[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 80 (Thursday, May 31, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H3271-H3272]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1020
                              AFGHANISTAN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. Jones) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I wanted to come to the floor and say that I 
was very disappointed during the debate on the NDAA bill, the National 
Defense Authorization Act. We spent hours debating, and we only had 20 
minutes to debate Afghanistan, with 10 minutes allotted to each side. 
Congresswoman Lee had her amendment, which I supported on the floor, 
but the amendment that Mr. McGovern and I had worked together for weeks 
crafting, the McGovern-Jones amendment, basically said accountability 
on 2014, bringing our troops out.
  We need to have these guidelines, and I was very disappointed that 
our leadership would not bring our amendment to the floor. I think it's 
tragic that our young men and women are dying in Afghanistan and Iraq 
and we're not meeting our constitutional responsibility when it comes 
to debating war.
  Last Saturday, like many of my colleagues, I was invited to speak at 
a Memorial event down in Beaufort, North Carolina. Primarily those in 
attendance were our veterans of yesterday and some of our Active Duty 
marines of today. It was amazing. I'm not a great speaker, but when I 
talked about bringing our troops out of Afghanistan before 2014, I got 
a strong applause in agreement.
  We have a tremendous responsibility to take care of our wounded from 
Afghanistan and Iraq. In this financial crisis, I truthfully don't know 
how we're going to take care of them, to be honest about it. What I do 
know is that we will deal with it. Yet we continue to spend $10 billion 
a month--it is borrowed money from the Chinese--to prop up Karzai in 
Afghanistan and to pay his bills, to fix his roads, to fix his water 
systems, but in America we can't fix our roads and our water systems. 
Somewhere along the way, Mr. Speaker, it doesn't make any sense to me 
at all.
  Last Saturday, before I went down to Beaufort, North Carolina, to 
give the speech, the Raleigh News & Observer published 27 names of 
Americans who had been killed in Afghanistan. Mr. Speaker, to honor 
those 27 who gave their life to this country, I will submit those 27 
names for the record.
  Mr. Speaker, 2014 is a long way from 2012. How many more names must 
appear in the paper? Congress needs to have more debates about our 
policy in Afghanistan. We've got those in this country right now that 
want to go in and bomb Syria, bomb Iran, and do all these things, and 
yet we in Congress just sit by and pass more and more bills to pay for 
all this funding overseas that we can't even account for.
  Mr. Speaker, before closing, I bring this poster of this young woman 
who is in tears holding a little baby in her lap. The baby has no idea 
why this man in uniform is on his knees presenting a flag to this 
little girl's mother. How many more scenes like this must happen while 
Congress sits by and passes more and more spending bills to take care 
of Afghanistan while we deny the American people? Senior citizens can't 
get sandwiches at the senior citizen center, children can't get a pint 
of milk before school because we're going to cut those programs, but 
we're going to take care of a corrupt leader in Afghanistan. Mr. 
Speaker, it makes no sense at all.
  When we should have been debating Afghanistan a week ago, 72 percent 
of the American people in a poll that week said, Get out of Afghanistan 
now. We had 20 minutes, 10 to the Democratic side and 10 to the 
Republican side. That's no way to say thank you to those serving. 
That's no way to say thank you to the families who have given a loved 
one.

[[Page H3272]]

  Mr. Speaker, in closing, as I always do, I ask God to please bless 
our men and women in uniform. I ask God to please bless the families of 
our men and women in uniform. I ask God in His loving arms to hold the 
families who have given a child dying for freedom in Afghanistan and 
Iraq.
  I ask God to bless the House and Senate, that we will do what is 
right in the eyes of God for God's people here in the United States of 
America.
  And I ask God to bless President Obama, that he will do what is right 
in the eyes of God for God's people in America, today and tomorrow.
  And three times I will say, God, please, God, please, God, please, 
continue to bless America.

             Recent U.S. Military Personnel Deaths from DoD

       Staff Sgt. Israel P. Nuanes; Sgt. Brian L. Walker; Pfc. 
     Richard L. McNulty III; Spc. Alex Hernandez III; Sgt. Wade D. 
     Wilson; 1st Lt. Alejo R. Thompson; Petty Officer Second Class 
     Jorge Luis Velasquez; Sgt. Jacob M. Schwallie; Spc. Chase S. 
     Marta; Pfc. Dustin D. Gross; Spc. Junot M. L. Cochilus; 2nd 
     Lt. David E. Rylander; Staff Sgt. Thomas K. Fogarty; Sgt. 
     John P. Huling; Master Sgt. Gregory L. Childs; Staff Sgt. 
     Zachary H. Hargrove; Capt. Bruce K. Clark; Sgt. Nicholas M. 
     Dickhut; Pfc. Christian R. Sannicolas; Master Sgt. Scott E. 
     Pruitt; Staff Sgt. Andrew T. Brittonmihalo; Spc. Manuel J. 
     Vasquez; Staff Sgt. Brandon F. Eggleston; Sgt. Dick A. Lee 
     Jr.; Lt. Christopher E. Mosko; Spc. Moises J. Gonzalez; Spc. 
     Jason K. Edens; Spc. Benjamin H. Neal.

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