[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 149 (Monday, August 23, 2021)]
[House]
[Page H4348]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        SITUATION IN AFGHANISTAN

  (Ms. WEXTON asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. WEXTON. Madam Speaker, I rise in gratitude for the service and 
sacrifice of the brave troops, diplomats, aid workers, and others who 
served in Afghanistan over the last 20 years, and for those who are 
still there on the ground working heroically to defend and evacuate 
American civilians and our Afghan partners.
  Madam Speaker, I remain deeply concerned about the deteriorating 
situation in Afghanistan, and I am calling on the administration to use 
every available tool to ensure that we not only protect and evacuate 
American personnel, but as many of our Afghan partners as possible.
  I applaud the administration for picking up the pace of evacuations 
over the weekend and for expanding the perimeter around the airport in 
Kabul in order to increase access for evacuees and to avoid the 
developing humanitarian crisis.
  But we cannot stop there. Thousands more are at risk, including 
journalists, women's rights activists, and NGO employees. I am calling 
on President Biden to establish a special humanitarian program 
specifically for these groups and other highly visible activists in 
Afghanistan; to increase processing capacity at USCIS; and to 
immediately ensure the safe exit from Afghanistan of all priority 1 and 
2 visa holders to third countries.
  Getting citizens out of harm's way must remain our top priority, but 
we also cannot abandon our Afghan allies.

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