Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 2446) to reauthorize the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002, and for other purposes.

I thank the chairman of our committee, Chairman Lantos, for his leadership for so long on this issue.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I would like to voice my strong support for the chairman's bill, H.R. 2446, the Afghanistan Freedom and Security Support Act, and that's the key part of what we're talking about today, security support. This legislation is the product of the bipartisan cooperation that our committee has shown on an issue of critical importance to the United States and our allies in the war against Islamic militant extremists.

Five years ago, our Nation experienced a terrible tragedy, and it led our Nation to destroy the al Qaeda safe haven in Afghanistan that the brutal Taliban regime had created there. Our focus was to provide a safe, stable and secure Afghanistan that would deny global jihadists a base of operations to conduct their campaign of terror and destruction against our Nation and our critical security interests around the world.

Since then, Afghanistan has taken notable steps to emerge from decades of war, of violence, of oppression, toward a prosperous, secure, free, democratic nation. Today, over 5 million Afghan children are in school, including 2 million girls. This was prohibited under the Taliban rule. Hundreds of clinics and new schools are now open to serve the population as a result of international efforts. Media, cultural, business and political leaders are free to meet to discuss, to demonstrate and to guide policies that are transforming their nation across all sectors.

The Afghan economy is growing at an incredible rate, and institutional assistance for Afghan economic reconstruction has been forthcoming. Most importantly, the Afghanistan people, through their active direct participation in the political process, have demonstrated their desire to accelerate and ensure the movement of Afghanistan toward modern society.

However, challenges to these and other efforts remain, as Mr. Lantos has pointed out. A dramatic increase in illicit opium cultivation is financing and strengthening the Taliban and anticoalition activity. It's increasing crime and corruption, and it is eroding the authority of the central government institutions.

Afghanistan's ballooning drug trade has succeeded in expanding the ranks of the Taliban. It is no coincidence that opium and heroin production dramatically increased at the same time that the Taliban- staged massive counteroffensive, particularly in the south of the country.

The issue of Taliban and al Qaeda resurgence cannot be considered in a vacuum. In response, this critical legislation seeks to address the current situation in an integrated fashion, to include the confluence of the short-term goals to reduce opium activity and related corruption, while addressing longer-term developmental goals which have an impact on our counterterrorism and our counternarcotics policies and objectives.

In particular, within this critical legislation, we have worked to establish the means for developing a long overdue and coherent interdepartmental and counternarcotics strategy that addresses the deadly and the neglected illicit drug trade and its links to radical Islamic terrorism that imperil the future of Afghanistan.

In February of this year, I, along with some of my other colleagues on the Foreign Affairs Committee, wrote to the administration on the need for an across-the-board policy change on the illicit drug threat fueling the resurgence of the Taliban, the attacks on our coalition troops, and official corruption in Afghanistan.

The bill before us incorporates many of the recommendations that we proposed in this letter, and I thank Chairman Lantos for working so closely with us. I believe that his bill will prompt much-needed changes by mandating the appointment of a high level, interdepartmental Afghan coordinator with emphasis on a development of a coherent government-wide counter drug policy. This includes bringing the U.S. military into the fight, providing meaningful support for the drug enforcement administration with an emphasis on interdiction and on the extradition of major drug kingpins.

This legislation also contains limitations on assistance to senior Afghan local and provincial government officials who, based on evidence, are found to be supporting Islamic terrorist activities or narco-traffickers or drug producers or are involved in other criminal activities. This important oversight provision will be instrumental in assuring that vital U.S. reconstruction assistance is properly allocated and utilized.

I am also pleased that we were able to come to an agreement with Chairman Lantos on the extension of draw-down authority for military equipment, which promotes greater ability to operate with the international security assistance force and other allies in the country of Afghanistan.

In addition, the bill ensures that there will be prevetting of the recruits of the Afghan police to help adequately assess the candidates' aptitude, professionals skills, integrity and other qualifications for law enforcement work before they enter the service. Our efforts in Afghanistan, in particular, and our campaign against militant Islamic extremists in general must be pursued in a comprehensive manner.

As illustrated by this critical legislation, it requires an effective and unified reconstruction strategy with a unified counternarcotics strategy, counterterrorism strategy, and an Afghan government committed to fighting and eliminating corruption.

Only with this comprehensive approach will we accelerate economic development and reconstruction, improve the quality of life for Afghanistan and address the underlying conditions that fuel extremist acts and decisively defeat the jihadist elements that want to once again control Afghanistan.

My daughter-in-law, Lindsay, after serving her military tour in Iraq as a marine pilot, is now serving in Afghanistan. We hope that she will be back home with us by Thanksgiving. But we thank every brave man and woman who is wearing our Nation's uniform in Afghanistan, and we thank them for freeing an entire population, and we hope that their contributions will always be celebrated in this House.

This bill before us brings us closer to making sure that Afghanistan remains a free country and be without the extremist Islamic elements that seek to destroy it.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of our time.

Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to Judge Poe of Texas, a great member of our Foreign Affairs Committee.

Mr. Chairman, I'd like to yield such time as he may consume to Mr. Pence of Indiana, the ranking member of the Middle East and South Asia Subcommittee who has traveled to Afghanistan and closely follows the developments there.

MR. PENCE. Mr. Chairman, I especially want to thank our ranking member from Florida for yielding and the distinguished chairman of the full committee for their work on this important legislation.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the Afghanistan Freedom and Security Support Act, and I call for its passage. It was reported unanimously out of the Foreign Affairs Committee last month. Our action today would reauthorize the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002 passed 5 years ago this month, just a few short months after our invasion of the country that harbored the September 11 attackers.

Mr. Chairman, there is nearly unanimous agreement in this body that the battle currently under way in Afghanistan is in our vital national interests, and it is crucial and central to the war on terror. It is critical that we adequately resource and support our mission and the government and the people of Afghanistan.

As with any conflict, there are both positive and troubling signs today in Afghanistan. Challenges facing us include a resurgent Taliban, growing opium trade and slow progress on reconstruction.

On the positive side, our forces, in conjunction with NATO, are waging war on the Taliban, pursuing terrorist nests and providing support to the Karzai government. I was able to witness some of the early fruits of these efforts firsthand, along with some of my colleagues in December of 2004 when I visited. As in Iraq, our troops and civilian efforts there are inspiring in difficult and dangerous conditions.

Opium production remains a plague that will haunt this country until it is curbed. Tragically, Afghanistan is the world's largest opium producer. As Antonio Maria Costa of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime said last year, and I quote, ``Afghanistan's drug situation remains vulnerable to reversal because of mass poverty, lack of security, and the fact that the authorities have inadequate control over its territory.''

And that's why this bill is so important. In this legislation, $1.6 billion per year over the next 3 years are authorized for reconstruction and security assistance, specifically a pilot program of crop substitution to encourage legitimate alternatives to poppy cultivation, as well as an anti-corruption effort.

This bill also addresses, as has been alluded to by my colleagues, the continuing humanitarian needs and offers programs for women and children.

One of the most inspiring experiences of my life, Mr. Chairman, was during a visit to an American installation in the mountains of Jalalabad where we walked outside of the military base and visited a school which, for the first time, had running water, which, for the first time, more poignantly, had little girls in the classrooms. It was an extraordinary experience as I approached the gates of that school surrounded, as I was, by heavily armed American military personnel, only to see the children run forward out of the gates, embrace those soldiers and greet them, not as the glowering menaces that they might appear to a stranger but as friends. And I stood and marveled as the soldiers taught me words in their native Afghan tongue to greet the children and to be able to speak to them. It was extraordinary.

This legislation providing for the humanitarian needs and for programs for women and girls like those which I saw is truly treasure in heaven.

This legislation also encourages greater cooperation from friendly countries in the region, and it requires the President to keep Congress informed on the progress of these various issues.

