[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 141 (Wednesday, September 11, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H5193-H5195]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             FOREIGN POLICY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 9, 2023, the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Moore) is recognized for 
60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.

[[Page H5194]]

  



                             General Leave

  Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on the topic of this Special Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Utah?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, it is always lovely to be lectured 
about democracy from the party that refused to certify the 2005 and 
2017 elections. If this place didn't run on double standards, I don't 
know what fuel would be there. It is fascinating to literally hear this 
rhetoric. I am sorry to totally take you off point for just a moment, 
but, again, if the double standards didn't exist, there would be very 
little for this place to run on.
  As we begin tonight's Special Order, I would be remiss if I did not 
acknowledge the 23rd anniversary of the attack on September 11, 2001.
  Today, we remember a pivotal moment in our Nation's history and the 
profound loss our Nation endured, the courage we witnessed, and the 
resilience that we have shown as a Nation in the face of adversity. 
Nearly 3,000 lives were taken on 9/11 and countless families were 
forever changed.
  Today, we honor the heroism of the law enforcement officers, 
servicemembers, firefighters, and medical professionals who answered 
the call of duty on that fateful day.
  Today, we also recognize its lasting impact on our country's foreign 
policy and national security interests. The events of 9/11 revealed 
vulnerabilities in our national security apparatus and underscored the 
necessity for a robust and proactive approach to safeguarding our 
Nation.
  Since the attacks, we have worked to rebuild our national security in 
a new period of great power competition with countries like China, 
Russia, and Iran, but since President Biden and Vice President Harris 
took office, their failed foreign policy of appeasement has diminished 
our standing on the world stage and emboldened our adversaries.
  It goes without saying that strong foreign policy is the key to a 
strong nation. House Republicans are advancing several bills this week 
as part of our ``China Week'' that will bolster our national security 
and defend against our adversaries.
  The House Foreign Affairs Committee also released their report on the 
Biden-Harris administration's failures during and after the 
catastrophic withdrawal from Afghanistan. I will speak more on that 
later.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Kim).
  Mrs. KIM of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Moore for 
yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, last month marked 3 years since the Biden-Harris 
administration's catastrophic withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.
  This administration rushed the withdrawal of troops, playing politics 
instead of preparing a plan to get Americans and Afghan partners to 
safety and to ensure stability in the region.
  The results were horrific. The Taliban pulled the rug out from under 
the Biden-Harris administration, quickly taking control of Afghanistan, 
and undoing the gains Americans and our allies made over years in just 
a matter of days.
  Meanwhile, 13 American servicemembers were killed in the line of 
duty, Americans and Afghan partners who supported our troops were 
stranded, and girls and women were swept under the rug.
  The President said he owed no apologies.
  The American people, our Gold Star families, and veterans beg to 
differ.
  As a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, I am working to 
conduct congressional oversight, demand accountability, and restore 
America's leadership on the world stage. The world is watching us. Xi 
Jinping, Kim Jong-un, Vladimir Putin, and the Ayatollah are all 
watching us, and our allies and partners around the world are watching 
us. We must promote peace through strength.
  Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from 
California for her remarks. Peace through strength, that is such a 
simple concept, and it has evaded us over the last few years.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Lopez).
  Mr. LOPEZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  As we all know, today is September 11, and we all recognize and 
remember what happened to our Nation on that day. For most Americans, 
it is the day that terrorism was brought on to our shore, and it was 
the beginning of America fighting against terrorist attacks.
  I want to talk today about what happened on August 26, 2021. That is 
the day of the unpardonable and disgraceful failure that was the Biden-
Harris administration's chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.
  When we look at what happened that day, as a veteran I watched and 
saw a Commander in Chief abandon America's sons and daughters. That is 
not a Commander in Chief. A Commander in Chief stands tall and never 
leaves a soldier behind, never leaves an American citizen behind. Yet, 
that is exactly what that administration did.
  Who is lower than a thief who steals the honor of his countrymen?
  Who is more abhorrent than a man who betrays their friends and gives 
comfort to his enemies?
  President Biden and Vice President Harris fled a country we freed for 
two decades and left it in the grasp of merciless terrorists.
  Why did we have to lose 13 brave American servicemembers? We didn't.
  We lost them because there was no real plan on how to get out of 
Afghanistan. Any real, true Commander in Chief would know that you must 
plan accordingly, that you must plan every single step to make sure 
that there is no one left behind. When you don't have that experience, 
when you don't understand the conflict that you are in, you will fail 
like this administration did.

  They say that if you want to test the character of a person, give 
them power. Well, we know the character of our Commander in Chief on 
that day, and truly the character shows that it was more important to 
deal with the optics politically than it was to protect the men and 
women in uniform.
  I am here to tell you that I firmly believe, a lot of Americans 
believe, and a lot of veterans that I know, friends, sons of my fellow 
brothers and sisters that served, they truly believe that the blood of 
these Americans is on the hands of the President and Madam Vice 
President.
  I talk to veterans that served in Afghanistan, and they talk about 
when they saw what was going on, when they saw it on the TV, it was a 
gut-wrenching thing to see because they had been there for years. They 
had deployed more than once or twice to stand tall and protect, and to 
see what happened tore them apart.
  It is difficult to encourage the young men and women to serve in our 
military when we have a Commander in Chief that abandons them.
  Billions of American taxpayer dollars in the form of advanced 
military weapons and equipment fell directly into the hands of 
terrorists to be used to target our allies and our troops, yet, they 
don't want to talk about that. They don't want to talk about the 
billions of dollars that were left behind.
  And worse was the fate of our Afghan allies who dedicated their lives 
to the betterment of their country, only to be brutally murdered when 
we pulled out, and the Taliban came to power. I know individuals that 
helped America, and their families were left behind, and they asked me: 
Why did this occur? How can America allow this to happen?
  I wish I had an answer for them, but the only thing I can tell them 
is it happened because we had a lack of courage.

