Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, last week Secretary of Defense Gates spoke at West Point, and I would like to quote one comment from his speech:

``In my opinion, any future Defense Secretary who advises the President to again send a big American land army into Asia or into the Middle East or Africa should `have his head examined,' as General MacArthur so delicately put it'' years ago.

Again, this is Secretary Gates. I have great respect for Secretary Gates. I think he is one of the true outstanding Secretaries of Defense this country has ever had.

Mr. Speaker, the reason I'm here today, I bring a photograph of a flag-draped coffin--it's called a transfer case--being escorted off a plane at Dover Air Force Base.

Mr. Speaker, it is time to bring our troops home. They have been in Afghanistan for over 10 years. I would also say it is time that this Congress met its constitutional responsibility to debate war and whether we should be there or bring our troops home.

In recent weeks, I was very concerned to hear our government and military leaders saying that it could be 2014 before we start significantly downsizing our troops in Afghanistan. Mr. Speaker, that brings to my mind trips to Walter Reed in Bethesda. So I will ask this question:

How many more young men and women must lose their legs, their lives for a corrupt government that history has proven will never be changed? Why should they be dying and losing their legs for Karzai, who doesn't even know that we're his friends? It makes no sense.

I will quote a highly decorated retired military general who has been advising me on Afghanistan for the past year:

``What is the end state we are looking to achieve? What are the measures of effectiveness? What is our exit strategy? Same old questions, no answers. What do we say to the mother and father, the wife of the last marine killed to support a corrupt government and corrupt leader in a war that can't be won?''

Mr. Speaker, these are words from a general that fought in Vietnam for this country, that reached the highest he could in the branch of service where he served.

Mr. Speaker, as you know, I represent the Third District of North Carolina, the home of Camp Lejeune Marine Base. Recently, I was with a marine who has served this Nation for years. He shares my concern about getting out of Afghanistan. So I asked this marine if he would write me a letter, and this is what he wrote:

``Congressman Jones, I am writing this letter to express my concern over the current Afghanistan war. I am a retired Marine officer with 31-plus years of active duty. I retired in 2004 due to service limitations or I am sure I would have been on my third or fourth deployment by now to a war that has gone on for too long.''

I will quote end, Mr. Speaker, of his letter to me:

``The Afghanistan war has no end state for us. I urge you to make contact with all of the current and newly elected men and women to Congress and ask them to end this war and bring our young men and women home. If any of my comments will assist in this effort, you are welcome to use them and my name.''

His name is Dennis G. Adams, Lieutenant Colonel, Retired, United States Marine Corps.

Mr. Speaker, before I close, I want to remind those on the floor of the House today that I hope, if you haven't had the chance, that you will go to Walter Reed in Bethesda to see the young men and women that will never walk again, to see the young men and women that maybe will not ever think properly again because of PTSD and TBI.

And I want to remember the young soldier, 22 years old, a private in the United States Army, who before I walked in the room, the escort, Major Mack, said to me: This soldier has no body parts below his waist. They've all been blown away.

So, Mr. Speaker, it's time for the Congress to meet its responsibility and demand a debate on the floor of the House about bringing our troops home from Afghanistan.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, as I always do, as I look at this beautiful photograph of a soldier who gave his life for this country and the escort team, God, please bless our men and women in uniform. God, please bless the families of our men and women in uniform. God, please hold in Your loving arms the families who have given a child dying for freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq.

God bless the House and Senate that we will do what is right in Your eyes for today's generation and tomorrow's generation. I ask God to give wisdom, strength, and courage to President Obama that he will do what is right in the eyes of God.

And three times I will ask, God, please, God, please, God, please continue to bless America.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, this amendment would prohibit the Federal Government from spending millions of taxpayers dollars expanding job- destroying catch shares programs in fisheries along the Atlantic seaboard and the Gulf of Mexico.

Mr. Chairman, I have two cosponsors of this legislation. I yield 1 minute to Mr. Pallone from New Jersey.

Mr. Chairman, at this time I would like to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank), also a cosponsor of this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, in closing, I must say this is an east coast issue. That's why you have Mr. Pallone and Mr. Frank and myself speaking.

And with that, the fishermen on the east coast need fairness from their government, and this amendment will help give fairness to the commercial and recreational fishermen on the east coast of America.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. Chairman, this amendment removes the new $400 million Afghan Infrastructure Fund and it would be returned to the spending reduction account.