Mr. Chairman, our success in Afghanistan will require a multi-tracked effort on numerous fronts in order for the United States to stay on the offensive in the war on terror and to stabilize this key ally in our shared struggle. The Afghanistan Freedom and Security Support Act is an important and central component in that fight, and I urge its strong support from my colleagues on both sides of the aisle.

Mr. Chairman, I'm pleased to yield such time as he may consume to Mr. Doolittle, of California, a member of the Appropriations Committee.

Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. McCotter), the House Republican policy chairman.

Mr. Chairman, I encourage all of my colleagues to support this far-reaching bill.

Mr. Chairman, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I rise to claim time in opposition, although I am not opposed to the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise in support of and have no objection to this manager's amendment, which contains minor technical and conforming changes. I support this amendment's consideration by unanimous consent.

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

Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, the amendment has a noble purpose, to enhance congressional oversight on the status of local governance in Afghanistan, including adherence to the rule of law, protection of human rights and operation of an effective justice system. Unfortunately, the amendment lacks specific criteria by which to measure these issues. It requires the administration to report, for example, on how the lack of implementation of the rule of law affects the operations of the Afghan National Army, the police and security forces. However, there are numerous factors that comprise the rule of law. How would this provision measure implementation of the rule of law?

Without a clear measure, how could any administration then state, with any degree of certainty, what effects the absence of such implementation had on the operations of Afghan security forces? It goes on to ask for an assessment on the ability of the Afghan judicial system to support the civil military side of military and police operations.

Again, a noble purpose, but there are no clear definitions, no guidelines to determine the information sought. Further, how could we establish a clear measure so that the administration can state how the actions of the Afghan security forces led to human rights abuses, and in turn, how much those abuses undermine counterinsurgency efforts? That is an extraordinary, complicated, causal chain, and some direction and clarification within the amendment itself, Mr. Chairman, would have been most useful.

We sought modifications to this amendment in an effort to arrive at an agreement on the text because I do support what my colleague from New York is trying to get at. We want to support the overarching goals of this bill, and his amendment is an attempt to do that.

I will continue to work closely with the gentleman from New York regarding his particular amendment to preserve its intent, to make sure that it can be effective in its implementation, but as currently drafted, I will have to oppose the amendment. I urge my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I urge our colleagues to defeat this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, this amendment both authorizes and requires oversight by the Inspectors General from the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development, and it does this in two main ways.

First, it requires the permanent deployment in Afghanistan of at least four IG staffers, two each from State and USAID, to audit, to investigate and to oversee economic and developmental assistance provided in Title I of the Act.

Secondly, it also earmarks a total of $4.5 million per year for these IG activities.

We all share the goal of ensuring that our investment in Afghanistan's economic and democratic development is not squandered. Fiscal accountability is always in order, Mr. Chairman. As a proportion of the total amounts in the Act, the amount earmarked by this amendment is roughly in the ballpark of the amount that USAID usually spends on IG activities as compared to its total budget. Furthermore, the activities contemplated by this amendment are in keeping with the current responsibilities of the State and USAID Inspectors General.

Solid plans that help maximize the impact of the strategy embodied in the underlying bill are to be welcomed. In this spirit, I am pleased to support this well-thought-out amendment by the gentleman from California; and I also urge my colleagues to support it as well.

I yield to the gentleman from California.

Reclaiming my time, Mr. Chairman, I would also like to thank Chairman Lantos as well as his staff for having such a wonderful, cooperative spirit and for the working relationship between staff and Members.

I thank the gentleman from California for offering this amendment, because it gets at the heart of what we want to do: fiscal accountability; making sure that our tax dollars are being used in the wisest way, free of corruption, and making sure that we have folks on the ground to look at those dollars. We have our precious treasure, our men and women in uniform, shedding blood for freedom. Let's make sure that American taxpayer dollars are being used in the correct way as well.

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

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I rise in strong support of the Franks amendment. Since last April, two arms shipment from Iran, including mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, C-4 explosives and small arms have reportedly been intercepted by U.S. and coalition troops.

Further, a NATO spokesman recently stated that an explosively formed projectile, EFP, which resembled the EFPs bearing Iranian manufacturing markings that have been found in Iraq, have been recently discovered in Kabul. This directly affects the safety and security of our men and women serving in Afghanistan. As I pointed out previously, my daughter- in-law is one of those wearing our Nation's uniform serving in Afghanistan. We want to make sure that we protect everyone in that country.

These disturbing developments may indicate that the Iranian regime has decided to also undermine the government of Afghanistan and U.S. efforts to deny Islamic militants a safe haven in Afghanistan.

While fighting in Afghanistan has thus far been concentrated near the Pakistani border, increased Iranian interference in Afghanistan may indicate an attempt to provoke the U.S. and our coalition partners into opening a second front. Iran's apparently increasing involvement in this central front of the global war against radical jihadists reflects the goal of the regime of pursuing regional dominance, spreading radical Islam, and counteracting western influence in the region. Such a goal is intolerable. As in Iraq, failure in Afghanistan is not an option.

Mr. Chairman, the Afghanistan Freedom and Security Support Act works to bolster our efforts, and I support the Franks amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I rise to claim the time in opposition, although I am not opposed to the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) stating that technical assistance should be provided to train national, provincial and local government personnel for capacity-building purposes as it relates to education, health care, human rights, and particularly in respect to women and political participation.

As we have heard this afternoon, Mr. Chairman, under the Taliban's brutal regime, their blatant disregard for the lives and the well-being of the Afghan people, was perhaps most clearly evident among half of their population, the women of Afghanistan. They have been made destitute, sick and marginalized. They were banned from receiving any education past the age of 8. They were denied proper medical treatment, and they were not allowed to work.

Today, the Afghan people are free with women enjoying the freedoms and opportunities previously denied to them under the Taliban. In order for our efforts in Afghanistan to be effective, it is critical that we continue to provide the Afghan people with the tools and the training necessary for the development and sustainability of educational institutions, protection of human rights, and implementation of political reforms.

It is imperative that our efforts focus on educating and training the officials of the Afghan government at the local level as local officials have a better understanding of the needs of their citizens and will be better prepared to address those needs.

This amendment also seeks to ensure that girls complete secondary education so they will be better suited to pursue their post-secondary education. Without proper education of its women and a society more open to women who holding jobs, Afghanistan's political and economic development is doomed to failure.

Providing Afghan girls with proper education will give rise to a new generation of confident and educated women with skills to pursue careers that will open unprecedented opportunities for them and enhance Afghanistan's economic sector. I urge my colleagues to support the Jackson-Lee amendment.

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

Mr. Chairman, I rise to claim time in opposition, although I am not opposed to this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this amendment offered by our distinguished colleague from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) supporting efforts to bolster women's political participation by protecting female legislators when they return to the provinces they represent.

This important amendment includes a sense of Congress stating that assistance provided to foreign countries and international organizations under this provision should be used in part to protect these female legislators.

It is no secret that Afghan women were brutalized under the Taliban rule. They were frequently beaten, raped, kidnapped and killed. They had no access to education nor health care and were routinely singled out for abuse simply because they were women. They lived in nightmarish conditions that few of us could even imagine.

Five years after the fall of the Taliban, the women of Afghanistan are making substantial progress in reclaiming their rightful place in society. They are working as doctors, lawyers, teachers, civil servants and in numerous other professions.

These women have overcome unimaginable obstacles, and they deserve our ongoing support as they work to build a new democracy. We must continue to work to ensure that they are not threatened, nor intimidated nor physically harmed by those who seek to bring Afghanistan back to the oppressive and brutal times experienced under the Taliban regime.

As part of the work that my daughter-in-law does in her military service in Afghanistan, Lindsay encounters many Afghan women and is impressed with the great progress they have made in such a brief time. Let us not go back in time.

