Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, thank you very much. I am back on the floor again to talk about the failed policy in Afghanistan.

This poster beside me, Mr. Speaker, is a cartoon that I got from the paper, and it says, ``CIA ATM.'' Mr. Speaker, 2 weeks ago, The New York Times broke an article, a story that the CIA, over the last 10 years, has been giving hundreds of millions of dollars to Karzai, and I want to quote what Karzai said in that article. Karzai said he was assured that the CIA would continue delivering bags of cash--bags of cash-- going to Karzai, the corrupt leader, in Afghanistan.

Mr. Speaker, what really makes this cartoon sad is in the background is an American soldier, and what he is thinking as Karzai is taking his cash money away from the CIA ATM machine, the solder is thinking, ``I'd like

to make a quick withdrawal from here.''

I hope that during the debate in July on the appropriations bill dealing with the Defense Department that we will start passing amendments that say we need to stop this out-of-control spending in Afghanistan with very little accountability.

I am one that agrees with my party and some of the Democrats that we need to hold hearings on Benghazi and the Internal Revenue Service. But I have written to the leadership of the Armed Services Committee and the subcommittee chairmen asking for a hearing on this out-of-control waste in Afghanistan. Not only did the CIA acknowledge that they have been giving tens of millions of dollars in cash to Karzai for 10 years, but, Mr. Speaker, we are also authorizing $8 billion a month to go to Afghanistan. We are holding no hearings on the waste, fraud, and abuse in Afghanistan.

I hope that after we get through the appropriations process that we will start holding hearings. It's not fair to the American people that we borrow money from China to send to Karzai in Afghanistan. And, Mr. Speaker, we all know that Karzai is not going to survive. The Taliban, whom we are fighting, who are killing Americans today, will be the future leaders of Afghanistan. Every expert that I've spoken to, military and nonmilitary, has said that the Taliban, which primarily is made up of Pashtuns--that's the largest tribe of Afghanistan--in time, they will be the leaders of Afghanistan.

It is time for this Congress to wake up and join the American people. Seventy-five percent of the American people say, We want out of Afghanistan. We want to bring our troops home. We want to stop wasting money.

So, Mr. Speaker, before I close, I would also like to reiterate this cartoon. It's Karzai standing at a CIA ATM machine. He's got bags of cash down at his feet, and the little guy has a credit card that he's going to put into the machine, like we all do here in America to get money from our own accounts. But he's not getting it from his own account; he's getting it from the CIA account. And then I see this poor soldier standing behind him who's saying, ``I'd like to make a quick withdrawal from here.''

Mr. Speaker, I ask God to please bless our men and women in uniform. I ask God to hold in His arms those families who've given a child dying for freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan. I ask God to please bless the House and Senate, that we will do what is right in the eyes of God. I ask God to please bless the President, 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. Speaker, 13 years ago, on April 8, 2000, 19 marines lost their lives in a tragic plane crash at Marana Regional Airport in Arizona. The Marine Corps attributed partial blame for the crash to error on the part of the pilot, Lieutenant Colonel John Brow, and the copilot, Major Brooks Gruber. The Corps' decision to assign blame to the pilots has been a point of controversy ever since the year 2000.

Mr. Speaker, 2 years after the accident, I received a letter from Major Gruber's wife, Connie, who actually lives in the district that I represent, the home of Camp Lejeune Marine Base and New River Air Station. I will quote from her letter to me that I received in 2000:

I contacted you in hopes that leaders of integrity, free of

bias, would have both the intelligence and the courage it

takes to decide the facts for themselves. If you do that, you

will agree the ``human factor/pilot error'' findings should

not stand as it is in military history. Again, I respectfully

ask you for your support. Please do not simply pass this

matter along to General Jones without offering the support my

husband and his comrades deserve. Please remember, these 19

marines can no longer speak for themselves. I certainly am

not afraid to speak for them, and I believe someone has to.

Even though it is easier put to rest and forgotten, please

join me in doing the right thing by taking the time to

address this important issue.

Mr. Speaker, she further stated:

With so many wrongs in the world we cannot make right, I

ask that you prayerfully consider an injustice that you can

help make right. I realize you alone may not be able to amend

the report, but you can certainly support my efforts to

permanently remove this black mark from my husband's

honorable military service record. Military leaders continue

to refuse to amend this report, but I am certain that there

must be other means of making this change. Given the

controversy of this aircraft and the Marine Corps' vested

interest, surely there is an unbiased, ethical way to

rightfully absolve these pilots. Please help me by not only

forwarding my request but also by supporting it.

Mr. Speaker, I hold up now a photograph of the V-22 Osprey. The Osprey is a very unique plane. At the time of this accident in the year 2000, it was an experimental plane. These two pilots, John Brow and Brooks Gruber, were not experimental pilots. They had no training in flying an experimental plane. This plane itself should never have been asked to do what was done that night. In fact, Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney was trying to eliminate the V-22 program. I was in Congress at the time, and I remember vividly that it was a major fight here in Congress as to whether we were going to fund the V-22 program or not fund the program.

Again, Secretary of Defense Cheney wanted to scrap the program. The Marine Corps wanted the V-22. They were convinced this was a plane that they needed desperately. There were two pilots, one of Nighthawk 71, which was the lead plane that actually landed without too much trouble, even though it did have a hard landing, and in the second plane behind them was Nighthawk 72. That was the plane that crashed and killed 19 marines.

Since receiving Connie Gruber's letter, I have done everything in my power over the last 12 years to clear the names of Lieutenant Colonel John Brow and Major Brooks Gruber. What has frustrated me was the Marine Corps will not acknowledge that these pilots could not be and should not be held at fault because they had no training in the V-22.

There was an issue known as vortex ring state. Mr. Speaker, anyone that flies, particularly helicopters, would understand that term, ``vortex ring state.'' But at the time of this accident, Bell-Boeing, who produced this V-22, and the Marine Corps had no idea of how pilots would react to vortex ring state with the V-22.

Mr. Speaker, I have brought a little model to the floor, with the approval of the House, that will show that the plane can go from a helicopter mode to a plane mode, where it flies just like a regular plane. But at this point, again, Bell-Boeing and also the Marine Corps did not understand vortex ring state and how it could impact this plane. When this plane is coming down, following behind, Nighthawk 72, what happened was that the vortex ring state really made this plane just flip over, and the plane crashed and 19 marines were burned to death.

Mr. Speaker, the wives of these two pilots, John Brow and Brooks Gruber, all they're asking--the lawsuits are over. Bell-Boeing has been sued for millions and millions of dollars--it hasn't been disclosed, so no one knows the exact figure. But I can tell you, after talking to the attorney for Connie Gruber and Trish Brow, that the lawsuits are over. I've spoken to Brian Alexander, who handled the lawsuits for 17 of the 19 families in New York. He said the lawsuits are over.

So basically all we're asking the Marine Corps to do is to please just issue a letter to Connie and Trish that clearly states that: Your husband, flying this V-22, was not prepared on how to handle vortex ring state because Bell-Boeing and we, the Marine Corps, did not understand it either, so how can we train pilots if we don't understand what we're trying to train them in.

