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 youre watching. Call us at the following number. Email us at the following address. Or you can send us a tweet. Join the cspan 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, twohour 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 its 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, softspoken, 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 tahmooressis 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 dont 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 mexicos 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 Tahmooressis 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 generals desk this past friday. In addition, at the Court Hearing yesterday, a mexican psychologist submitted his official diagnosis confirming andrews ptsd. Now, with all the Information Available to him, im 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 Tahmooressis 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 hes 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 im 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, its 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 cant 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 andrews 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 Childrens 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 sidebyside with andrew. In august 2010, Sergeant Buchanans 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 communitys 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, h