Women legislators in Afghanistan are currently targets of attacks perpetrated by Islamic militant extremists. We must enhance the efforts in providing a safe and secure environment for these women to allow them to pursue their legislative duties and encourage future generations of women to seek leadership positions in Afghan society.

I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the remainder of our time.

Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the amendment offered by the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Kirk).

The search and the long hunt for Osama bin Laden and other major radical Islamic terrorists we want brought to justice in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region requires new ideas and new tools for law enforcement and those who are involved in this initiative. Mr. Kirk's amendment represents such an initiative, by improving our terrorist rewards program to reflect the reality of what we face on the ground.

Our terrorist rewards program has been a valuable and successful tool, and I urge my colleagues to adopt the Kirk amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I rise to claim time in opposition to this amendment.

The issue of providing compensation to Afghan civilians is one whose efficacy is not questioned. Our brave troops on the ground offer such support through the allocation of the Commander's Emergency Response Program funding and other avenues that allow U.S. forces to compensate civilians for the damage caused due to ongoing U.S. operations.

However, the manner by which my esteemed colleague from Ohio, my good friend, Mr. Kucinich, seeks to go about addressing this issue would establish an extremely troublesome precedent regarding our operations in and our policy toward Afghanistan.

Simply put, U.S. taxpayer funds, U.S. assistance for Afghanistan, should not be used to fund long-term compensation programs under the Post-Operations Humanitarian Relief Fund of the International Security Assistance Force for damage caused by foreign forces and not U.S. forces.

By contrast, the underlying bill acknowledges ongoing U.S. efforts to support war victims affected by U.S. operations and then calls for a feasibility study to be conducted in order to assess if there is a need to expand U.S. assistance to Afghan civilian war victims.

The Kucinich amendment, however, seeks to circumvent this necessary precursor, essentially prescribing a solution to this problem before the diagnosis is received, and, again, seeking to assign U.S. responsibility for the actions of others. The United States could work diplomatically with participant nations to ensure that they make proper and substantially greater contributions to this relief fund.

However, I find it to be outside of the parameters for the U.S. assistance to Afghanistan to cover the international forces where they have fallen short, thereby putting the onus on the United States to step up financially for damages that we have not created.

Mr. Chairman, I strongly urge my colleagues to vote against this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the amendment offered by my distinguished friend from Nebraska (Mr. Terry).

This important amendment requires the U.S. Agency for International Development to give priority in awarding grants to nongovernmental organizations, to those based in the United States that have an established and cost-effective record in developing and administering such programs within Afghanistan.

In addition, it focuses on organizations that specialize in the teaching of the people of Afghanistan how to create and sustain quality economic and educational system. In this respect, U.S.-based organizations, with a proven track record of accountability and cost- effectiveness and the development and administration of such programs in Afghanistan, should be granted priority in the grant process.

This amendment is necessary, both as a means of ensuring accountability at all levels of the contracting process, and for proper oversight by Congress.

I thank my colleague and friend for introducing this important amendment, and I strongly urge its adoption.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the amendment offered by my distinguished colleague and my friend, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Van Hollen).

This amendment seeks to promote the empowerment of citizens at the local level in the decision-making process, including reconstruction and economic development.

One of the key elements necessary to achieve success in Afghanistan is enhancing and promoting citizen participation in the reconstruction and economic development efforts in that country.

Citizens making decisions is a critical part in a democratic society, and this will enhance Afghanistan's political and economic institutions. Local participation, local decision-making will allow the Afghan people to take charge of their own lives and make decisions based on the needs of their local communities.

In addition to ensuring security, fighting the illicit illegal narcotics trade, related terrorist activities, developing the infrastructure for a sustainable democratic central government, the economic situation must also improve if Afghans are to have confidence in their own future and if they are to build upon the progress they have achieved thus far.

A lack of success in the economic forum has the potential to undermine political developments. It could risk demoralizing the aspirations of Afghan citizens and could jeopardize their ability to actively shape their destiny.

The United States must work hard to ensure that Afghanistan is never again a haven for terrorists, a major source of narcotics, or a source of instability or oppression towards its citizens.

Again, I thank the gentleman from Maryland for introducing this important amendment. I strongly urge my colleagues to support it.

And before I yield the remainder of our time to my good friend and our fearless leader, Chairman Lantos, I want to thank the excellent staff that has been working on our Republican side with the Democratic side on forging this strong bill; and perhaps next time, Mr. Lantos, we will come to the floor wearing tie-dyed T-shirts and love beads and singing Kumbaya.

Mr. Chairman, I yield the remainder of our time to Chairman Lantos.

Mr. Chairman, allow me to thank my good friend the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House for his energy and the focused way in which this committee is pursuing its business of engaging and improving the relations of the United States with those around the world. Let me thank the ranking member as well, whom I have worked with on many issues dealing with women and children, and I appreciate their collective leadership.

This bill is an important restatement of what many of us have argued for and continue to make the point that the building pieces that we can offer to Afghanistan will build a building of peace for decades and centuries to come. Frankly, many of us believe that the war on terror is seeded in Afghanistan and would like us to find or to be able to invest not only as it relates militarily to the concerns of the borders between Afghanistan and Pakistan and the rise of the Taliban but to seed out, if you will, the bad seeds of terrorism, to make Afghanistan the shining star, people desiring and hungering for the water of democracy.

So this legislation, the Afghanistan Freedom and Security Support Act of 2007, needs to be reauthorized and has in it a valuable statement about the United States' commitment, longevity in its commitment, to helping Afghanistan put forward the building blocks of peace. The fact that it authorizes $1.7 billion in each of the fiscal years 2008 to 2010 emphasizes economic and development assistance and as well capacity building programs and, as has been mentioned, women and girls programs.

Let me cite, Mr. Chairman, an individual who has really been a sole champion on the issue of educating Afghan children. And, of course, I am very grateful for your accepting my amendment regarding the refugee resettlement in the manager's amendment and look forward to discussing my amendment regarding the emphasis on training girls to encourage them to finish secondary school, and as well, my amendment regarding the safety of women legislators. But I do want to pay tribute to Josanna Smith. She is a name that you may not have heard, but she has devised a little chalkboard that is able to travel in places where many of us couldn't in the high hills of Afghanistan to give to the children that

many of us see in pictures or have actually visited them, as I have done, and giving books to these children, sitting in little circles trying to learn.

This little simple, if you will, chalkboard that ties to it a piece of chalk allows children to learn. Josanna has put together a foundation where it is almost self-funded. She has been to Afghanistan and many places around the world.

I cite Josanna Smith as an example of the kind of good heartedness of Americans who really desire the best for Afghanistan and see it as the place where we can, in essence, make the fruits of democracy thrive.

This legislation acknowledges that the war on terror started first in the bowels of this country. It acknowledges the need to address the controversy and conflict on the Afghan and Pakistan border. It recognizes the rise of the Taliban. And, hopefully, it will characterize the foreign policy of this Nation, that is, that we must solve the terror in Afghanistan before we begin to completely finish the war on terror or at least make the forward step that we need to make.

I look forward to discussing the amendments that will hopefully further help women and women legislators take their rightful place in a free and open democracy that is safe and secure, and that is the country of Afghanistan.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of H.R. 2446, ``the Afghanistan Freedom and Security Support Act of 2007.'' This is an extremely important and timely piece of legislation, and I commend the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Mr. Lantos, for introducing it. In the nearly 5 years since the 9/11 attacks, and the subsequent ouster of the Taliban and al-Qaeda from Afghanistan, we have made significant efforts to secure that nation from the Taliban.