So, therefore, it's been a very frustrating 10 or 12 years of trying to get the Marine Corps to bring peace to John Brow and Brooks Gruber.

Mr. Speaker, Rich Whittle, with whom I've had many conversations, wrote the book called ``The Dream Machine.'' It's the history of the V- 22 and all the problems it's had along the way and all the fights that we've had in Congress and outside of Congress to make this plane a reality for the Marine Corps. But something I want to read from his book, ``The Dream Machine.'' We're talking about vortex ring state, Mr. Speaker:

Where the actual line existed for the Osprey was something

the program's developmental test pilots had not determined,

though hundreds of test flights to explore that part of the

Osprey's envelope had been planned.

They had planned, Mr. Speaker, to have hundreds of tests, but it further states:

Nolan Schmidt, the Osprey program manager and a Marine

Corps colonel at the time, told me years later that those

tests were scrapped in 1998 to save time and money. The Navy

Department was going to cut the Osprey program's budget for

the coming fiscal year by $100 million, Schmidt said. After

consulting with the Boeing engineer in charge of flight-

testing, Philip Dunford, Schmidt said, the program managers

decided they could save about $50 million and a lot of time

if they didn't do all the tests planned for the Osprey at

high rates of descent.

Mr. Speaker, again, these pilots in Nighthawk 72, following behind Nighthawk 71, were descending, and yet no one knew what the parameters were--the pilots did not know the parameters, the Marine Corps did not know the parameters, and neither did Bell-Boeing. So how in the world could these pilots be held responsible? It is absolutely unfair.

I can honestly tell you at the time I knew General McCorkle. He was the general that oversaw marine aviation. His assistant at the time was Brigadier General Amos, who now is the Commandant of the Marine Corps. They knew at the time that the V-22 was under tremendous pressure by Secretary of Defense Cheney to scrap the program.

Sadly I say this--because I know both these gentlemen, they're very fine fellows, but I will say this: that dead men can't talk. These two pilots had no one to speak for them but their wives--Connie Gruber down in Jacksonville, North Carolina, and Trish Brow over in Maryland. And they have children. Trish has two young boys and Connie has a beautiful little girl named Brook.

Mr. Speaker, that's why this has become an obsession with me, quite frankly. I'm not an expert in flying, I know nothing about how to keep a plane in the air to be honest with you. But Mr. Speaker, I have had so many people to join me in this effort, and one of those people is an expert named Rex Rivolo. In fact, he was working with the V-22 program when he was in the Department of Defense, and I want to read his comments, Mr. Speaker, for the Record:

The failure of the manufacturer, Bell-Boeing, and the Navy

to characterize the slow-speed, high rate of descent handling

qualities of the V-22 through flight testing, the failure to

describe them for the air crew and the failure to provide an

adequate warning system in the aircraft were the causes of

the mishap--not air crew error.

Following the mishap and my discovery of the facts, I

became very vocal within the V-22 community in my attempt to

clear the air crew of blame. However, it quickly became clear

that the community well-understood the causes but was

committed to placing the blame on the air crew, as blaming

the aircraft at this time would have jeopardized the MV-22

Program, which was, and remains, the highest priority of the

U.S. Marine Corps.

Mr. Speaker, that in itself is so sad, that this expert, an engineering expert in aerodynamics, would make this kind of statement, but I just read it for the Record, Mr. Speaker. He knew and he knows that at that time these two men, who had no one to defend them, had to take the blame to save the program.

Mr. Speaker, America's greatness is because we are a country of integrity and honesty. I've done research on this and found out that people that knew these men, that flew with them--their fellow marines-- would tell you today that John Brow and Brooks Gruber were not prepared for what happened--and no other one who flew a V-22 at the time understood vortex ring state and how to react to it.

Mr. Speaker, now that the program has been saved, there is no reason that the Marine Corps cannot give a letter to Connie Gruber and Trish Brow clearly stating that at the time, April 8, 2000, that we, the Marine Corps, and Bell-Boeing, the manufacturer, we did not understand vortex ring state because no one had done the testing because they cut the programs, they cut the testing.

Mr. Speaker, truthfully, what is so ironic, shortly after this crash on April 8, Bell-Boeing paid Tom MacDonald, an experimental pilot who spent over 700 hours flying the V-22 time after time, time after time and getting it into the vortex ring state and then figuring out how the pilot should react to it. Mr. Speaker, because of that work by Tom MacDonald, we now have warning systems in the V-22 that pilots, when they get into vortex ring state, the warning system starts lighting up on the panel. They hear a sound in the headphones that says ``sink, sink, sink.'' So they know exactly how to handle vortex ring state. But John Brow and Brooks Gruber did not know how to handle vortex ring state.

I continue to call on the Marine Corps to do what is right. The Corps has one of the greatest respects of the American people because of integrity and courage. Well, Mr. Commandant, the right thing to do is to prove integrity and courage by giving the two wives one paragraph.

Mr. Speaker, further, I've had so many people to help with this effort. The Assistant Secretary of Defense and the director of operational test and evaluation at the time of the crash in 2000 was Philip Coyle. He has joined in this effort with Rex Rivolo. And I read what Philip Coyle said:

There is a rush to blame pilots, and to cite factors that

relate to pilot performance, rather than cite the true root

causes of accidents. The design and detailed engineering in

an aircraft or vehicle often is at the root cause of an

accident. If a particular make or model of automobile was

crashing too often, say Toyota or Chevy, people wouldn't

blame the drivers; they would say that something is wrong

with the automobile. The Marine Corps has always seems to

blame the pilots.

Mr. Speaker, this is why this has become a passion for me personally. And I could not be where I am today without so many experts--I mentioned two today, Phil Coyle and Rex Rivolo--who have joined me. I want to mention Jim Schafer. Jim's call name was ``Trigger.'' He was actually in the air at the time of this plane crash. He saw his friends go down and burn.

Mr. Speaker, this is not right for these two wives to carry the pain now almost 13 years--April 8 of 2000, and we've already passed April 8 of 2013. All they're asking the Marine Corps for is a simple letter to just state: At the time, we did not understand, Bell-Boeing didn't understand, so, therefore, we couldn't train your husbands. So, therefore, your husbands could not have known how to react.

Now they have all these warning systems that I just mentioned a moment ago.

Mr. Speaker, I am not going to let this go. In fact, I have a meeting with the Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel, on the 10th of July--he has already confirmed the date. I have accumulated so much information on this issue that I probably could have a small library that people could come in and research this accident. But I have great respect for Chuck Hagel. I remember him as a Senator when I came out against the Iraq war and I was getting beaten up down in my own district down in eastern North Carolina. I did not know Senator Hagel at the time, but he called me up and left word. I returned his call. He said, ``Congressman, you're right, Iraq was an unnecessary war, I want to meet with you.'' So I went over and met with him, Mr. Speaker. He had his staff spend weeks to show me maps on Iraq and the fact that there were never weapons of mass destruction.

For that I'm of the firm belief that I will meet with him for 30 minutes--that's all he could give me--and I think he will understand that this is not about me, Walter Jones. This is about honor, this is about respect; and the two dead pilots deserve this, Mr. Speaker.

