Walter Jones

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Madam Speaker, the Vietnam War is widely regarded as one of the most brutal conflicts our young service members have faced to this day. With such brutal conditions abroad and dwindling support within the United States, the Vietnam War left an indelible mark on our nation, and most importantly, on the people who served. One man to experience these effects was Mr. Clifton James Coward, Jr., of Washington, North Carolina. I rise today to honor him. Known as C.J. to his friends, Clifton was a happy and outgoing person when he was younger. Unfortunately, by the time he returned home following his tour in Vietnam, his world was flipped upside down. C.J. served in the military from 1967 to 1970, completing one tour in Vietnam. As a Specialist 4th Class in the U.S. Army, he was a part of a New Equipment Training (NET) team and was the operator/gunny attached to a Sheridan M551 tank. One of the hardships the group faced while fighting was that they traveled so quickly throughout the country. Letters that their loved ones sent often wouldn't arrive until after they had moved on to a new location. Unfortunately, by the time his tour was over and C.J. was discharged, he had developed anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. This greatly exacerbated other health problems, which arose later in his life. Having married Lola Woolard after returning to the states, C.J. dealt with emphysema and episodes of anxiety that led to his wife driving him around into the early hours of the morning to help calm him down. Even throughout the hardships, the couple was happily married for 48 years. The two of them have lived in my district for 45 of those 48 years. C.J. was a proud father to Lynn and Kylie Coward Carter and a grandfather to Lucas and Lily Carter. After his service, he continued supporting his family by preparing bread trays, that way he could avoid the stress of your typical 9 to 5 job and he was able to work at his own pace. The effects of Vietnam are still felt by many, just like Clifton. Despite never returning to the same happy, outgoing young man he once was, he always tried to keep a smile on his face and was a dear friend who will be missed by many. May God continue to uplift his family.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I ask God to bless our men and women in uniform, and I ask God to continue to bless America.

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, the reason I mentioned these ghost soldiers is because Americans are still dying in this godforsaken country known as Afghanistan, all while our Nation is headed for an economic collapse as we soon will see the $20 trillion debt number come forward. For the sake of our military, we need to end this madness in Afghanistan. I have beside me a photograph of a flag-draped coffin being taken off of an airplane. This is a humble way that I can say to the nine Americans who also came home in a flag-draped coffin in the back of a plane thank you for your service. Mr. Speaker, it is time for Congress to have a debate on the floor of the House as to whether we need to stay in Afghanistan for another 16 years. We have been there for 16 years now. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record an article that tells the story of Afghanistan better than I can today on the floor. The title of that article is ``It's Time for America to Get Out of Afghanistan.'' [Dec. 2, 2016] It's Time for America To Get Out of Afghanistan (By Mark Kryzer) ``Nation-building'' hasn't achieved lasting goals, Afghanis continue to suffer casualties and be displaced, and the costs to the U.S. keep mounting. After 15 years and $115 billion of taxpayer dollars spent on failed ``nation-building,'' it's time for the U.S. to let go of Afghanistan. (The actual ``total cost of war and reconstruction'' which includes all U.S. military spending, has been estimated at $783 billion by the Cost of War project at Brown University.) The situation in 2016 has been described by one senior U.S. government official as an ``eroding stalemate.'' That's optimistic. We are losing whatever has been achieved there and the Afghan government is slowly collapsing under the Taliban onslaught and its own ineptitude driven by corruption. The Taliban control more territory now than at any time since their overthrow by the U.S. in 2001 with the Afghan government controlling only two-thirds of the country--during daylight hours. Since January 2016, the Taliban have contested five provincial capitals, carried out some of the largest terrorist attacks in the capital city of Kabul, and have pressed attacks in all 34 provinces of the country, with an average of 68 attacks a day. As a result, the Afghan army and police forces have incurred about 15,000 casualties so far this year, with civilians suffering more than 5,000 casualties, the highest levels ever recorded. An estimated 1.2 million Afghans have been displaced because of the fighting and are living as refugees in their own country, with another 85,000 opting to leave the country in the first six months of 2016 alone for the migrant trail to Europe. Adding to the Taliban threat, ISIS has now established itself in two eastern Afghan provinces and Al Qaida operatives are active in seven provinces, according to a recent report in ``The Guardian.'' With opium production also up by 43 percent in the country, there is no shortage of funds to fuel the insurgency and corruption. According to a 2016 World Bank report, the social and economic gains achieved with international assistance over the last 15 years are also quickly eroding due to war and corruption. The Obama administration has opted to leave 8,400 troops in Afghanistan in 2016 in a support role to the Afghan army, down from a high of 100,000 in 2010. And the U.S. completely pays for the Afghan army and police forces. On the civilian side of reconstruction, the U.S. continues to pour money into the country for ``nation-building.'' At the Brussels Afghanistan ``Donors Conference'' in early October, the international community pledged another $15 billion in support; the U.S. is the largest contributor. Given the abysmal results achieved so far, isn't it time to re-evaluate U.S. foreign policy goals in Afghanistan? Recently, a group of U.S. generals and former U.S. ambassadors to Afghanistan announced that a ``generational commitment'' of assistance was still required of the American people toward Afghanistan to see it securely to the end goal of . . . what? Nobody can give a coherent answer to that question, indicating that we have seriously lost our way. Most Americans have forgotten about Afghanistan (or no longer want to hear about it) and are not aware of the ongoing costs in American lives and resources. It's time for the next American president to drastically change direction and explain it to the American people. That direction should be to start the pullout of Afghanistan after 15 years of failure to achieve any lasting policy objectives there. The U.S. should immediately stop the multitude of civilian ``nation-building'' programs that have been so costly and failed to achieve their unrealistic goals. U.S. funding for the Afghan army and police forces should be put on a diminishing schedule that would stop entirely after two years, forcing Afghanistan to finally stand or fall on its own. It's time to let go of Afghanistan and end the 15-year drain on American lives and resources.