However, the Taliban continues to pose a very real threat to Afghanistan's stability. After enduring decades of violence and hardship, the people of Afghanistan continue to live in a climate of ongoing turmoil, particularly in the southern regions of the country, where there are ongoing and dangerous clashes between coalition-led forces and insurgents. Despite our positive efforts, the Taliban has been able to reorganize, and continues destabilize the country.

These unfortunate realities remind us of the need to continue U.S. programs in Afghanistan, as well as the necessity of continually studying and revising our involvement to ensure that taxpayer dollars are being put to the best possible use. If the United States is to ensure that Afghanistan is secure and stable in the long run, we must address the underlying causes of persistent violence, including the still-flourishing opium trade and the nation's lack of infrastructure.

Education, so long neglected under the Taliban regime, will be a vital component of Afghanistan's development. I commend the many individuals and groups who have been tirelessly furthering the cause of Afghanistan; individuals like Josanna Smith and her organization Worldwide Wisdom United, Inc. Ms. Smith's organization has distributed thousands of Learning Boards TM, which are sturdy, hand-held chalkboards containing eraser and a supply of chalk. This simple but ingenious device can mean the world of difference to a child in Afghanistan, opening up a future of economic success and self- sustainability. I commend Ms. Smith, and other Americans like her, for bravely recognizing and addressing this ongoing problem.

I am proud to have offered two important amendments to this legislation, both of which I believe will strengthen this bill and help it to achieve its intended purpose. My first amendment states that technical assistance should be provided to train national, provincial, and local governmental personnel for capacity-building purposes as it relates to education, health care, human rights (particularly women's rights), and political participation. This amendment also seeks to ensure girls complete secondary education so they are prepared and have the ability to pursue post-secondary education.

My second amendment seeks to bolster women's political participation by protecting women legislators when they return to the provinces they represent. It states that it is the sense of Congress that assistance provided to foreign countries and international organizations under this provision should be used, in part, to protect these female legislators.

This bill has many other important provisions. Key among these are programs to combat narcotics trafficking and rampant corruption. Additionally, this bill encourages greater regional cooperation. I believe this to be a vital aspect to any effort toward peace in Afghanistan, and I strongly encourage regional dialogue and the involvement of Afghanistan's neighbors.

Mr. Chairman, we have a responsibility to Afghanistan. We have pledged a commitment to Afghanistan's long-term stability. I believe that this bill is essential and urgent, and I strongly urge my colleagues to join me in support of it.

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I thank the chairman and the ranking member for their leadership on this issue.

Earlier in the debate I mentioned the concept of building blocks of democracy. Frankly, I believe this amendment speaks to the building of capacity to ensure that democracy.

Having first started my elective political career in local government, I know that many times we say that is where the rubber hits the road.

The effort of my amendment is to ensure that those who are involved in local and State government would have the ability to build capacity through technical assistance that will train national, provincial and local government personnel for capacity-building purposes.

In order to govern, you must have information, information on education, health care, human rights, and political participation. This legislation globally speaks to those issues in a large manner.

I would like to technically emphasize the one-on-one training and influence and information to those who have to govern. The more we can do that, the more we can build capacity. And the more of those who are in the leadership positions can establish confidence so that when they confront the emerging terror of the Taliban or the questioning face of a chieftain, they can have the response that this is, in fact, good government.

My amendment also goes to encourage girls in Afghanistan to finish secondary school. We realize this bill has a very strong focus on women and girls, but there has to be the added measure of incentive, not only to the earlier grades, but to say to a young woman that by finishing secondary school, you can go on to post-secondary education, building the blocks of democracy which would include women who would be enabled to be doctors, lawyers, scientists and teachers, building a society in Afghanistan that will need not only men but also women.

May I close by simply saying I point to a picture that points to this learning board that I mentioned earlier. These are the kinds of tools that would give young people and those without, if you will, various equipment to go to school the opportunity to do so. I ask my colleagues to support this amendment.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for allowing me to explain my amendment to H.R. 2446, the ``Afghanistan Freedom and Security Support Act of 2007.'' I believe this is an extremely important piece of legislation, and I commend the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Mr. Lantos, for introducing it.

In the nearly 5 years since the 9/11 attacks, and the subsequent ouster of the Taliban and al-Qaeda from Afghanistan, we have made significant efforts to secure the nation from the Taliban. But we must do more; otherwise, a resurgent Taliban will continue to pose a very real threat to Afghanistan's stability.

This bill is an important step toward a more secure Afghanistan, and, ultimately, a more stable region. It authorizes $1.7 billion in each of fiscal years 2008 through 2010 for economic and development assistance and provides additional support for other capacity building programs, such as assistance to women and girls ($45 million per annum), energy development and counter-narcotics ($75 million per annum). Additionally, the bill authorizes funding for counter-narcotics efforts and programs to increase the capacity of Afghan national, provincial, and local governments, and additional development programs.

In addition to authorizing assistance to address the continuing humanitarian needs, this legislation targets the ongoing opium trade, as well as persistent problems of corruption. The bill links these various sectors of policy together, integrating security, reconstruction, and development concerns with counter-narcotics and anti-corruption policies.

My amendment simply states that technical assistance should be provided to train national, provincial, and local governmental personnel for capacity-building purposes. In particular, this amendment emphasizes the need to build local capacity in the critical fields of

education, healthcare, human rights, and political participation. My amendment will also encourage girls in Afghanistan to finish secondary school, providing them with the ability to pursue post-secondary education.

Mr. Chairman, this amendment is born from my strong belief that we must take a long-term view toward reconstruction in Afghanistan, and, in doing so, we must develop the capacity of Afghanistan's citizens. Under the Taliban regime, education, healthcare, human and women's rights, and political participation were seriously stunted by the government's oppressive policies. These sectors are absolutely crucial to the long-term stability and sustainability of Afghanistan.

My amendment specifically speaks to the need to combat the lingering societal barriers that may discourage girls from completing secondary education. According to UNICEF's 2005 estimates, 1 million primary school age girls in Afghanistan were not enrolled in school, and education of girls continues to be undervalued in many communities.

Girls and women were horribly oppressed under the Taliban, and we must take particular care to ensure that the lack of opportunities afforded to females under the previous leadership is not carried over into the current government. Encouraging girls to complete their education would be extremely beneficial for both the women and girls themselves, and for Afghan society as a whole.

Mr. Chairman, we have recognized the shortcomings of Afghanistan's infrastructure. Even as we express our commitment to continuing our programs in Afghanistan, we must look forward to the day we will ultimately leave that country to stand on its own. We must do everything we can to ensure that, sooner rather than later, Afghanistan will no longer need our ongoing assistance.

My amendment represents an important step toward that ultimate goal, while at the same time serving our short-term goals and increasing the effectiveness of the humanitarian programs outlined by this legislation.

To conclude, let me thank Chairman Lantos for his leadership on this issue. I am confident that we can work together to craft legislation designed to ensure that Afghanistan can recover from the excesses and abuses of previous regimes, and become an active and prosperous member of the international community. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

I yield to the gentleman from California.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlelady for her support, I ask my colleagues to support this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I want to join Chairman Lantos in applauding this legislation as being bipartisan, and all of us seemingly speaking from the same songbook about the need to build these blocks of democracy, but also to enhance the opportunities for women.

Might I just cite as a need for my amendment a report from the BBC that says an international women's rights group says guarantees given to Afghan women after the fall of the Taliban in 2001 have not translated into real change.

Another quote from an Afghan woman: ``When I am at home, sometimes I feel as though someone is choking me.'' And 57 percent of girls are married before the legal age of 16.

We know that we have made great strides, but there is much more for us to do. Former example, a controversial Afghan politician and former member of parliament, Jalalai Joya, reported in May 2006 that she was forced to sleep in a different house every night as a result of the numerous death threats they have received. She has been quoted as saying ``women still live under the shadow of the gun. Women are still victims of violence.'' Joya was subsequently ousted from parliament after she continuously voiced controversial criticisms of her fellow, mostly male, lawmakers.