Just a few more points, Mr. Speaker, before I close. Curt Weldon, when they were fighting this program--Secretary Cheney was fighting this program--in '98, '99, and 2000, especially after this crash, the one man in the Congress, Mr. Speaker--and I was here at the time and I can attest to this--was Curt Weldon, a Congressman from Pennsylvania, who took on the administration, that took on Dick Cheney and said, we've got to have this program, we've got to have this program for the Marine Corps, the Marine Corps wants the V-22, and this is their present and this is their future plane.

Curt Weldon now, Mr. Speaker, has joined me, and I want to share from a letter. Curt Weldon, these are his words:

I have found it outrageous that the Marine Corps has

willingly failed to fully clarify the improper

characterization that pilot errors may have contributed to

the tragic accident of Nighthawk 72. I join with Lieutenant

Colonel Ron Radich, Retired United States Marine Corps, a

member of the JAG Investigation Team for the April 8, 2000,

MV-22 accident in his assessment that ``it would be morally

wrong'' to place the blame on the pilots of Nighthawk 72.

Everyone, save the most senior leadership of the United

States Marine Corps, has acknowledged that the Marine Corps

must formally acknowledged the facts and summaries of the

investigations and publicly and clearly restore the

outstanding commitments and reputation of these two brave

marines--there can be no wavering and no innuendo--facts are

facts.

You have my unwavering support to appear at any public

event and/or congressional hearing to set the record straight

regarding the need for United States Marine Corps leadership

to stop ``playing games'' and once and for all correct the

public record regarding the Nighthawk 72 incident and fully

clear the names of these two American heroes.

Mr. Speaker, I want to read that one more time, just to close, by Curt Weldon, a former United States Congressman, who fought and saved the V-22 program for the Marine Corps. He saved the program.

You have my unwavering support to appear at any public

event and/or congressional hearing to set the record straight

regarding the need for United States Marine Corps leadership

to stop ``playing games'' and once and for all correct the

public record regarding the Nighthawk 72 incident and fully

clear the names of these two American heroes.

Mr. Speaker, there are so many people who have joined me in this effort. I'm going to name a few. The three investigators, now retired, but at the time Colonel Mike Morgan, a helicopter pilot himself; a lawyer, Phil Stackhouse; and Lieutenant Colonel Ron Radich, who I just made reference to in Curt Weldon's statement.

These three men were sent to Arizona the day after the accident. Mr. Speaker, they were sent there to investigate the wreckage, the burned wreckage that killed 19 marines. All three of these men, Mr. Speaker, have joined me in strong letters to clear the names of John Brow and Brooks Gruber.

I made reference earlier to Colonel Jim Shafer, a V-22 pilot, friends of these two pilots. He also has joined in saying that at the time we did not understand vortex ring state, at the time we did not understand how vortex ring state would impact on the V-22 Osprey. Mr. Speaker, again, I hold this up because the Osprey is a unique plane. It

goes from a helicopter mode until it goes to like a plane just flying with the propellers in front of it, and then it goes back up. But Jim Shafer has said that John Brow and Brooks Gruber do not deserve the blame for this accident.

I made reference to Dr. Rex Rivolo in my comments earlier, Mr. Speaker. He's a strong proponent of clearing the pilots' names.

Brian Alexander, I made reference that he had handled the lawsuits for 17 of the 19 families whose young sons were killed.

Jim Furman, who was the attorney for the two pilots, John Brow and Brooks Gruber, their families.

Eric Thorson, a former aircraft investigator for the United States Air Force, he's actually joined us in this as well.

And I mentioned Phil Coyle, because Phil Coyle has said he was on the inside, he saw it. These pilots could not be held at fault because they were not to blame.

Danielle Brian, executive director, Project on Government Oversight, she's joined in this effort.

And Bob Cox, a reporter for the Fort Worth Star.

Mr. Speaker, I will close in just a few minutes, because I want to thank the staff for staying on to give me this opportunity to talk about this issue.

I have made a promise to Connie Gruber in Jacksonville. Her husband, Brooks Gruber, is buried down in the cemetery, Veterans Cemetery in Jacksonville, North Carolina. I have met Trish Brow and her two boys, Mark and Matthew. I've taken them to lunch here in the Members' dining room. Both those ladies have my promise, Mr. Speaker, that if we ever get just one paragraph, that I would like to go to the cemetery at Arlington and stand there with Trish and Matthew and Mark and say: ``Colonel, rest in peace. You will never be blamed again for this accident because you were not at fault.''

Then I want to go to the cemetery in Jacksonville, North Carolina, with Connie and her little girl, Brooke. Brooke was a baby when her daddy was killed. She's a beautiful little girl of 12 now, I guess soon to be 13. She never knew her daddy. She has just seen pictures of him holding her as a little baby and smiling at her. That just made it very, very special.

These two men deserve in the eyes of God to be cleared. I am not the smartest man in Congress, and I do not profess to be one; but God gave me a big heart, and he put this on me almost 13 years ago. And what I have found out, Mr. Speaker, is we are right. We are right. The Marine Corps is wrong in this situation. The experts who helped develop the V- 22 have said: We are right and the Marine Corps is wrong. Curt Weldon who fought so valiantly to save the program deserves the credit. He's joined and said these two men deserve to be cleared.

Mr. Speaker, I remember vividly a quote from Voltaire:

To the living we owe respect, to the dead we owe the truth.

That's all this is all about, the truth that these two marines were not trained, did not understand, nor did Bell-Boeing, nor did the Marine Corps. They were not trained as to how to handle the vortex ring state.

We have gotten a little bit further in the last year, but recently the Marine Corps rejected a letter that the wives had signed off on if they could change two words. And the two words are the same word, the word ``solely,'' the word ``solely.'' The pilots are not ``solely'' at fault.

Mr. Speaker, that bothers me because I know, and the Marine Corps knows, that they were not trained. Now, if they had been trained as to how to react and respond to vortex ring state in the V-22, then I might be able to accept that word ``solely.'' But how in the world can you say that pilots who were not trained because Bell-Boeing did not know how to handle vortex ring state in the V-22, the Marine Corps did not understand it, so if they didn't understand it and they didn't train the pilots, how could they be ``solely'' responsible?

That is absolutely unacceptable to the wives, and it is unacceptable to me. So therefore, again, Mr. Speaker, I am going to meet with Secretary Hagel on the 10th of July. I will be prepared. I only have 30 minutes, but that's fine. I know he's a busy man with all of the problems facing our military and the world; but if he'll give me 30 minutes, I will show him in 20 minutes why these pilots should not be held responsible for this accident.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank you and the staff for giving me this extra time. This is one of these things that is a religion with me. I don't fly much. I've been in a few small planes, and I cannot imagine the panic of these two fellows, knowing that they've got 17 young marines, privates and corporals, sitting in the back of this plane and how they must have felt. I don't know. God knows their hearts, because He was with them when they went down, but all I can think of is the panic of something you had not been trained to handle, the panic of, What do we do now?

Brooks, John, what do we do now? We've got seconds, seconds.

And then the plane flips and burns.