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I find it quite ironic that the last moment of silence for our men and women in uniform who have died serving this Nation during wartime by the House Chair took place on March 23, 2015, almost 2 years ago. I, frankly, do not understand how House leadership is not more concerned about those who have given their life serving this Nation. Additionally, Mr. Speaker, I wrote to Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter several weeks ago regarding an article that said that there are 200,000 Afghan soldiers who do not exist--they call them ghosts--who are on the payroll of the Department of Defense. I asked him in the letter: Why are we wasting this money, and can you identify where the money is going? Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record my letter to Secretary Ashton Carter. Congress of the United States, House of Representatives, Washington, DC, October 14, 2016. Hon. Ashton B. Carter, Secretary of Defense, Washington, DC. Dear Secretary Carter: I am responding to Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Acting) Jedidiah Royal's October 3, 2016, response to the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR)'s letter to you (dated August 5, 2016) regarding ``ghost soldiers'' in Afghanistan. I am appalled that the U.S. taxpayer has, and continues to pay, for ``ghost soldiers'' in Afghanistan. Moreover, I am also concerned about the risks that inadequacy of data concerning personnel levels of the Afghan National Security and Defense Forces (ANDSF) may pose to American forces in Afghanistan. In Deputy Assistant Secretary Royal's response to SIGAR, he indicates the systems that U.S. Forces-Afghanistan are putting in place to try to verify Afghan personnel data will not be ready until at least July 2017. Given the estimate that there may be up to 200,000 ``ghost soldiers,'' I would respectfully request an estimate of how much funding provided to the ANDSF for salaries in fiscal years 2016 and 2017 is expected to be wasted on ``ghost soldiers.'' Additionally, Deputy Assistant Secretary Royal indicates that a limited amount of funds has been withheld from the ANDSF for not adhering to the agreed-upon timeline for implementation of personnel verification systems. How much money was withheld, and what percentage does that number represent of the amount originally designated to be allocated? Given that many Afghan military and police outposts have limited, if any, access to electricity and telecommunications systems, I would also ask whether there is a contingency plan to back-up the biometric database and personnel system given that units may not always have regular access to the technology needed to operate them? Further, under the current deployment arrangement ordered by President Obama, U.S. forces do not have the capability to witness firsthand, at the lowest levels of the ANDSF, whether there is fraudulent use of the biometric cards. With that in mind, does DOD expect there will be salary overpayments even after July 2017? I am also concerned about the effect the ``ghost soldier'' problem is having on U.S. forces in Afghanistan. While the Afghan Minister of Defense was recently quoted as saying there is not a single ``ghost soldier'' in Afghanistan, the Deputy Assistant Secretary's letter makes clear that is not the case. We know the collapse of the 215th Corps in Helmand in 2015 was at least in part due to an overestimation of ANDSF personnel in Helmand based on inflated numbers reported to the Ministry of Defense. USFOR-A subsequently deployed additional personnel closer to the front lines in Helmand to assist with improving that corps. The ``ghost soldier'' issue clearly is affecting decision-making within the Defense Department that affects U.S. personnel. I would like to know how DOD plans to mitigate any further risk to U.S. military and civilian personnel that may result from the ongoing ``ghost solider'' problem. Finally, how confident is the Defense Department that the ANDSF and the Afghan government have the capability and the will to effectively implement the new systems, and when will that implementation be fully achieved? When implemented, does the Defense Department expect the ``ghost soldier'' problem to be eliminated, or merely reduced? Mr. Secretary, the ``ghost soldier'' problem has clearly existed in Afghanistan since the beginning of U.S. operations there. The Defense Department should have known that ``ghost soldiers'' represented a major risk to American personnel and American taxpayers no later than 2008, when a Government Accountability Office report raised the issue. But year after year, the administration-- with far too little oversight from Congress--continues sending tens of millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars to pay the salaries of Afghan military and police, thousands of whom never show up for duty or may not even exist. And now, we are almost $20 trillion in debt. After 15 years of wounded and murdered Americans, it is time to bring this waste, fraud and abuse to an end. It is sickening, unaffordable, and it must stop. Many scholars have said that Afghanistan is a graveyard of empires--when this financial disaster finally brings us to our knees, maybe the ghost soldiers can visit the headstone that says United States of America. Sincerely, Walter B. Jones, Member of Congress.

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I am back on the floor again today to discuss the tragic loss of American life in Afghanistan. This past week, I was touched by George Stephanopoulos and ABC as they publicly listed the nine servicemembers that died in Iraq and Afghanistan during the month of November. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the names of the nine American heroes. Sergeant John W. Perry of Stockton, California; Private 1st Class Tyler R. Lubelt of Tamaroa, Illinois; Sergeant 1st Class Ryan A. Gloyer of Greenville, Pennsylvania; Captain Andrew D. Byers of Rolesville, North Carolina; Senior Chief Petty Officer Scott C. Dayton of Woodbridge, Virginia; Specialist Ronald L. Murray, Jr., of Bowie, Maryland; Staff Sergeant James F. Moriarty of Kerrville, Texas; Staff Sergeant Kevin J. McEnroe of Tucson, Arizona; Staff Sergeant Matthew C. Lewellen of Lawrence, Kansas.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I have been on the floor so many times over the last year or so talking about the 16 years of war in Afghanistan and the waste of money, but, more importantly, the waste of life. The titles that I am going to share with the House today have appeared in October and November in articles, national articles, about the failed policy in Afghanistan. I would like to share those very quickly. ``U.S. Pledges Another $800 Million to Afghanistan Despite Rampant Corruption.'' ``Four Americans Die in Suicide Blast At U.S. Base in Afghanistan; 17 Others Wounded.'' These are headlines, Mr. Speaker. ``Latest Afghan Attack Raises Perplexing Questions on Security.'' Another title: ``The U.S. Spent Billions Building Roads in Afghanistan. Now Many of Them Are Beyond Repair.'' Another title: ``Inspector General: Pentagon Must Explain Afghan `Ghost Soldier' Problems. Funding for Afghan Military Wasted on Non- Existent Soldiers.'' Mr. Speaker, 200,000 Afghanistan ghosts that the taxpayers of America have been paying for their services, and they don't even exist. When I read that, I wrote a letter to the Defense Secretary, Ash Carter, and I said to Secretary Carter: Please explain how much money did we pay to the ghosts that don't even exist? How long have we been paying the ghosts that don't exist? We are talking about 200,000 Afghan soldiers that don't even exist. Mr. Speaker, I do not understand why the House of Representatives does not have a debate on our policy regarding Afghanistan. How much longer can a nation that is $19.8 trillion in debt--that is America, $19.8 trillion in debt--and how many more billions of dollars can we keep putting into the black hole of Afghanistan and keep losing our young men and women in a country that is never going to change? It goes back to Alexander the Great. It goes back to the British. It goes back to the Russians. Anyone who has ever gone into that country known as Afghanistan has eventually left, and they knew there was nothing they could change. Not America, though. We have been there 16 years. We don't even debate it on the floor of the House. We will be passing a DOD funding bill pretty soon, and there will be billions of dollars going to Afghanistan and there will be very little debate on it. There are those on the Democratic side and the Republican side, Mr. Speaker, who do care about our troops, who do care about the wasted money, and who do care about a policy that has no end to it. It is not fair to our men and women in uniform. They deserve better from this Congress. It is our constitutional duty that we debate policy that sends our young men and women to die. Yet we do not debate it. It just goes on and on. This poster that I brought with me today, Mr. Speaker, before I close, I have signed over 11,000 letters to families and extended families who have lost loved ones in Afghanistan and Iraq. Recently, we have had seven Americans killed in Afghanistan. I do not understand why we are so void of a debate. James Madison would have been very disappointed, Mr. Speaker. It was Madison who said that it is the legislative branch that will debate and vote on war, not the executive branch. But we have abdicated our responsibility to the President and let the President decide what the foreign policy should be and how we should use our men and women in uniform. That is a sad day for America. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the House for this time. I close by asking God to please bless our men and women in uniform, to please bless the families of our men and women in uniform and hold in His loving arms those young Americans who have given their life for this country. God bless America.