[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 8]
[House]
[Pages 11578-11579]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              AFGHANISTAN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. Jones) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I must say that it is very disappointing that 
the last time the House of Representatives officially remembered the 
men and women who have died in Afghanistan was February of this year. 
Since then, we've lost a total of 79 members of our Armed Forces: 15 
were killed in March, 14 were killed in April, 22 killed in May, and 18 
killed in June.
  Why do we continue to send our young men and women to risk their life 
and limb in a country that will never change?
  In addition to this tragic waste of life, I am amazed at the lack of 
oversight of the taxpayers' money. After listening to the Special 
Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction

[[Page 11579]]

speak on the C-SPAN program, Washington Journal, on Monday, I will give 
you two examples of fraud and abuse that particularly stood out to me.
  We have countless buildings in Afghanistan constructed with 
taxpayers' dollars that remain unused or, even worse, falling apart. 
Mr. John Sopko, the Inspector General, referenced one building made of 
brick that he said is literally melting due to poor construction. How 
in the world can we continue to fund these programs in Afghanistan with 
very little oversight and, quite frankly, a waste of the taxpayers' 
money?
  Mr. Sopko further stated that we have $20 billion in the pipeline to 
be spent in Afghanistan while we are dealing with the ill effects of 
sequestration that Mr. Hoyer just spoke about, and cutting crucial 
programs for our military personnel right here at home.
  In particular, our mental health programs for our veterans are 
suffering because we are furloughing the civilian workers who help our 
veterans who are suffering from PTSD and TBI. Those people that are the 
professionals that help them are being cut. This is why this waste of 
money in Afghanistan is absolutely, Mr. Speaker, unacceptable.
  Congress is not listening to the American taxpayer. The taxpayer is 
fed up and tired of wasting money and life and limb in Afghanistan. 
History has said no nation has ever changed Afghanistan and no nation 
will ever change Afghanistan. We need to listen to the American people 
and stop this spending. And more importantly than the spending is the 
waste of life in Afghanistan.
  I ask my colleagues on both sides to come together and work together. 
Let's start reducing the amount of money that we are spending in 
Afghanistan, and let's also reduce the number of troops that have to go 
back and forth to Afghanistan.
  Sequestration and furloughs are creating one of the worst situations 
for our military that they have faced in many, many years. And again, 
we are looking at furloughing the professional doctors and nurses and 
mental health providers.
  Mr. Speaker, beside me is really what I say speaks better than my 
words. It is a photograph of a full-dressed Army contingency walking 
behind a caisson. Apparently, the wife of the soldier in the caisson is 
standing there with her little girl holding the mother's hand, and the 
little girl is wondering: Why is daddy in that flag-draped coffin?
  That is what's missing here in Congress, quite frankly, is there is 
no debate on the waste of life and the waste of money in Afghanistan. I 
ask the American people to put pressure on Members of Congress to stop 
this waste of life and money in Afghanistan.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I will close by asking God to please bless 
our men and women in uniform, to please bless the families of our men 
and women in uniform, and in His arms, to hold the families who have 
given a child dying for freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq.
  And I ask God to bless the House and Senate, that we will do what is 
right in the eyes of God for God's people. And I will ask God to please 
give strength and courage to the President of the United States, that 
he will do what is right in the eyes of God for God's people. And three 
times: God, please, God, please, God, please continue to bless America.

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