members investment while producing sustainable renewable products for the world. al-corn, in claremont, minnesota. education minnesota. and the thousand teachers, for excellent and public services, dignity in the workplace, and prosperity for all working families. now, from the mayo civic center, the 2014 gubernatorial debate. >> campaign 2014 coverage
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continues tomorrow night with governors debates. televised debate in the oklahoma governor's race with incumbent governor facing a challenge from democrat joe dornan. and on c-span two, the candidates for governor nebraska. live coverage from lincoln, at 8:00 p.m. eastern. >> the student cam competition is underway. willnationwide competition award 150 prizes totaling $100,000. trade a five to seven minute documentary on the topic the three branches and you. videos need to include c-span programming, show varying points of view and must be submitted by
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january of 2015. grab a camera and get started today. march, the marine corps sergeant was arrested in mexico after driving across the border with three loaded firearms in his truck. afghanistan war veteran is still being held in a mexican prison. his case was taken up by house foreign affairs subcommittee. members heard from his mother and veterans advocates including montel williams. is chairedur hearing by the arizona congressman.
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>> a quorum being present, the subcommittee will come to order. we will limit the opening statements to myself, ranking member, and chairman of the full committee. members will be given ample time to ask questions and if we have time for a second round of questions, we will do so. start byike to recognizing myself and present my opening statement. without objection, members can submit their opening remarks for yield myself as much time as i may consume. welcome everyone to this very important hearing. mexico,ne in custody in i want to thank my colleagues who have come back to washington to take place in this hearing. this is a busy time when members are campaigning in their districts, elections are a few
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weeks away. in fact, so many members have come back for this hearing the tests to the fact that this is an extremely important issue that we want to resolve as quickly as possible. i want to thank our witnesses, particularly mrs. tahmooressi, who has been steadfast and strong inner advocate for her son. , your work ons behalf of veterans is important and noble and it's a pleasure to have you speaking on behalf of andrew. finally, retired marine sergeant robert buchanan, who served with andrew in afghanistan. from the bottom of our hearts, we appreciate your great service and we appreciate the fact that au are appearing on behalf of good friend. thank you personally for your wonderful service to our nation. not long after the v.a. scandal story broke in my hometown of , exposing widespread mismanagement of veteran care on
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the part of the v.a., i first traveled down to tijuana to visit sergeant tim received in prison. i had been following his story, how he observed with distinction in the marine corps on the battlefields of afghanistan, returning home to the united states with physical and psychological scars of war. he made his way to southern california where he was diagnosed with ptsd, living mostly out of his truck where he carried all of his belongings, including his three registered guns. have you got turned around and found himself at the mexican border where it is illegal to have guns. by the time i visited andrew in may and again in june, with chairman royce, he had been through a lot. he attempted to escape and take his own life. so, he was polite, soft-spoken, a brave american
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who had defended this country and now needed our help to return home. here is an interesting anecdote. on my way back to visiting andrew the first time, just as i was crossing the border back into the u.s., i heard on the news that the obama administration has negotiated with the taliban for the release of army sergeant bergdahl. sergeant hammer received's circumstances are different and sergeant bergdahl, but it still struck me, as it does now, that sergeant tahmooressi served his country with honor twice in afghanistan and now finds himself in a mexican prison after getting turned around and .rossing the border i am mystified that president obama could not find time between negotiating with terrorists to call our ally, the mexican president, to appeal to
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him, on behalf of our marine. we in congress do not have anything in our power to get sergeant hammer received, and injured war hero, back to the states for treatment, and what are we doing here? veteransre our combat are taken care of when they return is one of our most honored and sacred obligations. as chairman of the subcommittee, i have been supportive of our bilateral relationship with mexico, committed to our security partnership, and helping mexico reform and improve its justice system. our commercial relationship with mexico is strong and vital. today i feel the same way. mexico'smistic about energy reforms, the growth of its middle class, and the diplomatic trade that we share. but our significant and growing bilateral cooperation must also come with the ability to resolve important issues. particularly, along our shared
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border. i firmly believe that sergeant tahmooressi meant no harm or willfully violated mexican law when he crossed the border. when i talk on several occasions with the ambassador from mexico, who by the way, has been the attorney general of mexico in the past, echoed to me the same thing, that he did not believe that sergeant tahmooressi had any evil intentions with weapons in his car. now, he has spent over six months in prison, what amounts to a wrong turn. couldisappointed and more not be done to address the situation in a far more timely manner. the fact is, mexican citizens violate u.s. law on a regular and continuing basis, illegally crossing our southern border. mexican officials respond by asking the u.s. for compassion and amnesty or their citizens to remain in the u.s., but frankly, compassion goes both ways.