I ask God to touch the hearts of the United States Marine Corps and of the commandant. The commandant now is a fine gentleman--I know him, and I have respect for him--but he was there the day and the night of this crash.

The whole reason for this mission was to show the anti-V-22s and Secretary Dick Cheney that this was a remarkable plane, this V-22 Osprey, because they could show how they could descend so quickly and recover some Americans that would be held by terrorists. That was the mission they were on in Marana, Arizona--to show the world that this plane was unique and that it could land and descend quickly and hit the ground and get these people out. Well, the problem was that no one understood the parameters of this plane and how it should descend; so, therefore, these 19 marines were killed.

Mr. Speaker, I hope to be back on the floor right after the Memorial Day break before I meet with the Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel, and talk about this again. I believe sincerely that we are all stronger people and better people when we admit we've made a mistake, and when an organization that the American people love so much like the Marine Corps--and I love the Marine Corps, but quite frankly, when they will not give Connie and Trish a little paragraph, like I have already said three times today, which clearly states that their husbands were not at fault, it is very disappointing to say the least.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, as I do on the floor when I think about all of our men and women overseas in Afghanistan and Iraq, I am going to ask God to please bless our men and women in uniform and 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 am going to ask at this time that God touch the hearts of the United States Marine Corps to give peace to the families of John Brow and Brooks Gruber.

I will ask God to please bless the House and Senate, that we will do what is right in the eyes of God for God's people today and God's people tomorrow.

I will ask God to please bless the President of the United States of America, that he will do what is right in the eyes of God for God's people today and God's people tomorrow.

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

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

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that I might remove my name from H.R. 107 as a cosponsor.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize and pay tribute to Staff Sergeant Charles L. Aaron III, U.S. Marine Corps, on the occasion of his transfer from the Marine Corps liaison office. I, and many other members of this chamber, have had the pleasure of working with him over the past three years that he has served as part of Headquarters U.S. Marine Corps, Office of Legislative Affairs and as the Congressional Liaison Staff Non-Commissioned Officer of the U.S.M.C. Liaison Office in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Everyday he served in direct support of not only the Marine Corps, Office of Legislative Affairs, but in support of every member of Congress. His keen abilities in organization, interpersonal relationships, and communication were extremely critical to the successful accomplishment of the Marine Corps, Office of Legislative Affairs' mission of serving the U.S. Congress.

While serving in the Liaison office, Staff Sergeant Aaron was able to develop and execute the legislative strategy for the U.S. Marine

Corps that was instrumental in creating a fiscal and policy landscape conducive to training and equipping the nation's most elite fighting force, which has helped to ensure our Marines success on the battlefield.

He routinely turned broad guidance into action which energized the Office of Legislative Affairs and members of Congress alike. His actions allowed the Marine Corps to engage members of Congress and their staffs, directly facilitating the increased emphasis on improving congressional relationships--a cornerstone of the Commandant of the Marine Corps' strategic vision.

The Marine Corps House of Representatives Liaison Office that Staff Sergeant Aaron leaves behind is responsive, highly integrated, and favors a proactive legislative strategy. While helping to lead the House Liaison Office through the extraordinary challenges associated with two ongoing wars he concurrently ensured that a myriad of daily congressional communications, taskings and events were executed flawlessly.

During Staff Sergeant Aaron's tour as the Staff Non-Commissioned Officer, he accomplished the full spectrum of the Marine Corps' legislative mission. He exemplified the candor and knowledge that we have come to expect from the Marine Corps and he played a key role in maintaining superb relationships between the Marine Corps and the House of Representatives.

Throughout his tour, Staff Sergeant Aaron effectively responded to several thousand congressional inquiries, many of which gained national level attention. During his time on Capitol Hill, Staff Sergeant Aaron successfully planned, coordinated and escorted over 50 international and domestic congressional and staff delegations. His detailed coordination with foreign government officials, U.S. State Department, and senior military officials ensured that each delegation was conducted professionally and flawlessly. His attention to detail and anticipation of requirements allowed representatives to focus on fact- finding and gleaning new insights to make informed critical decisions to support the interests of the people of the United States. He has made lasting contributions to the House of Representatives and for that I am eternally grateful.

Mr. Speaker, like most Members of Congress, I was home last week and did two or three different civic clubs. Everywhere I went, when I said it's time to get our troops out of Afghanistan, save lives of our American soldiers, and save money, I would get applause.

Also, in the last couple of weeks, my office has sent out a survey, and 17,000 people of the Third District responded, and 70 percent of the 17,000 said the same thing: Why are we still in Afghanistan spending money we do not have and having our young men and women to give their life for a failed policy known as Afghanistan?

Mr. Speaker, a week ago, I was watching NBC News and Brian Williams broke the story that the CIA admitted that for the last 10 years, each month for the last 10 years they've been carrying cash money to Karzai--cash money. And they said that the best they could do was to estimate that this would be tens of millions of dollars. Poor Uncle Sam. I don't know how he can afford to continue to spend money of the taxpayers that we can't even account for so we can borrow more money from China to uphold Karzai, who's a corrupt leader to begin with.

I wonder where the outrage is in Congress? I have friends on both sides of the aisles that I think the world of and respect very greatly, but why isn't there more outrage by Congress on the money being spent and, more importantly, the lives of those lost?

Last Saturday, Mr. Speaker, an AP article said seven Americans were killed in Afghanistan. Seven Americans were killed. God help the families. Yet we in Congress just sit here and continue to think that Afghanistan is not our problem, it's just somewhere out there, and we'll find the millions and billions of dollars to send over there with no accountability.

Mr. Speaker, I'm on the Armed Services Committee, and I have written a letter to the chairman of the Oversight Subcommittee and asked her to hold hearings and bring in the inspectors general who've been looking into how the waste, fraud, and abuse abounds in Afghanistan. They can't even account for half the money we've spent over in Afghanistan. We've already spent over $700 billion in Afghanistan, and half of it we can't even account for.

I don't blame the American people for being frustrated. I really do not. I'm frustrated, too. And I would hope we can find more members of the Republican Party and the Democratic Party to join together in these budget bills coming up this summer and start bringing our troops out of Afghanistan.

I bring this photograph, Mr. Speaker, that has our marines carrying a flag-draped coffin. I try to do this down in the district, and I do it here on the floor because I'm afraid too many times the American people, unless they've got a family member in Afghanistan, probably, with all of the problems that the American people are faced with, and certainly we are here in Congress, don't think a whole lot about the war. But when you hear about the CIA sending cash money for 10 years, millions and millions and millions of dollars to Karzai so that he can take care of the warlords over in Afghanistan and give a little bit of money to the Taliban so they can buy weapons to kill Americans, then I don't know and I sometimes just am frustrated. Where is the outrage in Congress?

Just a couple more points, Mr. Speaker, before I relinquish my time. I hope that the leadership of the House, led by Speaker Boehner and Minority Leader Pelosi, I hope they will join us, Democrat and Republican, in trying to bring an end to this failed policy in Afghanistan. It is a failed policy. We're not going to change one thing. They've already acknowledged, Mr. Speaker, that we are fighting the Taliban, and most of the Taliban are Pashtuns, the largest tribe in Afghanistan. They will eventually be the leaders, and Mr. Karzai will not even be in Afghanistan. He'll probably be in Switzerland counting his money that Uncle Sam has sent to him. Taxpayer, taxpayer, it is wrong that you're having to pay that bill in Afghanistan.