Raazia Baloch was presented with a broken Kalashnikov firearm upon her election to the provincial assembly, which local authorities told her was for her protection. Ms. Baloch serves a particularly volatile province where, short after her election, an unknown gunman emptied his AK-47 into a van leaving the province's women's ministry.

The unfortunate truth is if these women are going to serve, they are going to need our special attention. And I do believe in the relationship that the United States has with Afghanistan. The leadership of President Karzai, speaking to him directly, I know he has a great concern for the viability of women elected officials. In

fact, might I say that in a direct, one-on-one conversation with any number of Afghan women parliamentarians during my visit to Afghanistan, talking to them face to face, eye to eye, sister to sister, if you will, they made it very clear when they do their work in the capital, and they have to go home to their district, just like any one of us, they fear for their lives. They are concerned about being able to fully represent their constituents by going home and coming back safely.

Might I just quote additionally, a female owner of a radio station was shot seven times while she slept at home with her 20-month-old son. She is the second female journalist to be murdered in Afghanistan in the past week.

So my amendment is very clear, and it is very straight. It allows us through this legislation to make a very pronounced statement, and that statement is that it is the sense of this Congress that assistance provided to foreign countries and international organizations under this provision should be used in part to protect these female legislators. I hope this is part of helping us help them build democracy.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for allowing me to explain my amendment to H.R. 2446, the Afghanistan Freedom and Security Support Act of 2007. I believe this is an extremely important piece of legislation, and I commend the chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Mr. Lantos, for introducing it. In the nearly 5 years since the 9/11 attacks, and the subsequent ouster of the Taliban and al-Qaeda from Afghanistan, we have made significant efforts to secure the nation from the Taliban; however, the Taliban continues to pose a very real threat to Afghanistan's stability.

This bill is an important step towards a more secure Afghanistan, and ultimately, a more stable region. It authorizes $1.7 billion in each of fiscal years 2008 through 2010 for economic and development assistance and provides additional support for other capacity building programs, such as assistance to women and girls, $45 million per annum, energy development and counter narcotics, $75 million per annum. Additionally, the bill authorizes funding for counter-narcotics efforts and programs to increase the capacity of Afghan national, provincial, and local governments, and additional development programs.

In addition to authorizing assistance to address the continuing humanitarian needs, this legislation targets the ongoing opium trade, as well as persistent problems of corruption. The bill links these various sectors of policy together, integrating security, reconstruction, and development concerns with counter-narcotics and anti-corruption policies.

My amendment addresses the very serious issue of persecution of women legislators in Afghanistan. All women, but particularly those who demonstrate the courage to become national leaders, continue to face intimidation and violence. If we are to encourage political and civic participation among women, which I strongly advocate, we must ensure that those who bravely venture into the political arena are protected when they return home to the districts they represent.

After many years of oppressive Taliban control, women in Afghanistan are now beginning to emerge from the shadows. For the first time in recent memory, they now have the opportunity to take an active role in their country's political destiny. As a female legislator myself, I believe that women should be strongly encouraged to become national leaders; I believe their involvement is extremely beneficial to the nation.

And yet, these women face specific dangers as a result of their gender. They may be exposed to vile threats and even physical violence. For example, controversial Afghan politician and former Member of Parliament Malalai Joya reported in May 2006 that she was forced to sleep in a different house every night as a result of the numerous death threats she received. She has been quoted as saying ``women still live under the shadow of the gun. * * * women are still victims of violence.'' Joya was subsequently ousted from parliament after she continuously voiced controversial criticisms of her fellow, mostly male, law-makers.

In 2006, another legislator, Raazia Baloch, was presented with a broken Kalashnikov firearm upon her election to the provincial assembly, which local authorities told her was for her protection. Ms. Baloch serves a particularly volatile province, where, shortly after her election, an unknown gunman emptied his AK-47 into a van leaving the province's women's ministry.

The unfortunate truth is that women's rights are not yet enshrined in Afghanistan. Women who venture into other leadership roles are threatened as well. Only this morning, Zakia Zaki, the female owner of an Afghan radio station, was shot seven times while she slept at home with her 20 month-old son. She is the second female journalist to be murdered in Afghanistan in the past week.

This further illustrates the unfortunate truth: Women continue to face persecution and abuses, despite the fall of the Taliban. Until we have reached a point where the basic rights of women are protected by Afghanistan's government and cultural and social institutions, I believe that we need to make every effort to ensure that basic rights are respected.

I believe my amendment is absolutely crucial. With residual societal barriers against women and girls persisting even under the new government, I believe we must make every effort to protect women legislators from the persecution and violence they may face in their local communities.

[From the BBC News, Oct. 31, 2006]

No ``Real Change'' for Afghan Women

(By Pam O'Toole)

An international women's rights group says guarantees given

to Afghan women after the fall of the Taleban in 2001 have

not translated into real change.

Womankind Worldwide says millions of Afghan women and girls

continue to face systematic discrimination and violence in

their households and communities.

The report admits that there have been some legal, civil

and constitutional gains for Afghan women.

But serious challenges remain and need to be addressed

urgently, it states.

These include challenges to women's safety, realisation of

civil and political rights and status.

Womankind Worldwide sent a film crew to Afghanistan to

investigate the situation of women there.

They found a young Afghan woman crying in hospital who said

she wanted to die. She was recovering after setting fire to

herself.

Womankind Worldwide says there has been a dramatic rise in

cases of self-immolation by Afghan women since 2003.

It believes many are the result of forced marriages,

thought to account for about 60% to 80% of all Afghan

marriages.

57% of girls are married before the legal marriage age of

16.

Domestic violence remains widespread.

At an Afghan women's shelter, a young woman told the film

crew that she came to the shelter to target life's troubles.

``I come here so I can ease the pain a little. When I am at

home sometimes I feel as though someone is choking me,'' she

told the film crew.

Womankind Worldwide says the Afghan authorities rarely

investigate women's complaints of violent attacks.

Women reporting rape run the risk of being imprisoned for

having sexual intercourse outside marriage.

Although women now hold more than 25% of the seats in the

Afghan parliament, female politicians and activists often

face intimidation or even violence.

``Women who are standing up to defend women's rights are

not being protected,'' says Brita Fernandes Schmidt of

Womankind Worldwide.

``My message, really, to the international community is:

you need to address specific security issues for women,'' she

says.

``Women's rights activists are getting killed, women's NGO

workers are getting killed, and that is not going to change

unless some drastic action is taken,'' Ms Fernandes

continues.

Womankind Worldwide says the international community needs

to fulfil promises made after the fall of the Taleban to help

protect Afghan women.

It says the international community should give women a

greater voice in setting the aid and reconstruction agenda.

Until basic rights are granted to Afghan women in practice

as well as on paper, the report says, it could not be said

that the status of Afghan women had changed significantly in

the past five years.

I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos).

I thank the distinguished gentleman.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve my time.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I thank the ranking member for her support and eloquent words on this issue and as well the chairman of the committee for his support.

Let me conclude by simply reading the headline of an article: Female Afghan and Pakistani Politicians Forced from Office. This is as late as Wednesday, May 23, 2007.

Let me thank my colleagues. I believe my amendment will further enhance our goals, and that is to provide opportunities for all of those in public life, including women in Afghanistan seeking to build the building blocks of democracy, and I ask my colleagues to support my amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back my time.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2446 and yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, the Taliban is back, posing not only an insidious threat to the people of Afghanistan but to our Nation as well. We simply cannot allow a resurgence of the Taliban. If we do, al Qaeda will once again be able to use Afghanistan as a state-sponsored launching pad for terror.

