[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 77 (Tuesday, May 19, 2015)]
[House]
[Page H3313]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 WASTE, FRAUD, AND ABUSE IN AFGHANISTAN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. Jones) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, last week, The Washington Post ran a story 
titled, ``Defense Firm that Employed Drunk, High Contractors in 
Afghanistan May Have Wasted $135 Million in Taxpayer Dollars,'' by 
Colby Itkowitz. Colby writes:
  ``The defense contractor investigated in 2012 after cellphone videos 
surfaced of its employees drunk and high on drugs in Afghanistan may 
have misused almost $135 million of U.S. taxpayer money, an audit 
finds.''
  The Hill further reported that:
  ``The company also did not comply with Federal procurement law, the 
audit found.''
  Mr. Speaker, I have been coming down to this floor for weeks to 
highlight the waste, fraud, and abuse in Afghanistan, which John Sopko, 
the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, has 
reported is worse now than ever.
  The National Defense Authorization Act, which the House passed last 
week, authorized $42 billion for Afghanistan, which is one of the 
reasons I did not vote for the bill.
  Why do we continue to spend billions of American taxpayer dollars in 
Afghanistan when infrastructure all over the United States is rapidly 
deteriorating? This past weekend, CBS' ``60 Minutes'' ran a segment on 
America's failing infrastructure and reported that 70,000 bridges in 
the United States have been deemed structurally deficient, according to 
the Federal Government. That is one bridge out of every nine. My 
constituents in eastern North Carolina continually experience 
frustration and concern over the Bonner Bridge, which is falling apart. 
This further highlights the waste and the failed policy in Afghanistan.
  I know some Members of Congress will be upset that I am calling 
attention to the reckless spending in Afghanistan the NDAA authorized, 
but then why doesn't Congress stop sending billions of dollars to a 
failed state where young American men and women are being wounded and 
killed? Mr. Speaker, this includes the father of these two little girls 
who are on a poster beside me. Their names are Eden and Stephanie 
Balduf. Their daddy, Sergeant Kevin Balduf, was shot and killed in 
Afghanistan 2 years ago by the Afghan he was training.
  Mr. Speaker, it just gets worse and worse. Those wasted billions of 
dollars should be allocated to fix American bridges and roads from 
falling apart and endangering American citizens. It is the right thing 
to do.
  Mr. Speaker, let me remind the American people that, last year, the 
Obama administration signed a 10-year bilateral security agreement with 
Afghanistan strapping us with 10 more years of waste, fraud, and abuse; 
10 more years of billions of dollars being wasted; 10 more years of 
young Americans being killed and wounded while the infrastructure in 
America is collapsing; 10 more years of veterans worrying about their 
benefits. There are so many needs here in America, so many needs that 
are not being met because we are wasting money overseas in Afghanistan.
  Mr. Speaker, Congress should debate and vote to stop the madness in 
Afghanistan on behalf of our soldiers and our men and women in uniform, 
their families, and the taxpayers of America.
  Mr. Speaker, it has been said many times that Afghanistan is a 
graveyard of empires. I hope there is a headstone for America because 
that is where we are heading, to the graveyard in Afghanistan.

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