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mexico does not have the ability to provide sergeant tahmooressi with the care he needs. our war hero needs to come home. last week, i spoke with the mexican attorney general, who explained that while sergeant tahmooressi had broken mexican law by approaching the border with weapons, his combat related ptsd could not be adequately treated in mexico. the good news is, the attorney general explained to me, and i understand chairman roy separately, that he has the authority within a second lot to dismiss sergeant tahmooressi's case on humanitarian grounds once he has expert testimony that verifies his combat specific ptsd diagnosis. chairman royce and i obtain the appropriate medical reports and forwarded them to the mexican attorney general's desk this past friday. in addition at the court hearing yesterday, a mexican
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psychologist submitted his official diagnosis confirming andrew's ptsd. now, with all the information available to him, i'm confident and hopeful that attorney will do the right thing and will soon order the release of andrew so he can begin his treatment and move forward with his life back home with his family and friends. once again, we are asking our men and women in uniform to embark on a mission of fighting on behalf of our nation in a war against the terrorist organization isis. making sure sergeant tahmooressi is brought home and provided the t -- treatment that he so desperately needs will send a message and demonstrate to our military men and women in harms way, that america stands up for our soldiers and our marines. that is how it should be. i look forward to hearing from all the witnesses, and i thank you for being here. i now yield to the ranking
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member. [inaudible] most importantly, thank you to our witnesses today for taking your time to come in and allow us the opportunity to hear directly from you and to allow us the opportunity to elevate your story and sergeant tahmooressi's challenges to the american people. , your story,ssi what you and your family have gone through, or importantly, what your son is going through, is incredibly 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 tom a part of our family. part of the family of those who have worn the uniform, from
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whatever branch of service, and who have gone through that fight 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 we, home to our loved ones and to some sense of normalcy. to see down 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 courts, government will do the right thing and recognize that this case must be dismissed as
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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 freedoms 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. you, subcommittee chairman salmon 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. jill, andto share,
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observation --an 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 been 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. 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
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from the prison in tijuana. , and in ain tecate better place, and he expressed that, and we are respectful of our relationship with mexico, but it has been six months. discussions, our 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. 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,
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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. be holed up in front of the hague for crimes against humanity based on the terror they visited on afghan and u.s. forces.
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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 network, have all found their .ay out of custody the question is, what steps is the government taking 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 areto defend our country 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
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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 h regiment, he received a meritorious promotion. valor and too his his love of country. and to discuss his service, it's an honor to have robert buchanan with us today. some robert at my office 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
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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. too, robert here, 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 leads, at times, to psychological difficulties that we call ptsd. the fact that the san diego
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veterans affairs hospital diagnosed in less than 10 days prior to this event on the that itnd the fact results in hypervigilance and memory and can't issue lapses , the fact that he will not be able to receive -- trayvonn mexico has been prolonged by six months. 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 say, i amon, i must 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
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attorney general. thank you very much. >> 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 subject related to the length and limitation of the rules. mr. chairman, i request unanimous consent to recognize debbieour colleagues, 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
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of florida and is the mother of marine corps sergeant andrew paul tahmooressi, an 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. let 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 military academy. sergeant buchanan is a marine corps veteran and a purple heart recipient who was honorably just
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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 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. -- the ceo fors the mission of concern veterans. they work to preserve the freedoms and prosperity of veterans and their families.