I bring this amendment to the floor because of the frustration of the American people. Here we are trying to find $400 million to put in an infrastructure fund for Afghanistan, which is going to be borrowed money from the Chinese to begin with. It's not even Uncle Sam's money. And then in addition to that, we're propping up a corrupt, dishonest government headed by President Karzai. At this time in America's history when we are having these debates tonight that I've heard all day long with the frustration of the Members of Congress from both parties that here we cannot even balance the budget of this country and we're trying to find this money to go to the infrastructure of Afghanistan and we're going to say to the American people, we can't help you with your infrastructure needs in your counties, in your towns, in your cities, it makes absolutely no sense to me, and more important than me is to the American people.

I would also like to mention that the Afghan Infrastructure Fund would help create another ``bridge to nowhere.'' It's going to be money that cannot even be accounted for the majority of the time, and I make mention of that for this reason. The recent Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction report released on January 30, 2011, cited significant fraud, waste and abuse with Afghanistan reconstruction funds.

I do not know why in the world we cannot make the statement to the American people that we're going to see that the $400 million going to a dishonest, dysfunctional government overseas cannot be returned to help reduce the debt and deficit of this country or even returned to the cities and counties throughout the country of America.

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

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I would say if I thought Karzai was an honest man that would appreciate the American taxpayers' money, I would feel differently, quite frankly. But I realize it is a corrupt government. I wish that what you say was so. And I trust you. I have great respect for you as well, but we are dealing with a dishonest, dysfunctional government.

When Karzai was quoted in The Washington Post in December saying, ``I have three enemies, one being America, one being the Taliban, one being the international community, and if I had to choose one of these as a friend, I would choose the Taliban,'' this is why I wanted to speak tonight, to bring this forward and let the Members vote this up or down. That is fine with me.

The point is this is money we could be using right here in this country. If I thought Karzai was an honest broker, I would probably not even offer the amendment.

My answer to that would be that I would hope that this would prove to be true. But the problem is we always know that when you have got a dysfunctional government, you have got a dishonest man, it might be intended to go this way, but too many times it does not.

I would honestly say to you that I offer this amendment on behalf of the American people, because they can't fix their streets, they can't fix their roads. And, by God, it is only $400 million, but to a lot of people in my district, that is a lot of money going to a dishonest leader of a country in Afghanistan.

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Offered By: Mr. Jones

Amendment No. 548: At the end of the bill (before the short

title), insert the following:

Mr. Speaker, it is always interesting for those of us who don't have a law degree to come down and listen and sometimes, like myself today, to have a few minutes to share my thoughts on this, because I think the majority of people in my district are God-fearing, constitutional-loving Americans like people in anybody else's district across this Nation.

I regret and will always regret that I was too weak to vote my conscience when we had the Patriot Act up the first time. I did not feel good about it. As a non-attorney and as an American who loves the Constitution and who believes in the civil liberties that are guaranteed, this country too many times has sold itself to the Federal Government to take care of it.

I make reference, Mr. Speaker, to a book that was written by Judge Andrew Napolitano. He is a well-known constitutional lawyer who is on Fox News from time to time. The title of the book is ``A Nation of Sheep.'' He actually wrote this book in 2007, years after we passed the Patriot Act. He goes through every aspect of the Patriot Act, which he believes sincerely is a serious violation of the civil liberties of the American people. In fact, I would like to share just a couple of his comments.

He said: ``The gravest dangers to our freedoms lie hidden in a government that has seized them from us, and that vigilance and natural law can save us from the power-hungry bureaucrats who run the government today.''

He further stated in the book ``A Nation of Sheep'': ``An unalienable right comes from God and is an element of humanity that cannot be given up or legislated away.''

Let us not legislate away our God-given right to liberty.

Mr. Speaker, I hope that my colleagues who voted against this when it was on suspension will again today vote ``no'' on this reauthorization, because it should go to a hearing. We should be very careful. And I hope and pray that maybe we will be able to defeat this tonight, but I know the odds are against it.

Mr. Speaker, I will ask God to continue to bless America and to continue to bless the Constitution. As Andrew Napolitano says, let's not be a Nation of sheep.

Offered By: Mr. Jones

Amendment No. 95: Page 127, line 23, after the dollar

amount, insert ``(reduced by $400,000,000)''.

Page 359, line 6, after the dollar amount, insert

``(increased by $400,000,000)''.

Offered By: Mr. Jones

Amendment No. 205: At the end of the bill (before the short

title), insert the following:

Offered By: Mr. Jones

Amendment No. 206: At the end of the bill (before the short title),

insert the following:

Offered By: Mr. Jones

Amendment No. 207: At the end of the bill (before the short

title), insert the following:

Mr. Speaker, I am on the floor again tonight, and I have said that I intend to be on the floor each and every night that I can be on the floor to talk about bringing our troops home from Afghanistan.