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, in January 2015, one of my dearest friends suddenly passed away at the age of 59. Judge Randy Doub had been a friend of mine for years. He was a strong man who lived his faith. He loved his country, and he loved, very dearly, his wife, Toni, and sons, Alexander and Jameson. Randy was also very active in his church and passionate in his career. As a Federal bankruptcy judge, he was respected by the lawyers who came before him, by the families whom he helped through financial difficulties, and by the dedicated and most loyal staff that he worked so closely with. Psalm 106:3 says: Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times. Randy truly was a fair and caring judge who understood that the opportunity to serve in this capacity was a gift from God. Mr. Speaker, while he achieved much in his career, one of Randy's prouder accomplishments was his work with the GAO on the Greenville Courthouse. He helped to design, create, and oversee a high-quality facility to better serve the residents of eastern North Carolina, all while keeping the project under budget. He took great pride in this building. Mr. Speaker, for all of the reasons I have mentioned and more, it is right and justified to name this courthouse after Judge Randy Davis Doub. I want to thank my dear friend, Mr. G.K. Butterfield, who knew Randy Doub as well as I did. Mr. Butterfield, as you know, is a former judge in State courts and is also an attorney. He and I worked side by side to get this legislation to the floor of the House. I want to thank the committee of jurisdiction and I want to thank the subcommittees who are on the floor today for giving us this chance to remember a man who loved his country, who loved the Constitution, and who loved his family.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, growing up in Farmville, North Carolina, I learned as a young person of the Tyson-May family and its history. The family has met annually since its formation on November 25, 1932 and has maintained its unity through the many years. I have often and proudly been a guest at their reunions. The many contributions made by the two families to our country is immeasurable. Members have done much for our state and nation by providing dedicated leaders in every profession. Members have always been known for their integrity and high standards of conduct. Mr. Speaker, I would like to submit a letter from a Tyson-May family member, John B. Lewis, Jr., who is a former North Carolina Court of Appeals judge. He is inviting the United Kingdom's Prime Minister Theresa May and Mr. Philip May to become honorary members of his family. There is much excitement in the family that, by marriage, the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is named May. September 15, 2016. Hon. Theresa B. May and Mr. Philip May, London, England. My Dear Prime Minister and Mr. May: As a member of the Tyson-May Families Reunion of Pitt County, North Carolina, I will, with your permission, move that you become Honorary Members of our family. The family is composed of the descendants of the children of Benjamin May and Mary Tyson who wed in 1750. Many of our members have achieved and maintained high and enviable standards of conduct and we believe you qualify with the best. We gather annually since November 25, 1932 to celebrate God's blessing of family harmony and unity. There are no dues and we are not autograph collectors . . . we are simply proud of our family and wish to include you in this honorary capacity. Sincerely, John B. Lewis Jr., Esquire

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I heard Congressman Mo Brooks from Alabama give a very disturbing speech, but a speech that everyone should hear, and that is: America is headed toward Greece. Financially we are in a bad situation. We are $19.4 trillion in debt. In 2000 I was here when President Clinton was leaving office. We had a Republican House, a Republican Senate, and we were headed for a surplus. In fact, the debt in 2000 was $5.6 trillion. Today that debt is $19.4 trillion. The poster I have with me, Mr. Speaker, I used all during August. It is a great political cartoon. It is kind of sad in a way, I guess. The cartoon is this: It has got Uncle Sam in a wheelchair, and Uncle Sam is saying, ``I can see Greece from here,'' and the cliff has got written the words ``fiscal cliff.'' And then who is pushing Uncle Sam but Mr. Obama, and he is saying, ``Forward.'' And who is pushing Mr. Obama? The donkey, representing the Democrats? Who is pushing the donkey? The Republicans, the elephant. What it is saying is both parties are guilty of this debt that is going to strangle this country before very long. Last week there was an article in Reuters News. The headline was: ``U.S. Army Fudged Its Accounts by Trillions of Dollars, Auditor Finds.'' The auditor said that, in the year 2015, he found that the Army had misappropriated over $6 trillion. I don't know where the outrage is anymore. I have no idea where it is. Six trillion dollars they cannot account for. And yet I hear very little about it from the Department of the Army and very little from leadership in the House of Representatives. In addition to that, I, for months, and maybe even years now, have been talking about the absolute waste, fraud, and abuse in Afghanistan. It is one of the worst failed policies America has ever had. We are not changing anything. You go back to Alexander the Great. Alexander the Great went to Afghanistan, or what was known as Afghanistan then. He was going to make it a different part of the world. It failed. Then you had the British. Winston Churchill was a young reporter and was in Afghanistan in 1920. He wrote and said: What is this country? What is this land? It is impossible. And then you had the Russians. The Russians went there, and they failed and they left. Now America is spending billions and billions of dollars, and it is failing. There was an article about 3 months ago, and the title of the article was: ``12 Ways Your Tax Dollars Were Squandered in Afghanistan.'' John Sopko is the inspector general for Afghan Reconstruction. What he said was: Billions have been squandered on projects that were either useless or substandard, or lost to waste, corruption, and systemic abuse, according to SIGAR's reports. That is John Sopko's group. They are known as SIGAR. Anyone can look it up on the Internet. They will just verify everything I am saying of just how much waste, fraud, and abuse, and how it is worse today than it was 15 years ago. I do not understand how we in Congress can be complicit. Well, what do you mean complicit? Well, when we pass the bill to fund the Department of Defense, if we know a percentage of that money, billions of dollars, is going to Afghanistan waste, fraud, and abuse, aren't we being complicit? I think so. I started voting against the bills because I don't want to be part of that, quite frankly. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I want to thank Congressman Brooks for coming on this floor yesterday, as I have done many times, to warn not only Congress but the American people that we are going to have a collapse sooner rather than later if we don't change the way that we are spending money here in Washington. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank our men and women in uniform, thank the families of our men and women in uniform, and thank the families who have given a child dying for freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, commencing first in 1848, the United States Life Saving Service was a federal government agency that grew out of private and local humanitarian efforts to create and man rescue stations along the coast. These outposts were often remote. The men stationed there took great pride in their deep commitment to save the lives of shipwrecked mariners and passengers, often against overwhelming odds. In 1874, life saving stations were added along the coast of Maine, Cape Cod, and the famed Outer Banks of North Carolina. In 1878, this network of stations was formally organized as a separate agency of the United States Department of the Treasury. In 1915, the Service formally merged with the Revenue Cutter Service to form the United States Coast Guard. These lonely, isolated outposts were always manned by the bravest of men who knew no fear, and who were dedicated to their sworn duty of rescuing seamen in distress. Their motto was ``to always go, but not always return''. Even now, many stories are told about the daring rescues by such men, some admittedly embellished a bit for literary interest. Proudly beat the hearts today of all who can call themselves their descendants. One of the most notable of these rescues occurred on a cold, blustery winter's night in February of 1905. The three-masted schooner, Sarah D. J. Rawson, was two days out of Georgetown, South Carolina and bound for New York with a full cargo of lumber. While running under reefed sails in a heavy winter squall on February 8, she ran up hard aground on Cape Lookout Shoals at approximately 5:00 PM. Managing as best he could under extreme conditions, the captain gave orders to take in all canvas and prepare for the worst. While the brave crew performed its work, a Norwegian seaman--Jacob Hansen--was swept overboard to his death, his body given up to the shoals. The violent onslaughts of the treacherous waves continually broke over the ship eventually carrying away her spars, deckhouses, running rigging, and life boat, her cargo of lumber likewise being scattered like match sticks among the unforgiving seas. Positioning themselves among the highest points of her masts, the crewmen did the best they could to preserve their lives while hoping and praying throughout the night that help would soon arrive, but no doubt fearful of a bad ending to their ordeal. The following morning broke with a thick mantle of fog enshrouding the sea. While scanning the ocean at approximately noon of the 9th, the duty watchman of the Cape Lookout life saving crew who was posted atop the watch tower spotted the uppermost mast heads of the Rawson through the fog bank. Realizing the ship was