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an infantry captain in the army national guard, he served in afghanistan in 2012 where he was the senior counterinsurgency structure of the counterinsurgency training center. iraqously, he served in 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. 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
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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 and 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 hundred 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 essence.
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-- license. at age 18, after graduating from public school, having been afforded the florida bright scholarship, he said, i'm not ready for college and. 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." 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. hit mya top the mrap, head on one part and i was blocked out. they found me. of3, mom, i am dropping out the aeronautical university where i was enrolled in a
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bachelors degree for the commercial pilot degree because i cannot concentrate on the academic work. 14 -- march 31, 11:25 this year. 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. we secure me an attorney. -- please secure me an attorney. 5.il 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.
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i need you to cancel your bank accounts, let the broward sheriffs office now, 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 need to protect you. days. mom, it has been 25 i have been in four-point chain restraints, spread eagle in the infirmary. 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
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always be, but he is an inactive reservist until august 4 2016. he was discharged active duty october 2012, serving unselfishly in operations multiple tors,m, 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,
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the same one that he drove to alaska, with all of his possessions, including his three u.s. legally purchased firearms. his purchase test first purchase was in 2007 on the way to kodiak, alaska. that was a shotgun force protection. therrived in san diego at invite of a friend who has a purple heart, 100% disability, who said, come up here we have the best be a system in the country. so we did that. on march 12, he received his crisis intake, positive screens for posttraumatic stress disorder. thehe time he was ordered 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
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theof a parking lot on telephone inside, a very confusing area, lots of construction going on. he had just come off of that ran 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?
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he thought the customs agent would like to make 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. isse facts are recorded and 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 land has been aborted. 1 ass aborted on april mexico did not have the ability to provide combat related ptsd expressive group therapy, as recognized here. he phones home every day. he is very competent entry and appreciative for the actions of the congress, the white house, in responding to the we the wasle petition that responded to on august 28. at that time, the white house
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responded that they would ask for emergency. influence urgency to is ineffective, in my opinion. ares six months and we 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 am sure there are hundred 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. make the any motorist mistake now, they do have a way to come home. i urge attention and collaborative action among the united states and mexico for an expedient resolution of andrew's
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mexican judicial process, expecting wholeheartedly that release to the usa is justified. withouts despondent 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] 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 us community that his case is merely a symptom of a greater policy error and how we addressed the needs of our
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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. veterans from iraq and afghanistan often feel absolutely abandoned by our government. -- have a reason to feel before i begin, my testimony is more than five minutes. there are some point that have to be made. we addressed it over and over again, andrew made a wrong turn. we have thrown up a couple of
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terms related to ptsd with that wesaying hypervigilance, but have to slow down and take a second to understand what that means. say it andll cannot others will not, we know for a tahmooressi'seant time in this prison has been worse than his time in prison. he will come back to the u.s. it will be treated for his combat 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. a nation,e as 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?
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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? 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 said -- 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
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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. say, iwant to clearly 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 screening for invasions and all of those things. what i will scream for is the one part of political diplomacy .hat has not been reached yet
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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 hundreds of thousands that are suffering by making the same mistake. my testimony is much longer than five minutes. i would please ask the members to reach 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,
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how dare you ask another gentleman to put on the uniform? thank you so much. commander, without objection, your full testimony, everybody's full testimony will be entered into the public record. i appreciate your great comments. sergeant buchanan. 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 hospital medical treatment as soon as possible. say, i knew want to 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
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who andrew truly was, i recommend that you ask sergeant wski, his brother in arms, his best friend. 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. him,ask something out to there was not a second thought, it would get done. he was the kind of guy that his peers looked up to. day ihe get-go, the first met his group, when they came to ki andit, sergeant podlows sergeant tahmooressi stood out among his peers. he had a humble attitude, always eager to learn and be the best review could be.
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this was a marine who received a combat meritorious promotion. let me go back. waseant andrew tahmooressi meritorious the promoted to corporal. that alone speak to somebody's character. with combat meritorious promoted in this day and age amongst our field, it is a honor and in honor -- an with our gun club, if you want to call it. this alone speaks to the volumes to what kind of individual andrew is an contest to his .haracter 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 limbs, it is in these moments that a man's true character is tested and andrew shined.