I hope tomorrow night when the President gives the State of the Union, that he will stay to and keep his word when he said he will start bringing our troops home in July of 2011. The reason I am somewhat concerned, there have been leaders in both parties, primarily on the Senate side, who have said that they think that they need 4 more years in Afghanistan. Well, you know, that might be a dream, but that is all it is, a dream. You're not going to change history. History has spoken many, many times, from Alexander the Great to the English to the Russians, that Afghanistan is a vast country of many, many tribes, and they never have had a national government, and they will not under Karzai. He is corrupt. He is very corrupt.

So I hope that the President will stick to his timetable of bringing our troops home beginning in July of this year, and that he will be not swayed by anyone who says just 4 more years. I say that for this reason: I am on the Armed Services Committee, and I remember a few years ago when they were telling us, these generals would come in--and I respect each and every one of them--and they would say to us: Well, we're making progress. We're training the Afghans to be policemen. We're training the Afghans to be soldiers.

Well, we are 10 years later, and we are still training. How much more can you do? It is costing us $8 billion a month. And more important than the money is the lost lives and the broken bodies of our men and women in uniform.

Recently I had the opportunity, the privilege, to go to Walter Reed in Bethesda. Mr. Speaker, for the first time before I walked into this young soldier's room, I was told out front by the major that escorted me that he has no body parts below his waist. They have all been blown away.

Then I had an opportunity to see a marine sergeant during the same visit who had been to Afghanistan four times, and on the fourth tour, he had his left leg blown off. What in the world are we trying to do? Why don't

we understand from history: nobody is going to ever conquer Afghanistan. So, therefore, I hope the President will stay to his word and start bringing our troops home.

We are spending $8 billion a month in Afghanistan, and yet throughout America, including my district, the Third Congressional District of North Carolina, we can't even fix the roads. We can't even fix the schools because we are spending money we don't have that we are borrowing from the Japanese, the Chinese, UAE and other countries.

It is time that this Congress speaks up and listens: 63 percent of the American people say it is time to get out of Afghanistan. So I hope that the President will speak tomorrow night about Afghanistan. I hope he will say that he intends to start bringing our troops home this year.

Mr. Speaker, I have here photographs of marines from the Camp Lejeune area, which is in my district. They are young, anywhere from 19 to 38 years of age, who have given their life for this country. And yet many times I wonder here in Congress why don't we bring up this issue of bringing our troops home from Afghanistan.

So, Mr. Speaker, tonight I want to thank you for giving me this chance to speak. I want to thank those who are on the floor, I hope you join us, Ron Paul and myself and Jimmy Duncan on our side, who have been saying that it is time to bring our troops home. Let's join together in a bipartisan way and start talking about bringing our troops home.

Mr. Speaker, before closing, as I do each and every night, as I think about the pain that I have seen at Walter Reed and Bethesda, I think about the families who are burying their loved ones now who have died in Afghanistan, that it is time to say to God, God please continue to bless our men and women in uniform and their families. God, in Your loving arms, hold the families who have given a child, dying for freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq.

God, please continue to bless the House and Senate that we will do what is right in Your eyes for Your people.

God, give wisdom, strength, and courage to President Obama that he will do what is right in Your eyes for Your people.

And three times I will say, God, please, God, please, God, please continue to bless America.

Mr. Speaker, last night I stood here and spoke about my experience visiting Bethesda Naval Hospital and seeing the broken bodies of our country's young men and women.

After that visit, I was very pleased to see an article this morning about Grover Norquist speaking out and encouraging fellow conservatives to speak out against the war in Afghanistan.

The article is from The Huffington Post on January 12, and one sentence in particular came to my mind. Norquist also suggested that many prominent conservatives privately hold the view that the war in Afghanistan should end quickly.

It is time for them to speak out publicly, Mr. Speaker. We need to become more engaged in the issue and make our feelings known.

Mr. Speaker, I had mentioned before that a retired military general has been my adviser on Afghanistan for the past year. I would like to share two points that he made in a recent email.

The first point he made is: ``What is the end state we are looking to achieve? What are the measures of effectiveness? What is our exit strategy? Same old questions. No answers.''

The second point that the general made in his email to me: ``What do we say to the mother and father, to the wife of the last soldier or marine killed to support a corrupt government and corrupt leader in a war that cannot be won?''

Mr. Speaker, I'm going to repeat that very quickly. From the retired general: ``What do we say to the mother and father, to the wife of the last soldier or marine killed to support a corrupt government and corrupt leader in a war that cannot be won?''

