John Cornyn: “recently I met with the parents of Austin Tice, a constituent of mine in Texas who unfortunately was abducted in Syria a…”

“recently I met with the parents of Austin Tice, a constituent of mine in Texas who unfortunately was abducted in Syria a few years ago. Of course, his parents have been keeping the flame alive, hoping that Austin has survived the situation of his capture. At their suggestion, last week when I was in Austin, they traveled over from Houston to visit with me about a briefing they had received recently from James C. O'Brien, the Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs. Earlier today, I had a chance to be briefed by Mr. O'Brien. He delivered some positive yet cautious news about Austin Tice, an American journalist who we know was taken hostage in Syria 4 years ago. Mr. O'Brien and his team informed me that they have high confidence that Austin is alive in Syria, along with other Americans who are being held captive. While this is certainly positive news, I can't help but think of his parents and what they have had to go through these last 4 years. They are not just counting the months, they are not just counting the days, but they are literally counting the minutes and the seconds since he has been gone and then counting these milestones that we typically observe in our family--birthdays and holidays--that they will never recover. So today's news should remind us that we cannot give up until we bring Austin Tice home.…”