Families who've lost loved ones and families who have kids losing their legs and their lives, it's not fair to you, either.

So, Mr. Speaker, I ask God to continue to bless our men and women in uniform. I ask God to continue to bless the families who've given a child dying for freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq. I'll ask God to please bless the House and Senate, that we will do what is right in the eyes of God for his people. I'll ask God to bless President Obama, that he will do what is right in the eyes of God for his people. And as I yield back, God, please, God, please, God, please, continue to bless America.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment to honor Maranatha Baptist Church in Jacksonville, North Carolina.

This month, Maranatha Baptist Church will celebrate 30 years of faithful service to the Lord and to the citizens of Onslow County. The church especially has a heart to reach the servicemen and women in the area for Christ.

The first members of Maranatha Baptist Church met in a small pawn shop under the leadership of Pastor Randy See. His work laid the foundation for the congregation to expand and move first to a piece of property on Anne Street and then to the church's current location on Onsville Drive.

Following in the footsteps of Randy See, Pastors Don Jones, Chuck Lindley, and Jon McConkey have blessed Maranatha Baptist Church with their leadership over the course of the last three decades. Each of these men contributed uniquely to the growth of the church from its humble beginning to the well-known community that it has become.

I am honored to represent Maranatha Baptist Church, and I am pleased to have the congregation and current Pastor Jon McConkey recognized by the United States Congress as they celebrate 30 years of service to Onslow County.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment to honor Michael Alford, who has recently been recognized as this year's TIME Automobile Dealer of the Year.

The TIME Dealer of the Year award is presented to an individual who displays both professional excellence and dedication to serving the community. Mr. Alford has exemplified both of these characteristics as the president of Marine Chevrolet Cadillac in Jacksonville, North Carolina, where he resides with his wife Alicia and their three children.

Before becoming involved with the automobile industry, Mr. Alford enjoyed a successful career in banking. After purchasing Marine Chevrolet Cadillac from his father-in-law in 1997, he successfully applied many of the skills he had acquired in banking to his new position. Under Mr. Alford's leadership, sales at Marine Chevrolet Cadillac have nearly doubled.

Mr. Alford's expertise positively impacted not only his car dealership, but also his community. The presence of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in Onslow County causes the population to fluctuate often, and Mr. Alford has worked regularly with government officials since 2007 to alleviate the negative consequences of these changes. He also served North Carolina as a member of the Board of Transportation.

Mr. Alford has been a blessing to the residents of Eastern North Carolina in many capacities. His success at Marine Chevrolet Cadillac has allowed him to become a leader in Onslow County, a position in which he has excelled. I am grateful for Mr. Alford's service and pleased to have him recognized by the United States Congress.

Mr. Speaker, the Marine Corps Association was founded on April 25, 1913, in Guantanamo, Cuba, by marines of the 2nd Provisional Brigade. John A. Lejeune, then a lieutenant colonel, headed the Marine Corps Association's first executive committee.

In a statement signed by members of the committee, Lejeune and his fellow officers declared that the Marine Corps Association would publish the history of the Marine Corps and disseminate ``information concerning the aims, purposes and deeds of the Corps, and the interchange of ideas for the betterment and improvement of its officers and men.''

The Marine Corps Gazette was introduced in March 1916 as a vehicle used to establish the Marine Corps Association as the professional organization of all marines and to establish a venue to debate issues of importance to the Corps and disseminate military art and science to association members.

In 1976, the Leatherneck Association, publishers of Leatherneck-- Magazine of the Marines, merged with the Marine Corps Association in a partnership that has proven beneficial to both organizations.

In 2009, the Marine Corps Association founded the Marine Corps Association Foundation in order to provide more support to professional programs for marines, which include: awards--over 10,600 were provided in 2011 alone--battlefield studies, professional military education forums, and Commanders' Unit Libraries with books from the Commandant's Professional Reading List.

In June 2012, when the Montford Point Marines were being honored with the Congressional Gold Medal, it was the Marine Corps Association Foundation that stepped to the plate and found funding so that each of those historic marines could receive their own replica of the commemorative medal.

In its first year of existence, MCA boasted membership of 91, and today there are over 80,000 members worldwide. The Marine Corps Association and Foundation should be commended for their exemplary work and commitment to Active Duty, Reserve, and wounded marines.

I also note their outstanding efforts in providing our wounded marines with the same programs they provide for Active and Reserve marines. For over 100 years, participation in the Marine Corps Association has supported our Active Duty marines, during peacetime and wartime.

In closing, I want to recognize the centennial anniversary of the Marine Corps Association and its Foundation, and honor the contributions they have made and continue to make to the lives of marines stationed throughout the world.

Mr. Speaker, with that, I'd like to close as I always do. I ask 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 in Afghanistan and Iraq.

I ask God to please bless the House and the Senate, that we would do what is right in the eyes of God for God's people today and God's people tomorrow.

And I ask God to please bless the President, that he will do what is right in the eyes of God for God's people today and God's people tomorrow.

And remember the tragedies in Boston and in Texas, Dear God.

I close by saying, God, please, God, please, God, please continue to bless America.

When I was home, like most Members, during the Easter break, I had the opportunity to read in the Raleigh, North Carolina, paper an article that just really took me backwards. The title of the article is: ``Iran Is Victor in Post-War Iraq.'' The first paragraph says:

Ten years after the United States-led invasion to oust

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, the geopolitical winner of

the war appears to be the common enemy: Iran.

Mr. Speaker, I think most of us in the House know that 25, 30 years ago, our Nation supported Saddam Hussein when he was fighting the Iranians. This is what frustrates the American people. We create a bad policy; we continue to support a bad policy. It makes no sense.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to speak to the inspector general for the Iraq Project, and when I get the report, I would maybe like to share more information. Just for example, approximately $11.7 billion in waste, fraud, and abuse. What makes this so ironic is that the Iranians are possibly becoming the beneficiaries of this money. The taxpayers now are spending money in Iraq that could possibly be going into the coffers of the Iranian people. I guess that makes sense to most of my colleagues, but it doesn't to me.

I encourage the American people to go to www.costofwar.com. If you can get it on the Internet, you need to see it. The American people need to understand what is happening in Afghanistan and Iraq. You will see a combined total of $1.4 trillion, and it's a running total. It doesn't stop; it doesn't pause; it just keeps running. So there we go again. Poor Uncle Sam can't take care of his bills, but we're going to take care of these foreign countries. It makes no to sense to me.

Mr. Speaker, a total of 6,656 American troops have died in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, not to mention the thousands of civilian lives lost and the veterans who return home physically and mentally wounded. Whether it's in Iraq or Afghanistan, we cannot continue to spend money that we don't have and neglect the American people.

I hope the people of this country and my fellow colleagues share my outrage and my concern, because it would be almost a sin if we continue to spend this money without any accountability or very little to speak of.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday I visited a soldier from my district in North Carolina. He was at Walter Reed Hospital at Bethesda. His father called me 4 months ago and said, I really would appreciate if you would see my son. He's lost a leg. He's lost fingers. He's badly burned.

