[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 86 (Wednesday, May 21, 2025)]
[House]
[Page H2206]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   PROTECT THE AFGHANS WHO SERVED US

  (Mr. Subramanyam of Virginia was recognized to address the House for 
5 minutes.)
  Mr. SUBRAMANYAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to oppose the Department 
of Homeland Security's termination of temporary protected status for 
Afghans. TPS has provided a lifeline to Afghans who supported U.S. 
national security efforts and risked their lives to support our 
missions.
  We offered them protection here because when allies stand with us, we 
have a responsibility to stand with them. This principle is a national 
security imperative. It helps build trust and helps build more allies. 
That trust gets undermined when we turn our back on those who protected 
us.
  Now, with the termination of TPS, we are sending our Army's allies 
back to the Taliban. These individuals and families were given just 
weeks to make an impossible choice: face deportation to return to 
Afghanistan under Taliban control where they will likely be suffering 
or even die.
  Many of these families live in our community here in Virginia.
  Take the story of a former captain in the Afghan National Army. He 
worked with the U.S. military, and his brother was shot by the Taliban. 
His entire family now fears for their lives. Abandoning Afghans now not 
only turns our back on those who risked their lives to protect us but 
puts our current and future global partnerships on the line.
  We have an incredible Afghan-American community in Virginia, and we 
have to stand up for them and stand up for the Afghans who have come 
here and who served us there.
  I urge the administration to reverse course.

                              {time}  1045


                      Celebrating Rajdhani Mandir

  Mr. SUBRAMANYAM. Mr. Speaker, from celebrating holidays to hosting 
community events, the Rajdhani Mandir temple is a cornerstone of the 
Hindu community in our region.
  This year, we will mark an important milestone of the temple's 25-
year anniversary, years of bringing people together at events, 
festivals like Holi, Diwali, and Navratri, and for children's 
programming, too, including regular Sunday classes.
  The temple also puts out programs for seniors and does incredible 
philanthropic work to provide food and resources to our community.
  I am honored to celebrate this milestone with the temple this 
weekend. I congratulate the Rajdhani Mandir temple on a successful 25 
years, and I am looking forward to the next 25 years of work.


            Congratulating Stone Hill Middle School Students

  Mr. SUBRAMANYAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate the students of 
Stone Hill Middle School, in Ashburn, Virginia: Avee, Neil, Vibhav, and 
Aarav; and their teacher, Pardeep, for placing third in the National 
Space Sustainability Competition.
  This competition allows students to address the need for sustainable 
practices in space by developing an engineering solution, creating a 
business plan, and submitting a video pitch for consideration.
  Their project, the Orbital Ecosystem Engineers, was pitched as an 
aerospace technology company to manage and remove space debris, which 
is a big problem right now. The technology used includes satellites, 
drones, and AI to find the best route to locate debris and the focus of 
the power of the Sun's rays to destroy the debris.
  I am eager to see what our students continue to do with their company 
in the future, and I wish them the best of luck in tackling 
sustainability in space.

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