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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 also taught multiple to the statepport 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 ndrew's toward getting a release. the crime that andrew is being chart requires intent here weapons trafficking is not in the region crime and true intent was proven as being an accident. this combats get
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veteran home and into the v.a. for much-needed medical care. everyday day he is done there is a day longer that it will take for him to reach us in the civilian life. military member comes back with different luggage from more. we all have -- it take different amounts of times to readjust and so that -- 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. want to thank my
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witnesses who are allowing a soldier to hang out with a bunch of marines. , your courageous this inspires us all. buchanan, thank you for having the back of your fellow marine. lieutenant commander williams, using your platform the way that you are mixing huge difference, thank you. 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. 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 government meeting a man behind. in the military we leave no man behind. we are leaving behind and in active reservist in mexico. andrew tahmooressi is a united
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states mr. -- marine. he is a machine gun or an infantryman. a decorated combat veteran who deployed twice to afghanistan, meeting the enemy in combat. literallyahmooressi saved the lives of his fellow marines. he was so good, as everyone said, meritorious we promoted, which is unheard of. doubt this guy is an american hero, plain and simple. comes with ace physical and psychological cost. let me assure you, ptsd israel 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.
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has only been exacerbated by his treatment there and lack of treatment in the u.s.. he does not think -- phase ptsd because he is weak or a coward or a victim. he faces the invisible wounds of war. right now, he faces them alone, largely alone come with a few 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 don't 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. they are not ticking time bombs are victims.
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with the right to be the right place at the right time most soldiers and reams like sergeant tahmooressi comeback back and become leaders and pillars of our communities, which we need so badly today. my bottom line to this committee and the government into the mexican government is this. needs andahmooressi 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. and 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 lend to the cause for the freedom to fight.
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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. issue 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. .ergeant tahmooressi save lives does that not matter?
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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, heelys 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. your the best of 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
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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 let you in the dark in the process? process ise judicial 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
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fact sheet that did come out some time ago. yet, i have some questions about their facts. >> i was mystified when he told me that the judge would not allow you, the mother, to come in and sit in the hearing. have to sit outside? >> correct. and it is interesting, it is always a hero and 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
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regular 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've got in san diego. it is the state department in doctor that flew in the 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,
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six months into this ordeal, a mexican psychiatrist has come into validate combat related ironic,ich i find because they do not send their military to combat. aremexican psychiatrists 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. >> 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
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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? said, i have ae hard time keeping the bad. out. this is just two days ago. -- bad thoughts out. 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.
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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 there may be residual 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 being worse than being in afghanistan. and for a person suffering to make that statement, he knows
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it. this is just the beginning, but it's also an example of what we need to make sure we take of four -- take care of for the other guys. >> 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. appreciated and can 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 from 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 uniform and has not had that firsthand experience each one of you has related and put us in a
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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 in the columnist of matters, understanding the unknown that lay ahead. that, understanding the strong case for his character you have made, the strong case of his service and the 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
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it. they is unfortunate 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. whatever it takes, he should be brought home. jill is afterr the september 19 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 to attorneys previous to him who
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did great service to andrew. i selected off of the department hestate reference she and states a high degree of confidence that there was a where the september 9 video surveillance was watched for eight hours and it definitely corroborated andrew's truthful and forthcoming by the mexican officials and customs agents. so he believes he's very close to resting the case now and expect an action of either dismissal or acquittal within the next couple of weeks, especially since the two psychiatric events, and one from the prosecutor has been filed
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yesterday and ratified at 5:30 in the afternoon. i believe we are several weeks away and we are hopeful. know you. williams, i as well as jill and others have talked about specific actions -- president,l from the a petition over 100,000 people have signed, what specific actions do you feel will truly be effected in gaining andrew's release that we can advocate for here? and as a to apologize ranking member, i want to say thank you for your service. 11: -- 105 now
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