in dire distress, he immediately called forth his fellow life savers from their barracks. Though many had high fevers and suffering from the flu, all leapt into action according to their rigorous training and hastened to the shore with their mule drawn wagon and such other equipment as they knew would be required. The surf boat was then launched through breaking seas, and with all hands aboard, they began to row the nine mile journey through the shoal waters to the stricken ship. Arriving on the scene about 4 PM, the life savers found themselves seriously surrounded and endangered by floating wreckage and lumber being cast about in the waves. As night was setting in, orders were given to stand away a bit and wait for more favorable sea conditions. With anchor set, these crewmen spent the entire night in the freezing cold huddled together in their little boat, awaiting the morning hour when seas would subside and be more in their favor for a rescue attempt. Throughout the night, the surf men suffered greatly from exposure, fatigue, and hunger, but none failed or faltered to perform their sworn duty as life savers. At about 1 PM of the 10th, and with their hopes encouraged and renewed, the life savers were able to commence a rescue attempt due to better conditions of wind and tide, and so they approached the Rawson close enough to lay in amongst the nearby wave troughs and cast over their ``heaving line'' to the deck of the ship. With the first attempt successful, the first fortunate seaman tied the rope around his waist, jumped into the sea, and was pulled to the safety of the life boat. His companions followed his example, and one by one in turn, all hands were rescued in like fashion. Once all were brought aboard, the life savers began the long, exhausting pull back to the shore, now loaded with the weight of fourteen men--eight life savers and the six rescued seamen. The savers gave up their oil skins and wrapped those and other garments about the huddled, suffering seamen so they could better endure the perils of the freezing weather. The crew of the Rawson had been forty-eight hours without food or water. The life savers had spent twenty-eight hours in their cramped, open boat being cast about in the treacherous seas without food or sufficient warmth, uncertain whether a successful rescue could even be achieved, given the perilous conditions. Upon their return to the shore, the Rawson seamen were given food and shelter at the station and eventually returned to their families and employers through intermediary assistance. The fate of the Sarah D. J. Rawson and her crew would never have been known but for the unflinching heroism of the crew of the Cape Lookout Life Saving Station. Each member was subsequently awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal for extreme and selfless service in this famous rescue. All had admirably performed their sworn duty in the face of incredible obstacles and in the highest traditions of the Life Saving Service. A more complete report of the Rawson rescue appears at: http://www.coastalguide.com/helmsman/rawsonrescue.shtml. The names of the members who were attached to the Cape Lookout Station and participated in this rescue are: William H. Gaskill (the ``Keeper''), Kilby Guthrie, Walter M. Yeomans, Tyre Moore, James W. Fulcher, John E. Kirkman, Calupt T. Jarvis, and Joseph L. Lewis, some of the bravest ``Tar Heel'' sons ever hatched out of Carteret County homes. During World War II, the U.S. Government made a request of these men to return their gold medals to support the war effort. The medals have never been returned to the men or their families. I thank the United States Coast Guard for agreeing to provide replicas of these medals to the surviving families of the members of the Cape Lookout life saving crew. These brave men will be honored in perpetuity by the display of these replica medals in the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum in Harkers Island, North Carolina for their brave efforts they gave during the rescue of the Sarah D. J. Rawson.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, commencing first in 1848, the United States Life Saving Service was a federal government agency that grew out of private and local humanitarian efforts to create and man rescue stations along the coast. These outposts were often remote. The men stationed there took great pride in their deep commitment to save the lives of shipwrecked mariners and passengers, often against overwhelming odds. In 1874, life saving stations were added along the coast of Maine, Cape Cod, and the famed Outer Banks of North Carolina. In 1878, this network of stations was formally organized as a separate agency of the United States Department of the Treasury. In 1915, the Service formally merged with the Revenue Cutter Service to form the United States Coast Guard. These lonely, isolated outposts were always manned by the bravest of men who knew no fear, and who were dedicated to their sworn duty of rescuing seamen in distress. Their motto was ``to always go, but not always return''. Even now, many stories are told about the daring rescues by such men, some admittedly embellished a bit for literary interest. Proudly beat the hearts today of all who can call themselves their descendants. One of the most notable of these rescues occurred on a cold, blustery winter's night in February of 1905. The three-masted schooner, Sarah D.J. Rawson, two days out of Georgetown, South Carolina and bound for New York with a cargo of lumber, ``stoved up'' hard on Cape Lookout Shoals in a heavy winter squall. A complete report of the Rawson rescue appears at: http://www.coastalguide.com/helmsman/rawson-rescue.shtml. The names of the men who were attached to Life Saving Station, Cape Lookout and who participated in this rescue party were: William H. Gaskill (``Keeper''), Kilby Guthrie, Walter M. Yeomans (grandfather of the author's wife), Tyre Moore, John A. Guthrie, James W. Fulcher, John E. Kirkman, Calupt T. Jarvis, and Joseph L. Lewis--some of the bravest sons ever hatched out of Car'tret County homes. Each received a gold medal from the Service in recognition of their heroism in this rescue. During World War II, the U.S. Government made a request of these men to return their gold medals to support the war effort. The medals have never been reissued to the men or their families. History of Sarah D.J Rawson Rescue The 387-ton, three-masted schooner Sarah D.J. Rawson, with a crew of seven, sailed from Georgetown, SC for New York with a full cargo of lumber on 2 February 1905. While standing under short canvas in a SSE gale at 5:30 PM on the 9th, the vessel stranded in the breakers on the south side of Lookout Shoals. She became a total loss. As soon as the schooner struck the master gave orders to take in sail. While the crew performed this work, a heavy sea swept the decks and carried Jacob Hansen, a Norwegian seaman, into the surf He soon disappeared. The same sea struck the master and 3 other seamen. Only by the most desperate efforts, did they cling to the vessel. The schooner gradually worked onto the shoal and lay somewhat easier. The violent onslaughts of the sea, however, broke over her and soon carried away her boat. Then they swept the fore and aft deckhouses, her deck load of lumber and her spars. Powerless to do anything for the vessel, the crew sought refuge in the highest part of the wreck. Their situation appeared to be hopeless. At Cape Lookout (NC) Life-Saving Station, about 9 miles northwest from the vessel, a vigilant lookout had been maintained during the day. A surfman remained constantly on watch while the keeper himself had twice visited the tower during the morning. A thick mantle of fog, however, covered the ocean and shut the doomed vessel from view. At noon, just as the lookout had been relieved, the keeper again climbed into the tower and at 12:05 PM, while scanning the sea with the glasses, he caught a glimpse of the schooner's topmost spars. Knowing from her bearings that she probably was upon the shoal, he immediately called away the lifeboat. Every member of the crew promptly responded. Though nearly all the men were ill, there having been an epidemic of influenza at the station, not one shrank from what all knew would be a long and wearisome pull in wintry weather over 18 miles of rough sea. A light southwesterly breeze made for a favorable wind and allowed the surfmen to make sail. With 8 men at the oars, they were off to the wreck within twenty-five minutes. At 4:00 PM they reached the scene of the disaster. The schooner lay upon her starboard side in the midst of the breakers. Her bowsprit, foremast, main topmast, and deckhouses were gone and her stern to mizzen rigging carried away. She was surrounded by wreckage and lumber. This pitching and beating flotsam threatened the safety of the lifeboat and the lives of its crew. Rawson's six remaining crewmen could be seen by the surfmen. Though the latter repeatedly attempted to make their way through the mass of debris, they could get no closer than about 200 yards, when they would be beaten back. The master of the schooner stated that he expected to see the lifeboat pitched end over end in the turbulent sea. This would have occurred, but for the cool and skillful management of the keeper and crew. Night soon came and the life-saving crew anchored near the edge of the breakers. They hoped, that in case of the schooner's going to pieces, they still might be able to rescue some or all of the sailors. They maintained a vigilant lookout, frequently fending off fragments of wreckage that menaced their boat. After midnight, the wind increased in force and hauled to NW. With the weather still thick but much colder, the crew shifted the lifeboat to an anchorage about 500 yards to windward. The keeper stated that he did this so that should conditions worsen, they might be able to weather the shoal and put to sea. Throughout the long, tedious night the surfmen suffered greatly in their open boat from exposure, fatigue, and hunger. The keeper, however, maintained his post. He encouraged