[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1735 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1735

To require the President to transmit to Congress a plan with timeframe 
 and completion date and reports with status updates on the transition 
of United States military and security operations in Afghanistan to the 
                       Government of Afghanistan.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 5, 2011

     Mr. McGovern (for himself, Mr. Jones, Ms. Loretta Sanchez of 
 California, Mr. Chaffetz, Mr. Loebsack, Mr. Paul, Mr. Garamendi, Mr. 
Duncan of Tennessee, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, Mr. Johnson of Illinois, Mr. 
 Cicilline, Mr. Amash, Ms. Slaughter, Mr. Bartlett, Mr. Welch, and Mr. 
    Moran) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
   Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committee on 
  Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the President to transmit to Congress a plan with timeframe 
 and completion date and reports with status updates on the transition 
of United States military and security operations in Afghanistan to the 
                       Government of Afghanistan.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Afghanistan Exit and Accountability 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) On November 29, 2009, in the Final Orders for 
        Afghanistan/Pakistan Strategy, President Barack Obama wrote 
        that sending significant additional United States troops in 
        early 2010 would set the conditions for an ``accelerated 
        transition to Afghan authorities beginning in July 2011''.
            (2) Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan is America's 
        longest conflict, with October 7, 2011, marking the 10-year 
        anniversary of the start of United States military operations 
        in Afghanistan.
            (3) Military operations in Afghanistan have cost United 
        States taxpayers $336,000,000,000 in deficit spending from 
        October 2001 through fiscal year 2010, with an additional 
        $100,000,000,000 appropriated in deficit spending for fiscal 
        year 2011.
            (4) As of March 15, 2011, over 1,500 members of the United 
        States Armed Forces have lost their lives in support of 
        Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and over 10,000 have 
        been wounded.
            (5) In November 2010, the Department of Defense reported 
        that suicide rates are soaring among veterans, and the backlog 
        at the Department of Veterans Affairs had reached more than 
        700,000 disability cases, including cases involving post 
        traumatic stress disorder.
            (6) The combined costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan 
        are currently estimated to account for 23 percent of the United 
        States deficit for the period 2003 to 2010.
            (7) Nobel Prize-winning economist and Columbia University 
        Professor Joseph Stiglitz estimates that the costs of the wars 
        in Iraq and Afghanistan, including interest payments on the 
        money borrowed for these wars and care for wounded soldiers and 
        veterans, are likely to total $4,000,000,000,000 to 
        $6,000,000,000,000.
            (8) On December 1, 2009, at a speech at the United States 
        Military Academy at West Point, President Barack Obama stated 
        that the United States would begin withdrawing United States 
        Armed Forces from Afghanistan in July 2011.

SEC. 3. PLAN WITH TIMEFRAME AND COMPLETION DATE AND REPORTS WITH STATUS 
              UPDATES ON TRANSITION OF UNITED STATES MILITARY AND 
              SECURITY OPERATIONS IN AFGHANISTAN TO THE GOVERNMENT OF 
              AFGHANISTAN.

    (a) Plan With Timeframe and Completion Date Required.--Not later 
than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President 
shall transmit to Congress a plan with a timeframe and completion date 
for the accelerated transition of United States military and security 
operations (including operations involving military and security-
related contractors) in Afghanistan to the Government of Afghanistan.
    (b) Report With Status Updates Required.--Not later than 90 days 
after the date of transmission of the plan required by subsection (a), 
and every 90 days thereafter, the President shall transmit to Congress 
a report setting forth the current status of such plan, including the 
following information:
            (1) Progress on completing the redeployment of United 
        States Armed Forces from Afghanistan and the accelerated 
        transition of military and security operations to the 
        Government of Afghanistan.
            (2) The total number of United States Armed Forces deployed 
        in Afghanistan over the reporting period, including military 
        and security-related contractors, logistical support, and 
        maintenance for bases and facilities utilized by the Armed 
        Forces.
            (3) The total number of United States Armed Forces 
        permanently withdrawn and redeployed from Afghanistan during 
        the reporting period, including Guard and Reserves, that will 
        not be replenished or replaced by new deployments or by 
        military and security-related contractors.
            (4) The total financial costs of maintaining United States 
        Armed Forces in Afghanistan over the reporting period, 
        including military and security-related contractors.
            (5) The number of members of the United States Armed Forces 
        killed or wounded in Afghanistan during each reporting period.
            (6) The number of United States military personnel (active 
        duty, Guard, Reserves, and veterans) who were or had been 
        deployed to Afghanistan that committed suicide during the 
        reporting period.
            (7) The cost of providing care and benefits to Operation 
        Enduring Freedom (OEF) veterans and members of the United 
        States Armed Forces deployed in Afghanistan during each 
        reporting period.
            (8) The estimated amount of increased deficit and increased 
        public debt attributed to continuing military operations in 
        Afghanistan accrued during the reporting period and projected 
        through 2020, including interest payments on money borrowed for 
        OEF and the care and benefits for wounded soldiers and 
        veterans.
            (9) Information on variables that could advance the 
        timetable and increase the rate of redeployment of United 
        States Armed Forces from Afghanistan.
    (c) Savings From Accelerated Redeployment.--Each report required 
under subsection (b) shall include the estimated savings, immediate and 
over 5-year, 10-year, and 20-year time periods, were United States 
military and security operations to be concluded and United States 
Armed Forces redeployed from Afghanistan within 180 days of the date of 
each report.
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