And so every schoolhouse door in Afghanistan is a threshold to stopping terrorism. Every new power line in Afghanistan is a frontline in the war on terror. Every farm in Afghanistan used for legitimate crops, instead of opium poppies, is fertile ground for peace.

So we ought to look at funding Afghanistan as both good foreign policy and good domestic policy. Every dollar we invest now translates into lives and dollars we save in the future, both in Afghanistan and in the United States.

Our initial efforts, Mr. Chairman, in Afghanistan must be redoubled. For that reason, it was my pleasure to join with the ranking Republican member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, my good friend, Ileana Ros- Lehtinen of Florida, in introducing this crucial reauthorization bill, which clearly demonstrates our long-term, bipartisan commitment to Afghanistan.

Our job in Afghanistan is not finished, not by a long shot. Yes, the Taliban was seemingly purged from that Nation in 2001 and a democratic government was established in its place, but we must not have a false sense of security.

The effectiveness and very existence of the Karzai government is threatened as we meet here today. As we speak, the volatile southern part of Afghanistan is aflame with clashes between NATO coalition troops and the reorganized forces of the Taliban. Make no mistake: Afghanistan is a brush fire that could ignite easily into an all-out conflagration.

Recently, Mr. Chairman, there has been an alarming return to the reign of terror against women in Afghanistan. Just today we learned of the slaying of a pioneering advocate of free speech, a courageous woman who owned a radio station near Kabul, shot to death in her home. This brutal attack shows how difficult the working environment has become for journalists, especially for journalists who are women.

So the Afghans need our help as much as ever. The teetering situation there is an echo of the instability just after the United States and our allies invaded that country. Security for the people and stability of the government are paramount.

Let me sketch, Mr. Chairman, the basic outline of our bipartisan legislation. The first title of the Lantos/Ros-Lehtinen bill provides much-needed financial aid for health care, energy development, programs for women and girls, assistance to combat corruption, and a crop substitution program to curtail the growing of poppy. Under this section of our bill, the administration will be required to certify whether any senior official in Afghanistan's provincial or local government is involved in the illegal narcotics trade and to take appropriate action.

Our bill also requires the President to appoint a coordinator for our Afghanistan assistance programs, including counter-narcotics. We mandate accountability in the effort to eliminate narcotics corruption.

Title II of our bill bolsters security and policing in Afghanistan, supporting the international security

force beyond October, 2007, and further training the Afghans. It encourages greater participation from countries in the region, and it mandates the creation of special drug interdiction teams.

We must recognize, Mr. Chairman, that security in Afghanistan is inextricably intertwined with the fight against the narcotics trade.

Title III of our bill ensures greater planning and accountability for the future of the country, and it fosters regional coordination. A structured blueprint for 2008 will be required, with updates as necessary. Reporting and evaluation measures will be expanded and extended. These are all crucial provisions for meeting benchmarks and assessing progress so that Congress can perform the oversight that is important to our successful effort in a war-torn country.

I want to repeat, Mr. Chairman, we will not let Afghanistan fail. The world is watching, and it wants to know whether we have the resolve to fight the terrorist forces threatening Afghanistan, whether we are ready to maintain the country's security and stability.

Mr. Chairman, the Committee on Foreign Affairs approved our bipartisan legislation unanimously. I want to repeat this because it indicates the unanimous conviction of the Foreign Affairs Committee, reflecting the view of this body and the American people, that Afghanistan will be a successful endeavor.

I want to express my appreciation for the support of not only the ranking member, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, but also the chairman and ranking member of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, Mr. Ackerman and Mr. Pence.

I urge all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join us in strongly supporting this most important piece of legislation.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I am very pleased to yield 3 minutes to the distinguished chairman of the Armed Services Committee, my good friend from Missouri, Ike Skelton.

Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to Congressman Adam Smith, the chairman of the Armed Services Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee and a valued member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Mr. Chairman, I'm pleased to yield 2 minutes to my neighbor in California, a valued member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Ms. Lynn Woolsey.

Mr. Chairman, I'm very pleased to yield 3 minutes to my good friend and distinguished colleague from New York, Mrs. Carolyn Maloney, chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions.

Mr. Chairman, I am very pleased to yield 4 minutes to my good friend from Texas, a distinguished colleague, Sheila Jackson-Lee, chairwoman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection.

(Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Chairman, I am very pleased to yield 2 minutes to my good friend from Connecticut, Congressman Joe Courtney, distinguished member of the Committee on Education and Labor.

Mr. Chairman, before yielding back, I would like to make just a couple of observations.

It is such a rare pleasure to manage a major bill of international significance on a bipartisan basis. Our Nation wins when Congress is united. This Congress is united on our policy with respect to Afghanistan. Just as importantly, Mr. Chairman, was my privilege some years back to point out that Afghanistan is not an American problem; it is a problem for the civilized the world. And I called for NATO to take over the responsibility in Afghanistan.

NATO is now the principal operating entity on behalf of freedom and democracy in the country of Afghanistan. NATO should be performing this function. It is the greatest military alliance in the history of the world, and it is my earnest hope that, just as NATO has accepted its responsibility in the struggle in Afghanistan, it will do so in other troubled parts of the world.

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

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I am offering this amendment on behalf of my distinguished colleague, the ranking Republican member, and myself.

Our amendment makes a number of technical, clarifying and clerical changes to several provisions in this bill as reported by the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Mr. Chairman, this amendment has been cleared by both the Republican and Democratic sides, and I urge all of my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Will the gentleman yield?

I want to thank my friend from New York for his very thoughtful amendment, and I am extremely pleased to support it.

Mr. Chairman, I want to thank my friend from Indiana for yielding, and I want to thank him for working with the committee. I understand the gentleman is going to withdraw his amendment, and I thank him for his courtesy.

I fully support his sentiment that is behind his amendment, and I will work with him on this issue as H.R. 2446 goes through the legislative process.

Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. Chairman, I want to thank my friend for his extremely thoughtful and very necessary amendment, and I am very pleased to support it strongly.

With billions of dollars being poured into reconstruction and development assistance, justifiably so, we have a heavy responsibility to the American people to ensure that our taxpayer dollars are being spent in the manner in which they were intended.

As the gentleman knows, we just had a hearing with the Inspector General for Afghanistan which was singularly

instructive and illuminating and highlighted many of the problems in the spending of our tax dollars in Afghanistan. This function is the function of the Inspectors General at the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Your amendment requires that these officers be permanently deployed in Afghanistan, which they are not currently, so that on-the-ground assessments can be made in real time and with full continuity. Your amendment authorizes additional funds to help ensure that adequate resources are allocated to measure the effectiveness of our aid program without increasing the cost of this bill.

Mr. Chairman, I strongly support this amendment and urge all of my colleagues to do so as well.

Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time in opposition to the amendment, although I am not opposed to the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, the Committee on Foreign Affairs has long been concerned with events in Iran, including recent media reports of weapons crossing into Afghanistan from Iran destined for the Taliban. This can create the potential for Iran to contribute to the destabilization of Afghanistan, which we simply cannot allow. Congress must have up-to-date information on Iran's influence in Afghanistan. And I, therefore, welcome the gentleman's amendment in this regard, and we are prepared to accept the gentleman's amendment.

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

Mr. Chairman, will the gentlewoman yield?

I want to thank my friend from Texas for her thoughtful amendment, and I am very pleased to support it.

Mr. Chairman, I want to thank my friend from Texas for offering another needed, thoughtful and carefully crafted amendment; and I'm very pleased to support it.

Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time in opposition to the amendment, although I'm not opposed to the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

As you well know, a version of this amendment has passed before on the floor of this House. I welcome any incentives that help to prevent elements of al Qaeda and the Taliban to engage in further international terrorist and criminal acts, and I strongly support this amendment in the hope that it might lead at long last to the capture of Osama bin Laden.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance our time.