his crew and urged them not to fall asleep. At dawn they returned to the wreck and found that, while her remaining masts had been swept away, a portion of the hull remained intact. This enabled the crew to survive the perils of the night. The sea was still running very high and the keeper decided to wait until the tide turned before attempting to rescue the crew. He had rightly judged that conditions would improve. About 1:00 AM the wind and sea moderated and the lifesavers pulled to a position about fifty yards to windward of the wreck. Here they anchored. By veering carefully upon the cable, and steadying the boat with the oars, they dropped in among the breakers and debris, as far as possible, and succeeded in throwing a heaving line on board the schooner. Then one of the seamen bent the line about his waist, jumped into the sea, and was hauled into the lifeboat. His companions followed his example, and, one by one, all hands were rescued--drenched, chilled, and nearly exhausted, but safe. The surfmen removed their own oil coats and wrapped them about the shipwrecked men. They made the return trip to the station without mishap, arriving about 5:00 PM. The crew of the Rawson had been forty-eight hours without food or water. The lifesaving crew had spent twenty-eight hours in an open boat without food and their limbs cramped with cold. Lacking room to move about, their bodies ached from maintaining a sitting posture for so long. That the wrecked crew had not succumbed was due to the fact that the vessel lay nearly on her beam ends and afforded them something of a lee from the wintry NW wind. The rescued men were furnished food and shelter at the station. Though there was clothing from the supplies of the Women's National Relief Association, this stock became exhausted. The surfmen supplemented it from their own stores. The master of the Rawson was cared for part of the time by a personal friend at anchor in Lookout Bight. No member of the crew had suffered serious injury, though one seaman was afflicted by an attack of rheumatism and was transported upon a stretcher. On the 12th the revenue cutter Seminole arrived in Lookout Bight and the following day she took the crew of the Rawson on board and carried them to Wilmington, NC. The loss of one life at this disaster occurred a very short time after the vessel struck. It was impossible for anyone to lend a helping hand to the drowning man as he was carried to his death in the breakers. The keeper discovered the Rawson at the first instant that she became visible at the station. No other eye sighted her, no one but the lifesavers went to the rescue. The shipwrecked men lost their boat soon after the vessel struck. Not many hours elapsed after the rescue before the vessel broke up and disappeared. All hands might have been lost. The fate of the Sarah D. J. Rawson and her crew would never have been known but for the unflinching heroism of the crew of the Cape Lookout Life-Saving Station. Each was subsequently awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal for extreme and heroic daring in saving life from the perils of the sea. Those awarded for their rescue of the six crewman on Sarah D. J. Rawson included Keeper William H Gaskill, Surfmen Kilby Guthrie, Walter M. Yeomans, Tyre Moore, John A. Guthrie, James W. Fulcher, John E. Kirkman, Calupt T. Jarvis, and former Surfman Joseph L. Lewis.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I am on the floor again today with a prophetic political cartoon. In the cartoon, Uncle Sam is in a wheelchair, and he is at the edge of a cliff that is known as the fiscal cliff. Then, he has President Obama pushing him in the wheelchair; and then the donkey, representing the Democratic Party, is pushing Mr. Obama. And then the elephant, representing the Republican Party, is pushing the donkey and President Obama to push Uncle Sam off the cliff. What is ironic is that Uncle Sam is yelling like he is excited: ``I can see Greece from here.'' Well, we know what has happened to the economy of Greece. It is in total collapse. Mr. Speaker, we are $19.2 trillion in debt. I was here in the year 2000 when Bill Clinton left office. We were the majority in the House and the Senate. We were headed for a surplus. The debt in 2000 was $5.6 trillion. Now we are here 16 years later and it is $19.2 trillion. The reason I bring this up is because we have an opportunity to stop spending billions and billions of dollars in Afghanistan. It is nothing but a waste. It is a waste of our young men and women in uniform. It is a waste of the taxpayers' money. Recently, in an article in The Washington Post titled ``Former Afghan Leader Karzai: Military Action Cannot Resolve Conflict in Afghanistan,'' the former President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, told The Washington Post recently that he doesn't think a military effort will bring peace to Afghanistan. He said: ``We did it for the last 14 years and it didn't bring us that, so how do we know . . . military action will bring us that now?'' We are going on 15 years of being in that country--and the waste, fraud, and abuse in Afghanistan is worse now than it has ever been. I think about the needs of our veterans, I think about the needs of our children, I think about the needs of our senior citizens, and so many other needs. We passed a bill yesterday to help with the mental health issues of America, yet it is not funded. But, yes, we will find the money to fund Afghanistan so we can continue to waste and spend the taxpayers' money and get nothing for it. It is just absolutely ridiculous. Mr. Speaker, I voted against the Department of Defense bill last week simply because there is another $43 billion in there going to Afghanistan. This is OCO funds, it is slush funds, and it can't even be accounted for. The taxpayers are frustrated with both parties and fed up because we are not doing our jobs. We are not doing what is necessary. We ought to be debating Afghanistan on the floor of the House and we ought to be saying, ``Is it worth it or is it not worth it,'' and have an up-or- down vote. No, we just let it continue to go down this road with no end to it. Mr. Speaker, I close this way, because to me this tells you more about Afghanistan than anything I could say today. Afghanistan is known as the graveyard of empires. Well, I know one empire that is headed for the graveyard, and it happens to be the United States of America. And if we continue to fund and waste the taxpayers' money in Afghanistan, then I hope that graveyard will have a headstone, and it will one day, that says ``USA,'' because we will be in the graveyard of Afghanistan.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Chairman, I want to remind those on the floor today that it was James Madison who clearly stated that the power to declare war, including the power of judging the causes of war, is fully vested in the legislature. That is us, the House of Representatives. The McGovern amendment is an amendment of frustration because, as it has already been said, we have not been permitted to meet our constitutional responsibility to debate war policy for the country. We have sent five letters to former Speaker Boehner asking for this ability to have an AUMF on the floor for debate. No answer. This is a bipartisan group who wrote the letter. We have now sent three letters to Speaker Ryan asking that we meet our constitutional responsibility. No answer. We are frustrated. We need to meet our constitutional responsibility. The last point I want to make very quickly. In December of this year, we had Secretary Carter before the Armed Services Committee, on which I serve, and we had General Dunford before the committee, on which I serve. I asked them the question: Do you think that Congress should debate and pass a new AUMF? Let me give you Carter's answer: I think it is desirable to have a new AUMF. General Dunford: I absolutely believe that a clear and unequivocal statement of support for the men and women in uniform that are prosecuting the war is absolutely necessary. It would be so helpful if we could pass a new AUMF. So in closing, I say this: if we want to meet our constitutional responsibility and we upheld our hands to swear to God that we would, then let's not send our young men and women to die around the world based on 2001 and 2002.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, in the letter to Mr. Ryan, I ask him, the Speaker of the House, if he would find 45 minutes in the very busy schedule that he has to meet with John Sopko. I have been in meetings, both formal and informal, with John Sopko, and other Members of Congress have, and his group, known as SIGAR, have given full reports every year for the past few years to talk about the failure of our policy in Afghanistan. I don't know why we in Congress continue to fund Afghanistan. It is nothing but a waste of life and money, and it needs to stop. Mr. Speaker, it is true now that we have fewer Americans killed in Afghanistan, but they still are being killed and wounded. I have a poster beside me that I have carried down to my district in North Carolina, as well as here in the House. For every one American that dies, I write a letter to the family. I have sent over 11,000 letters to families in this country. I started this when we had the war in Iraq, on which I failed to vote my conscience. I bought the misinformation from the Bush administration, and I voted to send our troops to Iraq. This picture is of a little girl standing there with her hand holding her mother's hand, with her finger in her mouth kind of wondering why her daddy is in a flag-draped coffin. This will continue to go on. There will be families across this Nation until we pull out of Afghanistan. Let Afghanistan take care of its own problems. We cannot buy friendship in Afghanistan. I close with this, Mr. Speaker. It was said many, many years ago about Afghanistan that Afghanistan is the graveyard of empires. With our $19 trillion debt, there will soon be a headstone in Afghanistan that says: ``USA.'' It is time to get out of Afghanistan.

