[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 78 (Thursday, May 22, 2014)]
[House]
[Page H4816]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                     ENDING THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN

  (Mr. CICILLINE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, after more than a decade of war, the loss 
of 2,178 American heroes, thousands seriously injured, and the 
expenditure of nearly $2 trillion, we must end our military presence in 
Afghanistan now, safely bring our troops home, and begin to focus on 
the urgent challenges we face here in America.
  A sustainable, long-term peace can only be accomplished when the 
people of Afghanistan assume responsibility for their own security.
  Yesterday, our colleague Jim McGovern offered an amendment that 
directed the President to rapidly accelerate the transition of U.S. 
combat operations in Afghanistan to the Afghan government by December, 
and would have required congressional approval if the President sought 
to keep U.S. military forces in Afghanistan after that. Unfortunately, 
we were denied the right to have a debate and vote on this amendment.
  We owe the brave men and women in uniform a clear plan to bring them 
home safely and soon and to end this war now.
  After more than 12 years of war and the killing of Osama bin Laden, 
it is time to end the war in Afghanistan and instead focus our 
attention on creating jobs, rebuilding our infrastructure, providing 
care for our veterans, and focusing on the serious fiscal challenges 
facing our Nation.

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