Mr. Chairman, winning the hearts and minds of the Afghan people is crucial to our success in Afghanistan.

This amendment seeks to bolster that support by providing more resources to a fund operated by the International Security Assistance Force, led by NATO, which seeks to assist those Afghan individuals and families who have suffered injuries due to unintended military operations.

Currently, there are a handful of NATO countries who contribute to this fund, and it is important for the United States to show leadership in this area. With our contribution, other NATO allies will also be encouraged to participate.

Mr. Chairman, I support this amendment and urge my colleagues to do so as well.

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

Mr. Chairman, I support the underlying premise of the gentleman's amendment that assistance should be provided through organizations that have a cost-effective record of administering programs in Afghanistan. I am also gratified that the gentleman made some modifications to the original version of his amendment.

As H.R. 2446 reflects, we must continue to assist the Afghan people in creating and sustaining economic and development systems for themselves. We must continue to endow the Afghan government, Afghan organizations and the Afghan people with the necessary know how, expertise and resources so they can lead a free, stable and prosperous Afghanistan.

I believe that this amendment strikes the right balance in calling for USAID to prioritize organizations that have a cost-effective record of administering programs in Afghanistan, while allowing for assistance to Afghan entities as well.

On that basis, the amendment is acceptable to our side.

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

I want to thank the gentleman for his singularly thoughtful and carefully crafted amendment, and I'm very pleased to support it.

As we close discussion and debate, Mr. Chairman, let me first express my appreciation to my friend and colleague, the ranking Republican member of the committee, for her exceptional leadership on this matter. Let me thank all of my Republican and Democratic colleagues who have worked so hard on this matter.

But I particularly want to express my personal thanks to the committee staff on both sides, specifically, Matthew Zweig and John Mackey on the Republican side of the committee staff, as well as all other members of the Republican staff, and on our side, Manpreet Anand, Robin Roizman, David Fite and our extraordinary general counsel, David Abramowitz.

We have done good bipartisan work, and I think the Congress did some useful work today.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of our time.

Mr. Chairman, I move that the Committee do now rise.

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to thank the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) for the time; and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

As we all know, Mr. Speaker, after the defeat of the Soviet Army in Afghanistan, the brutal Taliban took over the country. The Taliban ruled that country through terror, through systematic assassination, torture, intimidation. They denied Afghans all personal freedoms and made women fifth-class citizens. They also provided safe harbor to Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda. It is from that safe harbor that al Qaeda was able to plan and train for the horrendous attack of September 11, 2001, against the United States of America.

Following the fall of the Taliban, due in large part to the heroic assistance of the United States Armed Forces and coalition forces from many, many countries throughout the world, the international community worked together under the auspices of the Bonn Compact to make possible what was really a wonderful, historic accomplishment, a democratically elected government in Afghanistan.

In 2004, Afghanistan adopted a new constitution and held successful presidential elections. Parliamentary elections followed in 2005. Factions that once fought on the battlefield now, after decades of violence, debate and resolve their differences in parliament with ballots instead of bullets.

However, Mr. Speaker, there are remnants of the former Taliban regime, along with al Qaeda, that are intent on overthrowing the democratically elected government of Afghanistan. The Taliban is using suicide bombings against U.S. and NATO troops, against Afghan officials, against civilians, both international and Afghan humanitarian workers, assistance workers.

Opium poppy cultivation and drug trafficking have become significant negative factors in Afghanistan's fragile political and economic order. Afghanistan currently accounts, unfortunately, for a majority of the world's illicit opium production.

As the democratically elected government faces grave challenges, we must not turn our backs on that young democracy. We must continue our support as that country moves from a brutal dictatorship to a consolidated democracy.

In 2002, this Congress passed the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act. That law provided both economic and military aid to the young Afghan democracy.

This legislation will reauthorize the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act through the year 2010. The programs reauthorized in this bill focus on countering narcotics production and boost security efforts to protect United States and NATO forces as well as Afghan officials and international assistance workers. This legislation calls for the President to set out a detailed strategy for Afghanistan and provide reports on progress there.

The Afghanistan Freedom and Security Support Act of 2007, this legislation that we bring to the floor today, builds on congressional initiatives enacted in 2002 and 2004; and I again congratulate the leaders, who in those Congresses back in 2002 and 2004, worked so hard to ensure that these initiatives that are being reauthorized today were passed. And these initiatives now are, as I say, reauthorized in this legislation, H.R. 2466, that will be before the House today.

Among those initiatives passed in 2002, 2004 are the creation of multiple programs, but this legislation calls for the creation of a coordinator role for the development of a coherent, consistent counter- narcotics strategy, and to strengthen the fight against the drug trade's links to totalitarian Islamic terrorism.

We also insured in this legislation that initiatives passed in 2002 and 2004 continued, such as prohibition on assistance to Afghan officials who are

found to be supporting criminal activities such as narcotics trafficking.

This bill, good legislation, Mr. Speaker. This bill reaffirms the commitment of the United States to support Afghanistan in its transition to a stable, representative democracy.

This bill, good legislation, Mr. Speaker, that we bring to the floor today, authorizes the appropriation of $1.7 billion annually for humanitarian and economic assistance and $320 million annually for military assistance during fiscal 2008 to 2010.

This is important legislation. It's important legislation for the fight against the international drug trade and totalitarian Islamists, dangerous remnants of the defeated Taliban, the Taliban who were overthrown, thank God.

Remnants of the Taliban are festering, and they use deadly tactics against United States and NATO forces, as well as Afghans and humanitarian workers. Those people have no scruples, and we only have to remember, Mr. Speaker what they did to the Afghan people when they were in power. So they use horrendous tactics, brutal tactics without limits against our troops and other international forces that are in Afghanistan pursuant to the request of the democratically elected government to secure the peace.

And, furthermore, Mr. Speaker, poppy cultivation and opium production continue to directly support insurgents, militias and terrorist groups. In the face of these very difficult challenges, we cannot allow that fledgling democracy, that budding democracy striving to be a stable society, to fail.

With regard to process, our friends on the other side of the aisle, again, the majority had another opportunity yesterday in the Rules Committee to open the process and comfort with an open rule. They voted down an amendment by our ranking member of the Committee on Rules to bring this legislation forth under an open rule. Yes, they made in order all of the amendments that were presented before the committee, and that's commendable. But why not come forth with an open rule? I think that was disappointing.

Let's not fail to see, however, Mr. Speaker, that this is, this underlying legislation that's being brought forward is extremely important. It's a very important piece of legislation.

And by the way, with regard, again, to process, precisely since it's such an important project that as a Nation we're working on and there's great national consensus on the need to do everything we can to consolidate, to help consolidate the representative democracy and the peace in Afghanistan, precisely I think there would have been no harm in allowing, as this debate proceeds, to allow any Member who's hearing the debate who has an idea for an amendment to bring it forth. That's why an open rule is appropriate.

I'd like to thank, Mr. Speaker, the chairman, the distinguished chairman of the International Relations Committee, Mr. Lantos, for his hard work on this important facet of our foreign policy and the legislation that's being brought forth today, as also the distinguished ranking member, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, who's also worked very hard on this legislation, and other members of the International Relations Committee. I want to thank them for their hard work on this important issue, which constitutes, as I said, a project where the American people, in consensus fashion, are moving forward and doing everything possible so that our friends and allies in Afghanistan can survive and defeat the brutal Taliban and al Qaeda.

This legislation brought forward today is an important bill. It is of the utmost importance to our national security and obviously to the region where Afghanistan is and, of course, to the people, to the noble people of Afghanistan, as they continue their efforts to consolidate their representative democracy and achieve peace and prosperity in their great country.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I appreciate the gentleman from Massachusetts' kind words. What I had been referring to before with regard to the process is that I don't believe that any harm would have been done if the majority would have kept its promise of open rules. It is the majority that promised during the campaign that they were going to bring a significant amount, as many as possible, of bills to the floor under open rules. And this is a noncontroversial bill, and, yes, they made the amendments in order by the Members who went to the Rules Committee, and that is appreciated.