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I am again on the floor--I don't know how many times I have been on the floor--to talk about the waste, fraud, and abuse in Afghanistan. It just keeps going on and on. Last week there was a great article--I don't think it was really great, but a very disturbing article--in The Washington Post, and the title was ``Afghanistan Paid 11,000 Militants to Lay Down Their Arms. Now the Money Has Run Out.'' It was the American taxpayer who paid the militants to stop fighting and killing Americans. Somewhere along the way this doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. We, the American taxpayers, have been paying fringe Taliban fighters not to fight for years. The article explained that there is little accountability of how that money is spent and where. We do not even know if paying fringe Taliban fighters not to fight is working. Further, committed Taliban fighters get money from other sources and still get money from the American taxpayer, and they are there to kill Americans. Somewhere along the way this just makes no sense at all. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record my letter to Speaker Ryan about the great work of John Sopko, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. House of Representatives, Washington, DC, April 14, 2016. Hon. Paul D. Ryan, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Mr. Speaker, During the Easter District Work Period, I read an Associated Press article about your support for numerous spending cuts to the FY 2017 budget in order to secure additional votes. While I support such efforts, it remains difficult for me to comprehend why congressional leadership continues to support the waste, fraud, and abuse in Afghanistan. After over 14 years, and over $800 billion dollars, the waste is more obvious today than ever before. I have enclosed two articles for your review that detail the severity of the situation. First is a USA Today story regarding Mr. John Sopko's testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee that details the mysterious case of ``Schrodinger's goats,'' in which $6 million was spent on nine male goats meant to start a cashmere industry in Afghanistan, and whose status as dead or alive cannot be confirmed. Second is an NBC story, ``12 Ways Your Tax Dollars Were Squandered in Afghanistan'' which, unfortunately, is only a small sample of the waste. Surprisingly, many in the Republican Party question why the American public is so frustrated with our leadership. A cursory look at the multitude of reports of the wasted billions of dollars in Afghanistan should easily rationalize the American people's frustration. Adding Afghanistan spending to the chopping block will go a long way toward gaining the support of the American people and restoring fiscal sanity to Washington, DC. Nothing is changing in Afghanistan--it continues to be the graveyard of empires and with a growing debt surpassing $19 trillion, I believe that America is heading for the graveyard. Mr. Speaker, I also encourage you to personally meet with Mr. John Sopko, the Special Inspector General of Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). The valuable work of SIGAR has uncovered billions of dollars of waste, fraud, and abuse in Afghanistan, which we must stop. Thank you for your continued leadership and consideration of this request. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Sincerely, Walter B. Jones, Member of Congress.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Senator Bob Graham of Florida for taking the national lead to declassify the 28 pages about 9/11, when so many Americans were killed. The information is critical to the freedom of America. Representatives Lynch, Massie, and myself have introduced H. Res. 14. We have over 54 colleagues in both parties who have joined us to say to President Obama: You have the authority--you don't even need Congress-- to declassify this information. You promised the 9/11 families that you would do this. Mr. President, keep your promise to the 9/11 families who are in so much pain. Keep your promise to the American people and let the American people know the truth about 9/11.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Madam Speaker, we have already spent more in Afghanistan than it cost to rebuild Europe after World War II. In fact, last week I asked my staff to draft a letter to Speaker Paul Ryan. In the letter, I asked the Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, to meet with John Sopko, who is the Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, and listen to this absolute waste that is going on in Afghanistan. Yet, sometime soon we will mark up the NDAA, National Defense Authorization Act, and I will guarantee you there will be billions of dollars in OCO funds going to Afghanistan. There will be those of us on both sides of the aisle that would like to take that money out or significantly reduce the money. Last year it was over $43 billion in OCO funds, which is nothing but a slush fund. Madam Speaker, there is a famous line about Afghanistan. It says that Afghanistan is the graveyard of empires. I predict today--but I hope I am wrong--if we continue to spend and waste billions of dollars in Afghanistan, there will be a headstone in that graveyard that says: USA. I hope that does not happen. But we had better wake up, as Members of Congress, and stop supporting programs like money for Afghanistan that are a total waste of the taxpayers' money. Madam Speaker, I will ask God to continue to bless our men and women in uniform and ask God to continue to bless America.

Mr. JONES. In this story, John Sopko, the Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, tells that the worst boondoggle he has ever seen is the fact that the Department of Defense spent $6 million to buy nine goats--nine goats--for $6 million. The sad thing about that is he testified before the Senate: We can't find the goats. What does that mean to the taxpayers? I don't know anymore. That is why they are so outraged, quite frankly, Madam Speaker, I include in the Record a second article titled, ``12 Ways Your Tax Dollars Were Squandered in Afghanistan.'' [From NBC NEWS.com, March 5, 2016] 12 Ways Your Tax Dollars Were Squandered in Afghanistan (By Alexander Smith) The United States has now spent more money reconstructing Afghanistan than it did rebuilding Europe at the end of World War II, according to a government watchdog. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) said in a statement to Congress last week that when adjusted for inflation the $113.1 billion plowed into the chaos-riven country outstripped the post-WWII spend by at least $10 billion. Billions have been squandered on projects that were either useless or sub-standard, or lost to waste, corruption, and systemic abuse, according to SIGAR's reports. NBC News spoke to SIGAR's Special Inspector General John F. Sopko about 12 of the most bizarre and baffling cases highlighted by his team's investigations. Paraphrasing Albert Einstein, Sopko said the U.S.'s profligate spending in Afghanistan is ``the definition of insanity--doing the same things over and over vain, expecting a different result.'' The Pentagon spent close to half a billion dollars on 20 Italian-made cargo planes that it eventually scrapped and sold for just $32,000, according to SIGAR. ``These planes were the wrong planes for Afghanistan,'' Sopko told NBC News. ``The U.S. had difficulty getting the Afghans to fly them, and our pilots called them deathtraps. One pilot said parts started falling off while he was coming into land.'' After being taken out of use in March 2013, the G222 aircraft, which are also referred to as the C-27A Spartan, were towed to a corner of Kabul International Airport where they were visible from the civilian terminal. They had ``trees and bushes growing around them,'' the inspector general said. Sixteen of the planes were scrapped and sold to a local construction company for 6 cents a pound, SIGAR said. The other four remained unused at a U.S. base in Germany. Sopko called the planes ``one of the biggest single programs in Afghanistan that was a total failure.'' The Tarakhil Power Plant was fired up in 2009 to ``provide more reliable power'' to blackout-plagued Kabul, according to the United States Agency for International Development, which built the facility. However, the ``modern'' diesel plant exported just 8,846 megawatt hours of power between February 2014 and April 2015, SIGAR said in a letter to USAID last August. This output was less than 1 percent of the plant's capacity and provided just 0.35 percent of power to Kabul, a city of 4.6 million people. Related: U.S. Spent $43M on Gas Station But Can't Explain Why Furthermore, the plant's ``frequent starts and stops . . . place greater wear and tear on the engines and electrical components,'' which could result in its ``catastrophic failure,'' the watchdog said. USAID responded to SIGAR's report in June 2015, saying: ``We have no indication that [Afghan state-run utility company] Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), failed to operate Tarakhil as was alleged in your letter.'' U.S. officials directed and oversaw the construction of an Afghan police training facility in 2012 that was so poorly built that its walls actually fell apart in the rain. The $456,669 dry-fire range in Wardak province was ``not only an embarrassment, but, more significantly, a waste of