Mr. Speaker, it was humbling to go to Walter Reed yesterday and see this young corporal, but he is what makes America great. His attitude is excellent, not complaining about his injuries, and I just pray to God that we will realize that if we don't stop spending the money we don't have that young men and women like the corporal in the years to come will not get benefits because we will be financially broke. That will be a sin, and I hope it never happens.

So, Mr. Speaker, I will be back next week. I will have the inspector general's estimate on the cost to stay in Iraq for 2 more years, and I hope to have some figures I can leave and put in the Record, because it is time that we have a debate on our foreign policy right here in the House of Representatives. Maybe we will in May. I hope so.

With that, Mr. Speaker, as I always do, I ask God to please bless our men and women in uniform, to please bless the families of our men and women in uniform, in His loving arms to hold the families who have given a child dying for freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq.

I ask God to bless the House and Senate, that we will do what is rights in the eyes of God for God's people today and God's people tomorrow.

I ask God to please bless the President, that he will do what is right in the eyes of God for God's people today and God's people tomorrow.

Mr. Speaker, three times, God, please, God, please, God, please continue to bless America.

Mr. Speaker, on April 8, which was 2 days ago, 13 years ago, 19 marines crashed and burned in Marana, Arizona. It was a very tragic time.

The Osprey, Mr. Speaker, is the plane that goes from a helicopter mode to a plane mode. At the time of the accident, it was actually in an experimental phase.

Two years after the accident--I was here at the time the accident took place--I received a letter from the wife of Brooks Gruber. He's on my far left. He was the copilot. At the time of the accident, Colonel John Brow was flying the plane. The sad thing about it is why they had 19 marines on the back. The families do not know. And quite frankly, the former commandant of the Marine Corps during the time of this accident, General Jim Jones, not a relation to me, but I think the world of him, he said to me, I don't know why in the world they did not have sacks of weight in the back instead of those 17 marines sitting back there.

Mr. Speaker, the problem is the lawsuits are over. I've spoken to the lawyer in Texas, Jim Furman, himself a helicopter pilot during the Vietnam war, and he represented the families of Connie Gruber and Trish Brow. In addition, Brian Alexander of New York represented 17 families. Mr. Speaker, I always believe this--I might be wrong because I'm not an attorney--that when a substantial settlement is made, then somebody was seen as being at fault.

The press release has created the problem. On July 27 of the year 2000, in the release, they make reference to a combination of human factors that caused the April 8 accident. Further stated by Marine Corps Commandant General James Jones:

The tragedy is that these were all good marines joined in a

challenging mission. Unfortunately, the pilots' drive to

accomplish that mission appears to have been the fatal

factor.

What the family and myself have been battling for since the year 2000 is that the experts have said that the pilots did not understand vortex ring state and how it impacts the V-22. Vortex ring state is understood in most helicopters, but the V-22 was new, and they had not done any testing at all.

Mr. Speaker, I want to read the paragraph from Connie Gruber when she asked me to look into this. This was dated December 10 of 2002:

With so many wrongs in the world we cannot make right, I

ask that you prayerfully consider an injustice that you can

help make right. I realize you alone may not be able to amend

the report, but you can certainly support my efforts to

permanently remove this black mark from my husband's

honorable military service record. Military leaders continue

to refuse to amend this report, but I am certain there must

be other means of making this change. Given the controversy

of this aircraft and the Marine Corps' vested interest,

surely there is an unbiased, ethical way to rightfully

absolve these pilots. Please help me by not only forwarding

my request but by also supporting it.

When I received that letter from Mrs. Gruber, I called and told her that I am a strong man of faith, and there was some reason that God put my name in her letter and that I would do everything I could to clear the names of Colonel John Brow and Major Brooks Gruber.

I'm not a pilot, Mr. Speaker--and I don't know--but I cannot really understand being a pilot or a copilot in a situation where you have not been trained, where you didn't understand the vortex ring state and how it would impact the V-22 and what you should do. That's the fault of the United States Marine Corps, and that's the fault of Bell-Boeing. Again, the lawsuits are settled, and Bell-Boeing settled for big bucks, if I can say it that way.

I want to give you just another idea. I have talked to so many people in 10 years that sometimes it gets confusing; but I think what I'm going to read, Mr. Speaker, probably tells the story as well as anything. It's from a publication called ``V-22: Wonder Weapon or Widow Maker.'' I'll read:

That the tests addressing flying qualities and a phenomenon

called ``vortex ring state'' were reduced from 103 mandated

test conditions to the 33 actually flown represents a

cancellation of almost 68 percent of the tests in this key

area, including the crucial two at 20 and 40 knots at high

gross weight specifically applicable in this accident.

This article further states:

That aircrews were tasked with participating in that April

8 night operation without benefit of such highly relevant

test results and experience represents real--and what some

might label criminal--negligence on the part of those NAVAIR

and Marine Corps leaders who knew both the parameters of the

missing tests and the nature of this nighttime exercise.

Without this prior testing experience, data and subsequent

analysis, these pilots should not have been flying such a

mission.

Mr. Speaker, what makes this so ironic is that, as I've shared with you, I'm in my 12th year of trying to get a letter from the United States Marine Corps that clearly states--and the facts support this-- that Colonel John Brow, pilot, and Major Brooks Gruber, copilot, were not prepared to handle vortex ring state in the V-22 Osprey. That's all the wives want. You would think that we were going to be sued or something. I've got letters from the lawyers who say, No more suits. It's over.

Trish has two young boys, Michael and Matthew, and Connie has a little girl who is just as precious as she can be. It's just one of those things that, as a man of faith, you just wonder: Where is the guilt of those who ordered that mission that night? It made no sense. Dick Cheney was opposed to the Osprey, and he was really trying to scrap the program. He was Secretary of Defense at the time. So the Marine Corps ordered a mission where these three planes would go to Marana, Arizona, and they would play that they were going to recapture some Americans being held by terrorists. Really, sometimes you just wonder: Where is the heart? Where is the feeling? These gentlemen, truthfully, were known as two of the best Osprey pilots that the Marine Corps had at that time.

By the way, Mr. Speaker, I actually contacted the three marine investigators for the JAGMAN report. That is the official evaluation of the accident. Major Phil Stackhouse, Colonel Ron Radish, and Colonel Mike Morgan have all given me letters in the last year. Each one clearly states that nothing in the JAGMAN report should indicate that the pilots did anything in a deliberate way, because the pilots had not been trained.

Bell-Boeing, after being sued, hired an experimental test pilot, Tom MacDonald, who is pretty well known in the area of planes. Tom MacDonald spent 700 hours studying one issue: What happens when the V- 22 gets in the vortex ring state? In 700 hours, he discovered how they should handle it, and he received a national award known as the Kincheloe.

I've talked to a lot of people in the 12 years on this issue, and the one thing that God has allowed me to understand is that His children deserve to be cleared. I am hopeful. We have back and forth sent a letter that the Marine Corps is reviewing and that the two wives have said they would be satisfied with, and our hope is that sometime in the next few weeks we will get that letter. I will go to the Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel, whom I know and have a friendship with, and I will ask him to assign someone on his immediate staff to work with me on this issue.

