[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 10 (Wednesday, January 21, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H437-H438]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     ENDING THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. Jones) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I am sure that my colleagues would agree that 
we have many needs in our districts. For example, my district has an 
inlet that cannot be dredged, which causes an economic problem. And the 
reason it cannot be dredged is because of lack of funds. We continue to 
spend billions of dollars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but there is no 
money for necessary infrastructure projects back here in North Carolina 
and across the Nation.
  Mr. Speaker, as you know, I have been outspoken on the continuation 
of war in Afghanistan. I would like to recite a segment from Rudyard 
Kipling's poem, ``Epitaphs of the War,'' as Ron Paul did when we went 
into Iraq: ``If any question why we died, tell them because our fathers 
lied.''
  Mr. Speaker, a recent letter to the editor of the Marine Corps Times 
echoed the same sentiment. Bryan Chou wrote:

       ``Remember the part I said about ending the Marines' 
     presence in Afghanistan? I lied,'' said every politician.

  I assume Mr. Chou was referring to the President's recent statement 
that the war in Afghanistan is over.
  How can the war be over when we just committed to a 10-year bilateral 
security agreement with Afghanistan to keep thousands of troops there 
while spending millions of dollars? The Afghan Parliament voted on the 
bilateral security agreement while we in Congress had no discussion and 
no debate.

[[Page H438]]

  According to the Constitution, the President does not need to come to 
Congress for permission on an agreement, but I think we have a 
responsibility to the American taxpayer and our men and women in 
uniform to discuss an agreement that will keep more taxpayer dollars 
and more troops in Afghanistan in the coming years.
  Just a couple of weeks ago the Marine Corps announced that the 
marines at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina's Third District, which I 
represent, are getting ready to deploy to Afghanistan. When does it 
end, Mr. Speaker? When does it end?
  I would like to quote Grant Filbeck from Erie, Pennsylvania, who 
wrote a letter to the Marine Corps Times last week about Afghanistan:

       I believe in the mission 100 percent, but we have given the 
     Afghans the tools to succeed, and it's up to them to use 
     them. We have been in the country for more than 13 years. 
     That is ridiculous. We have spent so much money funding these 
     guys. If the Afghans want to fight for their country, then 
     they will, or the Taliban will take over without much of a 
     fight.

  These two men whose letters I referenced are marines who have been to 
Afghanistan.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a poster from a book titled, ``How U.S. 
Taxpayers Bankroll the Taliban.'' It was written several years ago by 
Douglas Wissing. It is a great expose on how the taxpayers' money ends 
up in the hands of the Taliban, to kill Americans and to blow up the 
buildings that we built for them with taxpayer money.
  Mr. Speaker, in closing, we owe it to the American people, our 
military, and our Constitution to debate war. As James Madison wrote: 
``The power to declare war, including the power of judging the causes 
of war, is fully and exclusively vested in the legislature.'' I agree 
with James Madison and urge the Congress to meet its constitutional 
duty to debate war and not let any President have an AUMF to send our 
young men and women overseas to die and see the taxpayers' money 
wasted.
  May God continue to bless our troops, and may God continue to bless 
America.

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