These are valid points that we must think about. It is time that Congress and the American people look at what is really going on and what war really means. I would like to thank prominent conservative, Grover Norquist, for speaking out on Afghanistan. I hope this inspires others to do the same. History has shown that we cannot fix Afghanistan. It is in our best interest to learn from what history is trying to teach us, that no country has ever conquered Afghanistan.

Mr. Speaker, I have beside me ``The Pain of War: A Broken Body.'' It's a young soldier who has lost both legs and an arm, and his young wife taking him into a room in a wheelchair. This party of mine, which I'm very proud to be a Republican, needs to learn, and again I want to thank Grover Norquist for speaking out and saying to conservatives, stop sending our boys and girls over there to come back with broken bodies or to come back in a coffin. It is time to end the war in Afghanistan. It is time for Mr. Obama to keep his word to the American people, and that is to bring them out in July of 2011.

Mr. Speaker, before closing, I would like to say, as I always do, God please continue to bless our men and women in uniform. God please in Your loving arms hold the families who have given a child dying in Afghanistan and Iraq. God, please bless the House and Senate that we will do what is right in Your eyes for Your people. God, please give strength, wisdom, and courage to the President of the United States that he will do what is right for Your people. And God, three times I will ask, please, please, please God, continue to bless America.

Mr. Speaker, today I had the honor and privilege of visiting the wounded warriors at Bethesda Naval Hospital. Each one of the young men I saw, the oldest being 23, is very special, as are all of our men and women in uniform.

The medical staff at both Bethesda and Walter Reed is truly amazing. They have done a wonderful job repairing the broken bodies and spirits of our young servicemembers.

The number of wounded warriors returning from war has become more prevalent with the increased use of IEDs by the enemy. More and more of our young men and women are returning without their arms and legs. Tonight, Mr. Speaker, as a constant reminder of the pain of war, I show you this picture of a young triple amputee and his wife. This man gave his body for this country and will struggle for the rest of his life. How many more will have to return home in this condition?

This young man and his wife have just returned from the hospital. He is in a wheelchair. He lost an arm and two legs and he is looking at a beautiful American flag that was on the wall that had been drawn for him.

It is time we declare victory and get our troops out of Afghanistan. It is evident that President Karzai does not appreciate our commitment. If he did, he would not be so corrupt. If he did, he would not have made the comments that he now has three main enemies--the Taliban, the United States and the international community as stated in the Washington Post on December 13. He said that if he had to choose sides today, he would choose the Taliban. The Taliban are killing American service men and women.

Mr. Speaker, I have joined Dennis Kucinich as well as many other members of both parties in the hope that President Obama will keep his promise to start withdrawing our troops in July of this year.

In closing, I would like to urge the American people to get engaged in this cause and to let their Members of Congress know how they feel. They must encourage the Members of Congress to vote to bring our troops home. The pain must end, and we can easily declare a victory and bring our brave men and women home.

Mr. Speaker, as I do all the time on the floor of the House when I speak, I ask God to please bless our men and women in uniform, to bless the families of our men and women in uniform. I ask God in his loving arms to hold the families who have given a child dying for freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq. I ask God to please bless the House and Senate that we will do what is right for the American people. I ask God to give strength, wisdom, and courage to President Obama that he will do what is right for the American people. And three times I will ask God please, God please, God please continue to bless America.

Madam Speaker, today, I have a photograph of Tyler Jordan, whose father, Phillip, was a marine gunnery sergeant killed in Iraq. I saw this photograph about 5 years ago in a national paper, and I felt that I needed to have this photograph for myself to be able to be reminded of war and the pain of war.

On Tuesday, I had the privilege and humbling experience to visit the wounded warriors at Walter Reed. I saw the pain these heroes were experiencing from the severe injuries they received fighting for this country. That's why today I show you the photograph of Tyler Jordan's pain as he holds a folded flag at his father's funeral. This boy's pain and the pain of the heroes at Walter Reed are the reasons I've joined my colleagues in both parties in asking President Obama to bring our troops home.

Madam Speaker, this country has many problems. Maybe I am wrong, but sadly, it seems to me, the war in Afghanistan seems to be on the back burner.

Before Christmas, I read from a Washington Post article that quoted President Karzai as saying he now has three main enemies--the Taliban, the United States and the international community. He said in that article that, if he had to choose sides today, he would choose the Taliban.

There have been many articles written questioning the success of our troops in Afghanistan, but our troops have been successful. So why keep them in a country, risking their lives, when the President of that country supports the enemy?

The Afghan Government is corrupt. Not one American life should be sacrificed for such a dysfunctional, corrupt government.

In mid-December, President Obama released a review of the American strategy in Afghanistan that painted a positive picture of the progress being made there. This review is, at best, dubious. I agree with two national intelligence reports that were also released with a more realistic, negative assessment on the state of the war and our chance for success.

