[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 112 (Wednesday, July 25, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1317-E1318]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               H.R. 5856

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. DAVID N. CICILLINE

                            of rhode island

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 25, 2012

  Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, last week the House of Representatives 
passed H.R. 5856, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act. While I 
strongly oppose some provisions of H.R. 5856, I voted in favor of this 
legislation in order to support our troops, military families, and 
veterans, and to advance other important priorities for our national 
defense.
  I applaud the leadership of Chairmen Rogers and Young and Ranking 
Member Dicks in crafting a bill that provides an increase to service 
members' pay, strengthens health care services, and advances critical 
research for cancer, Traumatic Brain Injury, and other conditions. H.R. 
5856 supports a continued investment in small businesses through the 
Rapid Innovation Program, provides for the production of two Virginia-
class attack submarines, advances the Iron Dome program, and seeks to 
hold Pakistan accountable by ensuring they are cooperating with the 
United States in counterterrorism efforts, including dismantling and 
disrupting the manufacture of improvised explosive devices--an issue 
that I specifically addressed through two successful amendments to the 
National Defense Authorization Act offered earlier this year.
  However, I must also note my strong disappointment that this 
legislation breaches the Budget Control Act of 2011--the bipartisan, 
bicameral agreement enacted into law last year, which was designed to 
help rein in spending and stabilize our nation's finances. Despite the 
fact that over $1 billion in spending was reduced through the 
successful adoption of an amendment offered by Representative Mulvaney 
and Representative Frank, effectively freezing defense spending in the 
bill at current levels, H.R. 5856 still exceeds the budgetary cap set 
by last year's Budget Control Act by several billion dollars. An 
additional amendment was offered by Representatives Lee, Van Hollen, 
and Smith that would have brought the bill's spending in line with the 
levels set by last year's Budget Control Act. Unfortunately, while I 
voted in favor of this amendment, it was not adopted by the full House. 
Moreover, I offered an amendment to H.R. 5856 to strike funding for the 
Afghanistan Infrastructure Fund (AIF). As originally presented in the 
full House of Representatives, H.R. 5856 proposed $375 million in 
spending over the next fiscal year for large-scale water, power, 
transportation and other projects in Afghanistan through the AIF while 
our national infrastructure is crumbling here in America and in my home 
state of Rhode Island. While my amendment did not pass, I did vote in 
favor of a successful amendment offered by Representative Cohen to 
reduced AIF funding by $175 million.
  With President Obama's announcement of the U.S.-Afghanistan Strategic 
Partnership Agreement in May 2012, our nation took another step toward 
the end of combat operations in Afghanistan and the transition of 
military and security operations to the Afghans by 2014--a timeline 
that had not yet been identified in 2011 during consideration of the FY 
2012 Department of Defense Appropriations Act. I, and many of my 
colleagues in Congress, would prefer an accelerated drawdown

[[Page E1318]]

of U.S. combat troops--one that allows for the safe, orderly, and 
expedited withdrawal of our combat forces. During consideration of H.R. 
5856, I voted in favor of amendments offered by Representative Lee and 
Representative Garamendi that would have helped bring our troops home 
from Afghanistan sooner. Unfortunately, these amendments did not pass. 
As the White House has affirmed in reference to the Partnership 
Agreement, the decisions regarding future troop levels and funding will 
need to be made in consultation with Congress.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House and Senate 
in a bipartisan fashion to reach an agreement in the coming weeks that 
advances the important priorities I have identified while also 
fulfilling our commitment under the Budget Control Act, ending the War 
in Afghanistan as quickly and safely as possible, and recognizing the 
urgent need to reinvest in our own economy and our own infrastructure 
right here at home.

                          ____________________