U.S. taxpayers' money,'' SIGAR's report said in January 2015. It was overseen by the U.S. Central Command's Joint Theater Support Contracting Command and contracted out to an Afghan firm, the Qesmatullah Nasrat Construction Company. SIGAR said this ``melting'' started just four months after the building was finished in October 2012. It blamed U.S. officials' bad planning and failure to hold to account the Afghan construction firm, which used poor-quality materials. The U.S. subsequently contracted another firm to rebuild the facility. Sopko called the incident ``baffling.'' ``Afghans apparently have never grown or eaten soybeans before,'' SIGAR said in its June 2014 report. This did not stop the U.S. Department of Agriculture funding a $34.4 million program by the American Soybean Association to try to introduce the foodstuff into the country in 2010. The project ``did not meet expectations,'' the USDA confirmed to SIGAR, largely owing to inappropriate farming conditions in Afghanistan and the fact no one wanted to buy a product they had never eaten. ``They didn't grow them, they didn't eat them, there was no market for them, and yet we thought it was a good idea,'' Sopko told NBC News. ``What is troubling about this particular project is that it appears that many of these problems could reasonably have been foreseen and, therefore, possibly avoided,'' the inspector general wrote in a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in June 2014. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built some 2,000 buildings to be used as barracks, medical clinics and fire stations by the Afghan National Army as part of a $1.57-billion program. When two fires in October and December 2012 revealed that around 80 percent of these structures did not meet international building regulations for fire safety, Sopko said he was ``troubled'' by the ``arrogant'' response from a senior USACE chief. Major General Michael R. Eyre, commanding general of USACE's Transatlantic Division, said the risk of fire was acceptable because ``the typical occupant populations for these facilities are young, fit Afghan soldiers.'' Writing in a January 2014 memo published by SIGAR, Eyre said these recruits ``have the physical ability to make a hasty retreat during a developing situation.'' Sopko told NBC News that Eyre's comments ``showed a really poor attitude toward our allies.'' He added: ``It was an unbelievable arrogance, and I'm sorry to say that about a senior officer.'' Despite the Department of Defense spending $597,929 on Salang Hospital in Afghanistan's Parwan province, the 20-bed facility has been forced to resort to startling medical practices. ``Because there was no clean water, staff at the hospital were washing newborns with untreated river water,'' SIGAR's report said in January 2014. It added that the ``poorly constructed'' building was also at increased ``risk of structural collapse during an earthquake.'' NBC News visited the hospital in January 2014 and witnessed some disturbing practices: a doctor poking around a dental patient's mouth with a pair of unsterilized scissors before yanking out another's tooth with a pair of pliers. Related: $600K in U.S. Taxpayer Cash Buys Medieval Hospital in Afghanistan The United States Forces-Afghanistan responded to SIGAR's report in January 2014 saying it would investigate why the building was not constructed to standard. In a separate report, SIGAR said that USAID reimbursed the International Organization for Migration for spiraling costs while building Gardez Hospital, in Paktia province. The IOM's ``weak internal controls'' meant it paid $300,000 for just 600 gallons of diesel fuel--a price of $500 per gallon when market prices should not have exceeded $5, SIGAR said. The so-called ``64K'' command-and-control facility at Afghanistan's Camp Leatherneck cost $36 million and was ``a total waste of U.S. taxpayer funds,'' SIGAR's report said in May 2015. The facility in Helmand province--named because it measured 64,000 square feet--was intended to support the U.S. troop surge of 2010. However, a year before its construction, the very general in charge of the surge asked that it not be built because the existing facilities were ``more than sufficient,'' the watchdog said. But another general denied this cancellation request, according to SIGAR, because he said it would not be ``prudent'' to quit a project for which funds had already been appropriated by Congress. Ultimately, construction did not begin until May 2011, two months before the drawdown of the troops involved in surge. Sopko found the ``well-built and newly furnished'' building totally untouched in June 2013, with plastic sheets still covering the furniture. ``Again, nobody was held to account,'' Sopko told NBC News, adding it was a ``gross . . . really wasteful, extremely wasteful amount of money.'' He added: ``We have thrown too much money at the country. We pour in money not really thinking about it.'' A now-defunct Pentagon task force spent almost $40 million on Afghanistan's oil, mining and gas industry--but no one remembered to tell America's diplomats in Kabul, according to SIGAR, citing a senior official at the U.S. embassy in the city. In fact, the first the U.S. ambassador knew about the multi-billion-dollar spend was when Afghan government officials thanked him for his country's support, SIGAR said. The project, administered by the Task Force for Business and Stability Operations (TFBSO), was part of a wider $488 million investment that also included the State Department and USAID. These organizations ``failed to coordinate and prioritize'' their work, which created ``poor working relationships, and . . . potential sustainability problems,'' according to SIGAR. It was, according to Sopko, ``a real disaster.'' One USAID official told the watchdog it would take the U.S. ``100 years'' to complete the necessary infrastructure and training Afghanistan needs to completely develop these industries. SIGAR said the U.S. military has been unable to provide records answering ``the most basic questions'' surrounding the mystery purchase and cancellation of eight patrol boats for landlocked Afghanistan. The scant facts SIGAR were able to find indicated the boats were bought in 2010 to be Used by the Afghan National Police, and that they were intended to be deployed along the country's northern river border with Uzbekistan. ``The order was cancelled--without explanation--nine months later,'' SIGAR said. The boats were still sitting unused at a Navy warehouse in Yorktown, Virginia, as of 2014. ``We bought in a navy for a landlocked country,'' Sopko said. Despite the U.S. plowing some $7.8 billion into stopping Afghanistan's drug trade,'' Afghan farmers are growing more opium than ever before,'' SIGAR reported in December 2014. ``Poppy-growing provinces that were once declared 'poppy free' have seen a resurgence in cultivation,'' it said, noting that internationally funded irrigation projects may have actually increased poppy growth in recent years. The ``fragile gains'' the U.S. has made on Afghan health, education and rule of law were being put in ``jeopardy or wiped out by the narcotics trade, which not only supports the insurgency, but also feeds organized crime and corruption,'' Sopko told U.S. lawmakers in January 2014. Afghanistan is the world's leader in the production of opium. In 2013, the value of Afghan opium was $3 billion-- equivalent to 15 percent of the country's GDP--according to the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime. Sopko told NBC News the picture is no more optimistic today. ``No matter which metric you use, this effort has been a real failure,'' he said. The USAID-funded Shorandam Industrial Park in Kandahar province was transferred to the Afghan government in September 2010 with the intention of accommodating 48 business and hundreds of local employees. Four years later, SIGAR inspectors found just one active company operating there. This was due to the U.S. military building a power plant on one-third of the industrial park to provide electricity to nearby Kandahar City, causing ``entrepreneurs to shy away from setting up businesses'' at the site, SIGAR said in its report of April 2015. After the military withdrew in mid-2014, the investigators were told that at least four Afghan businesses had moved into the industrial park. However, SIGAR said that it could not complete a thorough inspection because USAID's contract files were ``missing important documentation.'' The DOD spent nearly $82 million on nine incineration facilities in Afghanistan--yet four of them never fired their furnaces, SIGAR said in February 2015. These four dormant facilities had eight incinerators between them and the wastage cost $20.1 million. In addition, SIGAR inspectors said it was ``disturbing'' that ``prohibited items,'' such as tires and batteries, continued to be burned in Afghanistan's 251 burn pits. U.S. military personnel were also exposed to emissions from these pits ``that could have lasting negative health consequences,'' the watchdog said. The Department of Defense said it was ``vitally interested in exploring all possible ways to save taxpayer dollars and ensure we are good stewards of government resources.'' A spokesman added: ``We'll continue to work with SIGAR, and other agencies, to help get to the bottom of any reported issues or concerns.'' A spokesman for Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani declined to comment on this story.