As I have said before, we are spending approximately $7 billion a month, which is $234 million a day, to fight a winless war for a corrupt government. Why do we continue to spend $234 million a day so that some other child has to know Tyler's pain?

In closing, I would like to ask God, as I do every day on the floor when I speak, to please bless our men and women in uniform. I ask God to please bless the families of our men and women in uniform. I ask God, in his loving arms, to hold the families who have given a child dying for freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq.

I ask God, please bless this House and Senate that we will do what is right in the eyes of God for the American people; and I will ask God to give wisdom, strength, and courage to the President of the United States that he will do what is right in the eyes of the American people.

And I will say three times: God, please, God please, God, please continue to bless America.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Kennedy family for being selected as the National Military Family Association's Coast Guard Family of the Year.

Commander John Kennedy has served in the Coast Guard for 16 years. He is supported by his wife, Bobbi, and their 3 children Olivia, Marissa, and Jack.

The Kennedy family has moved 6 times within 14 years, most recently to Atlantic Beach, NC.

Cmdr. Kennedy currently serves as Commanding Officer of the Coast Guard Cutter Elm.

The Kennedy family is very active in the United States Coast Guard, and their community. They volunteer with Operation Christmas Child, and are active with numerous activities including a variety of athletics and the high school marching band.

Being a military family has shown them all how to be independent, and taught them what is truly important in life.

The Kennedy's admit they are not finished moving! They will continue to make friends wherever they go, which exemplifies the Coast Guard motto of Semper Paratus, ``Always Ready''.

I am proud to have the Kennedy family reside in the 3rd district of North Carolina. I thank all the men and women who have bravely served in our military.

Congratulations to the Kennedy family on 2010 Military Family of the Year!

Madam Speaker, the war in Afghanistan continues to prove to be an impossible task. Enough is enough. America is spending $7 billion a month on the war. To break it down further, that is approximately $233 million a day on the war, with no end to it at all. Madam Speaker, to reset our equipment alone will cost in excess of $13 billion, just to bring it back to the same position it was prior to going into Iraq and Afghanistan. It is impossible to absorb this amount of money, particularly with the debt this country has and the fact that we can't even pay our own bills without borrowing money from China, Japan, and the UAE.

Yesterday in an article in The Washington Post, Afghan President Karzai stated that he ``now had three enemies: the Taliban, the United States, the international community.'' He also said in The Washington Post article that if he had to choose sides, he would choose the Taliban. This is what our young men and women are dying for.

Madam Speaker, I have on the floor with me today a photograph taken of the Air Force Honor Guard at Dover Air Force Base, escorting the remains of an American hero off the plane. Madam Speaker, this is just not worth the cost of our young men and women dying, and it's not worth the cost that it is costing the taxpayers.

In addition, I read another article that I would like to quote from. It was an AP article entitled, ``No Decisive Victory One Year Into Afghan Surge.'' It really gathered my attention. In the article, a citizen of Afghanistan stated, ``Every day that passes, the security situation is getting worse. The government is not in a position to bring peace. Every day, the Taliban are getting more powerful than the government.''

Madam Speaker, again, today I have this poster on the floor because, in my mind, since we don't draft young men and women anymore to fight wars, and it is a volunteer service, and they are doing a magnificent job, but with four, five, and six deployments, they are wearing down. They're wearing out. Their suicides are up, and divorces are up as well.

Last week, we had six Americans killed in a bombing in Afghanistan. We continue to repeat history. This case of Afghanistan history will show that no nation has ever conquered Afghanistan. It will always be a vast country of 1,400 different tribes. What are we trying to do? Why are we continuing this war effort?

I join my friend Jim McGovern. I join my friends in both parties that are saying to the President, please, Mr. President, rethink. Don't stay there four more years because it's not going to be worth it. It's not worth it now. And, Madam Speaker, after 10 years, going on 10 years of being in Afghanistan, we continue to see no end to this commitment that, in my humble opinion, is not worth one American life.

So, Madam Speaker, as I do frequently on this floor, I'd like to close

by asking God to please bless our men and women in uniform. I ask God to please bless the families of our men and women in uniform. I ask God in his loving arms to hold the families who've given a child dying for freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq. And God, please bless the House and Senate that we will do what is right in Your eyes for Your people. And God, please give wisdom, strength, and courage to President Obama that he will do what is right for Your people in this country.

And, Madam Speaker, three times, God, please, God, please, God, please, continue to bless America.

I yield to the gentleman from Michigan.

I thank the gentleman, Mr. Conyers. Thank you so much for joining me.