So what harm would it have caused if this legislation would have been brought forth under an open rule, as was proposed, in amendment form, by the ranking member of Rules? That is what my point was. No harm would have been done.

And, simply, I would like to remind the majority of the promises that the majority made during the campaign of bringing forth legislation under open rules. So I don't believe that any harm would have accrued if they would have kept their promise. That's all.

But with regard to the apology, I certainly appreciate the gentleman from Massachusetts' kind words, Mr. Speaker.

And, again, with regard to this underlying legislation, which is of extreme importance, there is a national consensus in the United States that we not only have an obligation, but we must do everything in our power so that the democratically elected government in Afghanistan survives, and that is what this legislation is about. We will have other continuing debates on nearby countries and what our obligations are or what is, rather, in our national interest with regard to the stability in neighboring countries of Afghanistan as well and in trying to prevent neighboring countries from becoming basically safe harbors for international terrorism.

Those are legitimate debates.

Today, the legislation being brought forth, Mr. Speaker, is one where there is a national consensus in the United States, thank God, fortunately, and that is that with regard to that country that was for so long oppressed by the brutal Taliban and that had given sanctuary to the terrorists that carried out the mass murders of September 11, 2001, against the United States of America, that we certainly have an obligation to do everything we can to make certain that the people of Afghanistan have as much ability, that they have the wherewithal to proceed along a path towards a consolidated, representative democracy in peace and with prosperity.

That is why we agree that this legislation is very important; and it reauthorizes critical programs, programs of critical importance with regard to our assistance to Afghanistan that were authorized initially and appropriated by the Congress of the United States in 2002 and 2004.

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

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 453 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, for purposes of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman

from Florida (Mr. Lincoln Diaz-Balart). All time yielded during consideration of this rule is for debate only.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

General Leave

Mr. Speaker, I also ask unanimous consent that all Members be given 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on House Resolution 453.

Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 453 provides for consideration of H.R. 2446, the Afghanistan Freedom and Security Support Act of 2007 under a structured rule that makes in order all of the amendments that were submitted to the Rules Committee, except for those withdrawn by their sponsors.

I want to acknowledge and express my respect for the work of Chairman Lantos and Ranking Member Ros-Lehtinen for bringing such a fine example of bipartisan cooperation and collaboration before the House for consideration.

Following the ouster of the Taliban regime in late 2001, the United States, the United Nations and the international community embarked on what they hoped would be a comprehensive assistance program to help the new Afghan president, of President Hamid Karzai, establish a new democracy, rebuild the Afghan economy and provide for the general well- being of the Afghan people.

Regrettably, after a most promising start, progress has slowed in most parts of the country. Remnants of the Taliban continue to resist the new government and are reorganizing and strengthening their networks from neighboring countries. Instability has increased, including the introduction of suicide bombings against U.S. soldiers, NATO troops, Afghan officials, and civilians and international and Afghan humanitarian aid workers.

Narcotics production threatens to overwhelm the country. According to UN studies, a large percentage of Afghans, including farmers, laborers, traffickers, war lords, insurgents, and officials participate in and benefit from illegal poppy trade.

Congress first addressed the issue aiding Afghanistan by passing the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002, which established a reconstruction program, mandated a relief coordinator, provided support to the NATO-led international security forces, and gave new security assistance authority to our President.

In addition to food aid, refugee relief and other forms of emergency disaster assistance, the United States implemented a wide-ranging assistance program for Afghanistan, including aid for schools, hospitals and farms, and support to reestablish the participation of women and girls in society, education and the workplace.

The legislation the House will take up today, H.R. 2446, reauthorizes programs created by the original Afghanistan Freedom Support Act, creates a new focus on counternarcotics efforts, and provides for stronger and more enhanced oversight of U.S. strategic goals and performance in Afghanistan.

Overall, H.R. 2446 provides modest increases in authorized levels for humanitarian, development, democracy building and security assistance. I cannot stress enough how important it is that Afghanistan succeed in establishing and consolidating a representative government and rebuilding the country's economy and civil society.

When we overthrew the Taliban regime, we made promises to the Afghan people with the full backing of the international community. We cannot renege on those promises. We cannot fail the people of Afghanistan who came together in support of a common vision for the future.

I am very, very concerned that many of the difficulties confronting Afghanistan today, especially in the areas of security, are due in large part to taking our eye off the ball in Afghanistan and exhausting our economic and military resources in Iraq. We had the chance to make Afghanistan secure. We failed to do so because we chose not to invest the necessary resources in Afghanistan, but, rather, to transfer our attention and our resources to Iraq. We are now playing catch up in Afghanistan as the situation there is deteriorating.

I applaud the chairman and members of the Foreign Affairs Committee for this timely reauthorization.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Let me just say that, again, the underlying legislation is incredibly important. We do have an obligation, a moral obligation, to the people of Afghanistan. And, quite frankly, from a national security perspective, that is where our attention should be and where our attention should have been. It is regrettable, it is regrettable that the President of the United States and his administration and many in this Chamber have chosen to take their eye off what our responsibility is in Afghanistan over these last several years, and instead, we find ourselves bogged down in a quagmire in Iraq.

Those who are responsible for September 11, those who are responsible for the murder of so many of our citizens, they were in Afghanistan. That is where al Qaeda was. And instead of holding al Qaeda accountable in Afghanistan, instead of making sure that our resources go to promoting democracy and stability in Afghanistan, instead of focusing on this ever-growing drug problem in Afghanistan, we have spent over half a trillion dollars in Iraq. And that is regrettable. And, quite frankly, when history looks back on how these last few years were conducted, they are going to take note of the fact that we missed important opportunities to better protect our country by taking our eye off of what our responsibility was in Afghanistan.

And let me just say about the rule, I will apologize to my colleague from Florida for a rule that we bring to the floor today that makes every single amendment that was offered in the Rules Committee and not withdrawn by its author in order. Every Republican amendment, every Democratic amendment. And I know that that is different from the way things used to be when the Republicans were in charge of the Rules Committee. They had a tendency to just shut us all out routinely. But things are different now, and under the Democratic administration here in the Congress, we are trying to make sure that all points of view have an opportunity to be heard on the floor.

So I am happy that we have this rule, and, again, I apologize to the gentleman that it is not like what they used to do.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Vermont, a member of the Rules Committee (Mr. Welch).

Mr. Speaker, again, I regret that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are not pleased with the rule that makes all of the amendments that were offered in order, but I think that that is the way we should do business around here. It is in sharp contrast to the way they used to do business when the Republicans were in the majority, where there was a tendency to shut everything down, to close everything up, to not allow Members of the minority to be able to have amendments. But we're different, and I'm glad we are different.

On the underlying legislation, there should be unanimity in this House about the importance of passing this legislation. It is important that we keep our commitment to the people of Afghanistan. It is important that we keep our commitment to the people of the United States, who after September 11 we said, in the Congress and in the White House, that we are going to do everything we can do bring to justice, to hold to account those who are responsible for September 11.

Unfortunately, today, we are not anywhere near where we should be in Afghanistan; and the reason for that is because we have diverted our resources, we have diverted our soldiers and our political capital to a never-ending war in Iraq. We have put our soldiers in the middle of a civil war in Iraq. We have spent over half a trillion dollars in Iraq; and, as a result, those resources have not been sent to Afghanistan; and I think that is regrettable.

But we need to pass this bill today. I hope it passes with a unanimous vote. I urge my colleagues to support the rule.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on the previous question and on the rule.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

The previous question was ordered.