I hope that the Marine Corps understands that I do not want to do that, because it would bring more peace to Trish and Connie if the Marine Corps writes the letter. Again, we're probably talking about at most three sentences. Trish has said, for the public, I do not want my children, Michael and Matthew, to go on Google and read that pilot error was the cause of this accident on April 8 of 2000.

Quite frankly, Mr. Speaker, that is what would happen if any of us on this floor tonight Googled ``Osprey'' and ``April 8,'' you would see that. It indicates it was pilot error.

Sometimes I have some kids in my office, as I did today from my district, some 4-Hers, and they were asking about the things that a Member of Congress gets involved in. And I said not everything we get involved in should be or needs to be in the press. Some things that we get involved in, it's simply because our heart tells us that if you don't do it, who is going to do it? Who's going to do it if you, Congressman Walter Jones, don't take it up?

I hope and pray that John Brow and Brooks Gruber and the 17 marines in the back will be able to rest in peace, Mr. Speaker.

Voltaire said:

We owe the living respect; we owe the dead the truth.

That's all we're asking, is that these two marines can rest in peace.

Mr. Speaker, I have said if this comes to be a reality, that I want to go to the

graves--John is buried in Arlington--with his wife and their two boys, and say, Colonel Brow, it's over. Then with Major Gruber, with his wife and little girl--he's buried in Jacksonville--is to go with them and say, Sleep, you're not at fault. Sleep.

Mr. Speaker, I apologize for getting emotional, but I just feel so passionate about this.

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

Mr. Speaker, this week is the 10th anniversary of the unnecessary war in Iraq. I urge my fellow Members and the American public to watch MSNBC's documentary, ``Hubris: The Selling of the Iraq War,'' on Friday night of this week at 9 o'clock. The documentary sheds light on the manipulated intelligence that got us into Iraq.

Unfortunately, we have not learned from all we lost in Iraq, as President Obama has also committed us to an additional 10 years in Afghanistan thanks to a strategic security agreement he made without Congress voting on it or even debating it.

This weekend I read two articles that really spoke to the corruption happening in Afghanistan. One was an AP article I read in my hometown paper titled: ``U.S. Helicopter Crashes in Afghanistan Killing One.'' And the other is from The New York Times titled: ``Afghans Protest U.S. Special Forces: Complaints about Night Raids Sparked Cause for Withdrawal.''

I will quote from the first article:

The crashes come as United States officials are grappling

with tough talk from President Hamid Karzai whose recent

anti-American rhetoric has complicated relations at a time

when international troops are withdrawing from the war.

The article continues saying:

Karzai started the week by accusing the United States and

the Taliban of being in collusion on two deadly suicide

bombings last weekend in an effort to create instability and

give security forces an excuse to stay.

Karzai is one person we cannot trust, and yet we are funding him $8 billion a month. The New York Times article states that Karzai issued a statement that ``referred to U.S. forces in Afghanistan as `infidels,' '' echoing language used by the Taliban.

Mr. Speaker, I just do not understand why more Members of the House are not more concerned about President Obama's 10-year security agreement to keep our troops in Afghanistan until 2024--10 more years after 2014--2024. It makes absolutely no sense. We are financially broke as a Nation.

I am currently in the process of finding out exactly how much money it is going to cost the American taxpayer to keep our troops in this corrupt country for another decade past 2014. Whether the cost is $1 or $1 trillion is too much.

Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro and I have introduced H.R. 125, the Congressional Oversight of Afghanistan Agreement Act of 2013, to make sure that the President does not bypass Congress as he continues to do, but gives us a chance to debate any security agreement that will keep our troops in Afghanistan past 2014.

Mr. Speaker, it is our job as Representatives to make sure the voices of the American people are being heard, and it is only fair that we have a debate in Congress on how long our country's future involvement with Afghanistan will continue.

Mr. Speaker, as always, I bring down a poster that shows the cost of war. In this case, you can see these marines, Mr. Speaker, carrying a coffin, a flag-draped coffin. How many more coffins have to be carried by the soldiers and the marines and the airmen and the Navy of this country when the American people demand that Congress pull our troops out of Afghanistan? It is too long to be there until 2014; it is too long to be there until 2024.

May God bless our men and women in uniform, and God please wake up Congress to bring our troops home.

Madam Speaker, I come to the floor quite often to remind the Congress that we're still at war. In fact, yesterday we had seven Americans killed in Afghanistan. This year alone, we've had three situations where the Afghans that we were training turned their weapons on the Americans who were trying to help them and killed them.

Our policy in Afghanistan is a total disaster. It is a failed policy, and we're not going to change one thing in Afghanistan. In fact, Madam Speaker, this past week, the new Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel, who's a friend of mine--I have great respect for him--was in Afghanistan, and Mr. Karzai accused Mr. Hagel and the American people of negotiating with the Taliban. The Taliban are our enemy and the enemy of Karzai. This just continues to show that this gentleman that leads Afghanistan is, quite frankly, corrupt, confused, and unpredictable.

But what amazes me is this Congress continues to spend $6 billion to $8 billion a month in Afghanistan, when we have this person who is leading that country who, from one day to the next, either likes the American people or he dislikes the American people. In fact, in December of this year, Karzai was quoted in The Washington Post as saying he now has three main enemies: the Taliban, the United States, and the international community; and if he had to choose sides today, he would choose the Taliban. And now he's accusing America of cutting deals with the Taliban.

Again, we had seven Americans killed yesterday. It's time for this Congress to wake up and stop spending money in Afghanistan. History has shown we will never change Afghanistan no matter what we do. Go back to Alexander the Great, Madam Speaker, and look at what he did there. Go to the English. Go to the Russians. Nobody is going to change that country. They don't want to be us to begin with.

So why are we going to cut programs in America for children and senior citizens to make sure that Karzai will get his money? In fact, the inspector general for the reconstruction of Afghanistan, John Sopko, he testified recently that we are averaging spending $235 million a day--$235 million a day--in Afghanistan, and half the projects that we are spending money on are blown up within a few weeks after they are completed by the Taliban.

I do not understand my own party, to say the least. I don't understand the Congress. Why do we want to keep spending money we don't have and deny the American people a fix for this economy and this country?

Madam Speaker, I'm pleased to say that I have introduced, along with my Democratic friend, Rosa DeLauro, H.R. 125, the Congressional Oversight of Afghanistan Agreement of 2013. All we're trying to do is to get a debate on the floor to say: Why would we agree to stay in Afghanistan after 2014 to 2024? This agreement signed by this administration has obligated America to be there 10 more years after 2014. How many more Americans will have to die? How much money will the American taxpayer have to spend in Afghanistan?

Ms. DeLauro and I would like to have a debate on the floor of the House if, for no other reason, if we can't even change the agreement that the President has signed, let the American people know that we want to debate staying there 10 more years and see young men and women die for a corrupt leader, a confused leader, and spend the money that we don't have for the American people. It makes absolutely no sense.