                              {time}  1900

  It happened because we had no foresight. We had no means to 
understand what we were doing, and so we must change that.
  Many of those Afghan allies and their families are dead today, and, 
once again, we know whom to blame for that. I watched the debate last 
night, and when the question was asked: Are there any regrets? there 
was silence on that question.
  I am here to tell you, Mr. Speaker, that I understand why there is 
silence. It is because they don't have the courage to not only stand in 
front of those

[[Page H5195]]

family members who lost their sons and daughters, look them in the eye, 
and apologize for the mistake they made.
  You see, Mr. Speaker, true leadership recognizes when mistakes are 
made. True leadership stands tall and makes sure that it never happens 
again. However, silence leaves everyone wondering: What will they do 
the next time that situation arises?
  I hope that should there ever be another time, that we will have a 
different Commander in Chief, someone who truly understands how to 
protect, how to defend, and how to make America proud again when we 
send our sons and daughters into the battlefield.
  Those mistakes will make America look weak on the world stage, and we 
know that they have. Our credibility with our allies and everyone we 
have ever made promises to has been severely damaged, emboldening our 
adversaries around the globe. Shamefully, our chaotic withdrawal has 
weakened the morale of our servicemembers and rightfully so.
  When I served, I wore my uniform with honor. I wore it proudly 
because I believed in America, and I believed that the Commander in 
Chief would always have my back.
  Today, I question that. I question where the loyalty is of those 
individuals who made those decisions on that day. You see, Mr. Speaker, 
those perilous days in August in 2021 will always remain a stain on 
that administration's legacy for the lack of leadership.
  Make no mistake, Mr. Speaker. It is a stain on our flag. It is a 
stain that we must all endure only because they didn't have the courage 
and the understanding to do the right thing.
  How do you explain to the family members that they lost their loved 
ones for no real reason?
  How do you explain that?
  This is why they refuse to even acknowledge the family members, 
because there is no explanation. President Biden and Vice President 
Harris cannot undo the damage and the pain that they caused, but they 
could speak honestly to the American people about the facts of this 
failure.
  I urge them in the strongest terms to do that because the American 
people deserve the real truth.
  Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Colorado 
for his remarks. He is an individual who has had a short time here and 
is respected in just a few short months. He has been one of the most 
studious and one of the most thoughtful Members that I have seen in my 
3\1/2\ years, and I hope to be able to continue to find a way to serve 
with him. I am sincere about that, and I appreciate his heartfelt 
comments here tonight.
  Again, I thank my colleagues for being here and taking time to speak 
on some of the most pressing issues facing our Nation.
  Yesterday, Speaker Johnson posthumously awarded the Congressional 
Gold Medal to the families of the servicemembers killed in a barbaric 
act of terrorism at the Kabul Airport in Afghanistan on August 26, 
2021, including Staff Sergeant Taylor Hoover from Utah.
  President Biden's decision to abandon Bagram Air Base and its 
equipment forced our troops into the impossible task of securing an 
urban airport while also conducting an impossibly complex humanitarian 
operation, all under an unreasonable timeframe and without coordination 
from our allies. The aftermath gave our enemies a window of opportunity 
of which they took full advantage. Three years later, the Taliban are 
in control of Afghanistan and are building stronger diplomatic ties to 
China, making deeper overtures to Iran, and they have enabled the 
resurgence of ISIS-K in their backyard.
  I may be accused of regurgitating this information too much or we 
need to move on, and I still remember committing to a memorial service 
that a marine was lost from Utah to never forget and to always 
remember. That wasn't just a bad mistake. It had second, third, and 
fourth order consequences that we are going to be facing for decades to 
come.
  President Biden has often said that our number one priority was to 
make sure that Afghanistan could never again be used as an operating 
base from which to plan terrorist attacks on the American homeland. The 
current situation, however, heavily indicates that we are failing in 
this objective.
  I commend Chairman McCaul and his committee for their work on the 
report released this week that details key failures of the Biden-Harris 
administration during and after the catastrophic withdrawal from 
Afghanistan and its aftermath. Americans deserve answers for how this 
administration mishandled this crisis, and I am grateful for the 
committee's diligent work.
  Additionally, we should all agree that the China challenge is not a 
partisan issue. Ensuring our competitiveness with China should unite 
lawmakers from both sides of aisle. This is the all-encompassing policy 
fight of our generation. It is not just a faraway foreign policy issue, 
but rather is one that directly impacts our economic prosperity and 
shapes the livelihoods of every American.
  To that end, yesterday I joined Congressman Wenstrup, Congressman 
Pfluger, and Chairman Green in releasing a request for information to 
solicit feedback on policy solutions to strengthen and enhance domestic 
medical supply chains.
  Congress has the responsibility to ensure the safety and security of 
our Nation and ensure our medical supply chains are free from 
dependency on foreign adversaries.
  I am looking forward to working with my colleagues on this important 
issue and supporting my colleagues who have been sitting on the Select 
Committee on China and advancing valuable legislation out of this 
Chamber.

  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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