[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15751]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      WE CANNOT REST UNTIL CAITLAN COLEMAN AND HER FAMILY ARE FREE

  (Mr. PERRY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, 5 years ago today, Caitlan Coleman, an 
American citizen from York County, Pennsylvania, which I am privileged 
to represent, was taken hostage by the Haqqani Network, an offshoot of 
the Taliban, while hiking near the Pakistan and Afghanistan border.
  Caitlan has given birth to two boys while in captivity, boys whose 
only life experience has been that of a hostage and surrounded by 
violence and fear. I speak with Caitlan's mom and dad regularly. While 
my heart breaks for them, as fellow Americans, as a father with 
children of my own, I am crestfallen and horrified for them.
  Caitlan and her family are Americans. We cannot rest until they are 
released and returned safely to the arms of the United States. I urge 
my colleagues to join me in praying for the safe return of Caitlan, her 
husband, and her two children, but also for her family and loved ones 
for whom time stopped 5 years ago.
  I implore the U.S. State Department to use every resource at our 
disposal to bring our American citizens home.

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