[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 39 (Monday, March 18, 2013)]
[House]
[Page H1552]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           SEQUESTER PAKISTAN

   The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Poe) for 5 minutes.
   Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, America's young warriors risk it all 
to protect and serve the rest of us. They put themselves in harm's way 
not only to protect America, but to defend the freedoms of people they 
have never seen in lands they have never been. Some join right out of 
high school with the promise that they can further their education 
while in the military. This helps not only our troops, but an educated 
military helps America.
   Now the administration has broken another promise. Thousands of 
troops can no longer go to college because the education program has 
been scuttled. For the sake of politics, the ``Chicken Little 
Administration'' has handpicked programs to cut that would make 
Americans feel the sequester the most. One of those programs is the 
Military Tuition Assistance program.
   Mr. Speaker, tuition assistance for our military is not much money. 
The Pentagon, the Department of Defense, has a budget of $700 billion. 
This little program is 0.1 percent of the $700 billion Department of 
Defense program.
   The Tuition Assistance program is great because it's one of the ways 
our government can take care of our men and women who help us. It has 
allowed members of the military to take 870,000 courses and graduate 
50,000 individuals for several degrees. That is remarkable. But the 
program is gone, thus saith the White House.
   Over the past few weeks, I've been hearing from several southeast 
Texans who are disappointed because Washington has broken another 
promise. Dr. Norman Lefee, a science teacher at Klein High School in 
Texas, said this:

        I encourage my students to join the military as a way to 
     open up a possibility for higher education. Oftentimes, they 
     come from families where they are the first high school 
     graduate and the first person to graduate from college. Now 
     that opportunity is being taken away from them. It's not 
     fair. I got these kids to join the military. Now the 
     administration has broken its promise.

                              {time}  1210

  Brian wrote me this:

       I am Active Duty Coast Guard and one of your constituents. 
     I was one class away from obtaining a master's degree and the 
     Tuition Assistance program was now canceled. Why?

  Jerri from Houston wrote me this:

       As a combat medic in the National Guard, I currently use my 
     tuition assistance to pay for my Ph.D. program in clinical 
     psychology. I want to stay in the military. I hope to move 
     directly to a commission on Active Duty as a psychiatrist or 
     psychologist in the Army and serve soldiers with PTSD.
       Education is the great equalizer, and servicemembers' 
     access to affordable education will only make our country 
     stronger. Restore our tuition assistance.

  There's more, Mr. Speaker.
  Last year, the marines spent roughly $47 million on tuition 
assistance--$47 million out of a $700 billion Department of Defense 
budget. However, education assistance is not being cut for everybody. 
During the same year, Washington spent $12.7 million on higher 
education in Pakistan. That's right, Mr. Speaker. We spent more than 
one-fourth of what we spent on education for the marines to fund higher 
education for the Pakistanis. And that's not all. Since the sequester, 
the administration has approved $37 million in foreign aid to Pakistan.
  Why are we funding education programs for our Benedict Arnold ally 
when we can't fund--or don't fund--the education for our military? And 
to Pakistan of all places, where hatred for America is at its highest. 
Washington should watch its spending and prioritize.
  It's time, Mr. Speaker, to sequester Pakistan. Why are we cutting the 
aid for our military and educating the people in Pakistan? The 
administration has the power and ability to make it right; but if this 
program is not reinstated, I am going to introduce legislation to 
withhold nondefense foreign aid from Pakistan until this wonderful 
program for our troops is fully funded.
  The President should stop punishing our troops. We have a moral 
obligation to take care of our warriors that protect us.
  The President says he is the education President. Well, Mr. 
President, let the troops go to school.
  And that's just the way it is.

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