In closing, Madam Speaker, this is just another example of war. These marines are carrying a flag-draped coffin. How many more families have to cry and lose a loved one in a failed policy, a policy where we will never change Afghanistan no matter what we do?

In closing, Madam Speaker, I ask God to please bless our men and women in uniform, 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 I ask God to please continue to bless America.

Mr. Speaker, thank you very much.

Like most of my colleagues last week when we were home, I took as many opportunities as possible to speak at civic clubs, meet with groups of people, and talk about a range of issues. But I also always brought up the fact that we continue to fund a failed policy in Afghanistan. I was pleased and also humbled by the response from these groups as they agreed with me totally; and many of these groups, Mr. Speaker, were actually veterans. I represent the Third Congressional District of North Carolina, the home of Camp Lejeune, Cherry Point Marine Air Station, and we have over 60,000 retired military.

Those who were in the military who are now retired said, You're absolutely right; why doesn't Congress wake up? There's nothing we're going to change in Afghanistan. Stop wasting lives and spending money.

Mr. Speaker, that brings me to this. On Monday, an AP article:

Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Sunday ordered all U.S.

special forces to leave Wardak within 2 weeks and requested

that their operations there cease immediately. The restive

province, which neighbors Kabul province and is viewed as a

gateway to the capital, has been the focus of

counterinsurgency efforts in recent years.

Why do we fund a man that doesn't even like us? I don't understand that at all. How in the world can the Congress in its wisdom not speak out and say, Listen, you're talking about a 10-year agreement after 2014? How can a country that's financially broke commit to 10 more years after 2014? I do not understand that.

In fact, I have introduced, with Rosa DeLauro, H.R. 125, the Congressional Oversight of Afghanistan Agreement Act of 2013, which is a bipartisan bill introduced by us, and we are reaching out to our other colleagues to say, Congress, let's get on the floor. Let's debate whether we should stay there 10 years after 2014 or not.

Mr. Speaker, I sincerely believe that the American people would back this legislation because the American people have seen the total chaos right here this week, last week, and the next couple weeks to come talking about sequestration. But I don't think the leader of Afghanistan is worried about sequestration because we're going to send him all of the money he wants while we tell the American people, We're going to cut your jobs; we're going to cut your programs. That, to me, is absolutely ridiculous and unacceptable.

Mr. Speaker, it is time for the American people to say to Congress, let's start rebuilding America and stop rebuilding the rest of the world.

Mr. Speaker, beside me is a poster of a young Army officer who lost both legs and an arm. We fail to realize here in Congress, maybe not all of us, but some of us, that we're still at war. Young men and women are still getting their legs blown off, they're losing their lives many times--not as often as in the past. But let's wake up, Congress. Let's start debating what we're going to do to rebuild our country and stop trying to rebuild the rest of the world.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I will ask God to please not let the American people and not let Congress forget that we have young men and women in Afghanistan. And I will close by asking God to please bless the United States of America and let us never, never forget the sacrifice of war.

Mr. Speaker, this past Sunday when I turned 70 years of age, I read in the North Carolina paper, known as the News and Observer, the article that I would like to quote:

More than 100 family members, friends and uniformed

servicemembers marched slowly and quietly Friday down a hill

at Arlington National Cemetery following Army Sergeant Aaron

X. Wittman's coffin, draped with an American flag and carried

on a horse-drawn caisson.

Mr. Speaker, there are probably not many Members of Congress or Americans who know that Sergeant Wittman became the first American to lose his life in Afghanistan in 2013.

I do not know how many more Americans will have to die between now and the end of 2014. One American life is already one too many. We have done enough in Afghanistan. It will never change, as history has proven time and time again.

Obviously, there is nothing more important than an American life. But there is a second part of this sad situation, and that is the $28 million a day we are spending to rebuild Afghanistan. We could use that $28 million a day to fix our own roads and our own schools right here in America.

Yesterday on C-SPAN, I heard the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction, John Sopko, speak about how much money we are spending in Afghanistan and the fact that it is impossible to give the American taxpayers an account of where the money is going. I think Mr. Sopko and his team are doing the best they can; but taxpayers are still being shortchanged, especially with the looming issue of sequestration and a pending continuing resolution.

I hope that my colleagues in the House can join in the effort to bring our troops home by the end of 2013 and to put an end to the wasteful spending in Afghanistan. Most importantly, above all else, put an end to the loss of American lives. I will quote from my friend, former commandant of the United States Marine Corps:

What do you say to the mother, father, wife of the last

soldier or marine killed in Afghanistan?

My question is, Was it worth it? My answer is, No, not one life is worth it to be lost in Afghanistan. It is time to bring our troops home.

Mr. Speaker, this poster beside me shows a casket on top of a caisson getting ready to walk to the grave at Arlington National Cemetery.

May God continue to bless our troops, our men and women in uniform. May God continue to bless America. And please, God, touch the hearts of those in the House and let's bring our troops home in 2013.

Mr. Speaker, thank you very much.

I want to thank President Obama for his nomination of Chuck Hagel to be Secretary of Defense.

While we were home last week, I had the opportunity to watch the Senate confirmation hearing, and I was dismayed by the way many of the Republicans in that hearing chastised Mr. Hagel.

Mr. Hagel is a man of integrity. The question from one of the Senators about, do you think the surge worked, and Senator Hagel was such that he didn't want to give him a direct answer. I would have said, no, it didn't work--1,200 Americans killed, I don't know how many Iraqis. And look at the country today. It's totally falling apart. But that was a question toward Senator Hagel.

Mr. Speaker, the Iraq war was very unnecessary. It was manufactured by the previous administration, and there was a general, Marine General Greg Newbold, who had been working with the Department of Defense, who actually wrote an article in Time after the war started. And one of the points he made that I'm going to share with you, Mr. Speaker, is ``some of the missteps include the distortion of intelligence in the buildup to the war.'' The distortion of intelligence in the buildup to the war.

In the history of Washington, if ever our government needed integrity, it's now. Chuck Hagel is a man of integrity. No one can question his integrity.

I've had the privilege of knowing Senator Hagel since 2005 when I came out against the unnecessary war in Iraq. Senator Hagel reached out to me in support of my position and encouraged me in my journey to find out the truth, if it was necessary or not.

His record speaks for itself. As a noncommissioned officer, he honorably served this Nation in Vietnam, earning two Purple Hearts, served on the Senate Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on Foreign Relations, as well as the President's Intelligence Advisory Board and the Secretary of Defense Policy Board. No one can argue Chuck Hagel's experience.

Mr. Speaker, I know that Chuck Hagel is the right man to lead the Department of Defense through this very difficult economic time. He's a man that will uphold the Constitution and do what is right for this country. Our military and the American people need Chuck Hagel to be the Secretary of Defense.

Mr. Speaker, before closing, I must say that, in my many years here in Washington, 18 years, I have never known a person with more integrity than Senator Hagel, and I hope that the Senate will pass on the confirmation of Chuck Hagel to be the Secretary of Defense because America needs him, our military needs him, and it's time for people of integrity to step up and help us fix this problem facing our Nation. And he will speak freely and honestly about what is needed to keep a strong military.