Mr. JONES. Madam Speaker, I have brought to the floor today a prophetic political cartoon. Let me describe it very quickly. There is Uncle Sam sitting in a wheelchair, and he shouts out with great excitement: I can see Greece from here. Behind the wheelchair pushing is President Obama. Behind President Obama is a donkey representing the Democratic Party, and behind the donkey is an elephant representing the Republican Party, the point being that all of us are guilty of heading this country towards Greece, and that means an economic collapse is forthcoming. Madam Speaker, we are $19 trillion in debt. Another reason I am on the floor today is that the continued waste of the taxpayer money in Afghanistan is becoming astounding. Madam Speaker, I include in the Record an article titled, ``Report cites wasted Pentagon money in Afghanistan.'' [From USATODAY.com, Jan. 20, 2016] Report Cites Wasted Pentagon Money in Afghanistan (By Tom Vanden Brook) Washington.--The embattled Pentagon agency blamed for building a budget-busting gas station in Afghanistan and renting luxury housing for its employees also imported Italian goats to boost the cashmere industry in the impoverished, war-wracked country, according to a government investigator. Meanwhile, the former head of the Task Force for Business Stability Operations, Paul Brinkley, blasted back Wednesday at the government inspector general, accusing him of inaccuracy and hype. At a Senate hearing, John Sopko, the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction (SIGAR), said in prepared testimony that the task force lacked ``strategic direction'' and suffered from a ``scattershot approach to economic development.'' Among the more egregious examples of boondoggles he cited: ``importing rare blond Italian goats to boost the cashmere industry.'' The $6 million program included shipping nine male goats to western Afghanistan from Italy, setting up a farm, lab and staff to certify their wool. A chart summarizing task force initiatives shows the inspector general did not conduct an audit of the program. The program, according to a contractor's analysis, may have created as many as 350 jobs. Sopko ripped the Pentagon and the task force for failing to track its spending. It's not unclear, for instance, if the goats were eaten. ``We don't know,'' Sopko said. ``This was so poorly managed.'' Sopko testified Wednesday on his report, ``Preliminary Results Show Serious Management and Oversight Problems.'' The task force was charged with jump starting the economy of Afghanistan with nearly $800 million in U.S. taxpayer funds. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., who chaired the hearing, called the allegations about the filling station troubling and called for a full accounting of task force spending. ``What happened to the money?'' Ayotte asked. ``All of it?'' Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., was livid about task force spending and called the natural gas-station program ``dumb on its face,'' given the cost of converting cars to natural gas exceeds the average income of Afghans. ``This is a terrible waste of taxpayer money when we have so many other uses for it,'' McCaskill said. In a letter and other documents, Brinkley, who led the task force in Iraq and later Afghanistan from 2006 to 2011, defended his oversight of the agency and lashed out at the government's watchdog. ``A meaningful and balanced review cannot be accomplished through a sustained media campaign or a practice of repeating uncorroborated allegations,'' Brinkley wrote to the Senate Armed Services Committee. Sopko has released several provocative reports charging the task force with waste and shoddy accounting practices. Among the most eye-catching: a $43 million natural-gas filling station that should have cost $500,000 and proved of no use to average Afghans; and $150 million spent on renting luxury villas for task force staff and visitors. Those alleged boondoggles have drawn ire from Capitol Hill and cast Brinkley as a profligate spender. Brinkley, through his lawyer, bristled at the charge from the inspector general that he had approved of programs without knowing their cost. Brinkley told investigators on Dec. 17 that his task force had no contracting authority, relying instead on career military officials to make deals within government regulations, according to his lawyer. ``This was done, in fact, in fact to ensure proper oversight--not to avoid it,'' Brinkley's lawyer, Charles Duross, wrote Wednesday to the inspector general's office. The Pentagon on Wednesday also took issue with Sopko's price tag for the gas station, saying it was closer to $5 million, not $43 million. Brian McKeon, a top Pentagon policy official, said in a statement to USA TODAY that the methods used Sopko were ``flawed, and the costs of the station are far lower.'' The refueling station itself cost $2.9 million, and the balance of the $5 million paid for associated buildings and equipment, McKeon said. Brinkley, in his letter, challenged the assertion that he and his staff lived in luxury, eschewing the basic, free accommodations offered by the military in Afghanistan. In a previous report, Sopko criticized the task force for spending $150 million on ``western-style hotel accommodations'' that included flat-screen TVs, private bodyguards and ``three-star'' menus for staff and guests. Bunking with the Army, Sopko suggested, could have saved taxpayers tens of millions of dollars. Living conditions during his tenure, Brinkley wrote, were far from luxurious--``basic and minimal, with multiple bunks in shared living quarters'' or on military bases. ``When this was not possible or practical, the challenge was to find facilities that did not continually smell of raw sewage, and food that did not frequently sicken our personnel or visiting government and business leaders--a challenge we never fully overcame,'' Brinkley wrote. The task force's final grade is not yet in, McKeon said. ``Ultimately, time will tell whether the task force succeeded in its overall objectives,'' McKeon said. ``Reports that the (Pentagon) commissioned to assess the Task Force's work--as well as SIGAR's work--tell us that the Task Force had a mixed record of success, with some successes and some failures.''

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I speak today in defense of the Little Sisters of the Poor in their stand for religious liberty in America. Next week, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case between the Little Sisters of the Poor and the federal government. The Little Sisters' ministry is to care for the elderly poor all over the world. The Little Sisters here in the United States run a nonprofit to take care of America's elderly poor. They are now fighting the federal government in order to be able to preserve their ministry. The federal government's argument is this: The Little Sisters of the Poor must violate the tenets of their Catholic faith and authorize their third-party health care administrators to provide contraception, sterilization, and abortifacients to recipients of their health insurance. Never mind that the government has granted complete exemptions of this mandate to massive, secular companies such as Exxon and Pepsi. The government would rather force the Little Sisters of the Poor to reject their sincere and righteous religious beliefs than grant them a full exemption like larger, secular companies have received. The government would rather force the Little Sisters out into the streets when they can't pay the oppressive fines if they don't comply with this unjust mandate. It's morally disgusting, and it's insulting to any lover of freedom. I urge my colleagues to pray with me that the Supreme Court upholds religious freedom in America and sides with the Little Sisters of the Poor.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Some of the most egregious examples of waste in this list are the $486 million the Pentagon paid for deathtrap aircraft that were scrapped and sold for $32,000. You spend $486 million and what you get back is scrap. It costs $32,000. Also, $500,000 on training facilities for Afghan police that melted in the rain. The poor American taxpayer. John Sopko, the Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, has told Congress on many occasions to look at the waste, fraud, and abuse in Afghanistan. Yet, every year we will pass appropriations bills on the floor of the House to continue to spend billions of dollars in Afghanistan. I do not understand it. It is time for America to wake up. It is time for the Congress to wake up and bring our troops home from Afghanistan. It is time to say to Afghanistan: Fight it out, if you want to. It is your country. Afghanistan is the graveyard of empires. There is a headstone in that graveyard that says: America, I am waiting for you. You are headed for this graveyard.

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I came back to Washington, as my colleagues did, and I saw the headlines in Politico that said: Hill GOP on the Hot Seat Ahead of Recess. It was a piece about the leadership's effort to pass a $1.7 trillion budget. Mr. Speaker, we are headed off a fiscal cliff, with over $19 trillion in debt. Yet, Congress keeps driving toward that cliff. Like most Members of Congress, I go home every weekend. I live in eastern North Carolina. I am very active in my district. I talk to many people, from the grocery store to church. Many times the conversation is: Why can't you in Congress wake up before it is too late? We just heard Congressman Brooks from Alabama talk about Venezuela. We are headed right there just as quick as we can. The waste, fraud, and abuse in Afghanistan is a prime example of Congress not doing its job. When I tell people back home that it was reported recently by John Sopko, Inspector General of Afghanistan Reconstruction, that the Pentagon spent $6 million to buy nine goats from Italy, some laugh and some are just disgusted. How in the world could we keep funding the Pentagon when they waste money buying goats for $6 million? The waste of American taxpayer dollars in Afghanistan never ends. The Wall Street Journal recently ran a story titled: ``Afghan Police Force Struggling to Maintain Membership,'' by Jessica Donati, in which she reports that more than 36,000 Afghanistan policemen left the force last year because of Taliban attacks and poor leadership. We have spent $18 billion on training the Afghan police force and, here again, we lost 36,000. The poor taxpayer. We keep funding this waste in Afghanistan like we have got plenty of money. What we are doing in the Congress is absolute madness. Mr. Speaker, I will include in the Record a NBC News report titled: ``12 Ways Your Tax Dollars Were Squandered in Afghanistan.'' [From www.nbcnews.com, March 5, 2016] 12 Ways Your Tax Dollars Were Squandered in Afghanistan (By Alexander Smith) The United States has now spent more money reconstructing Afghanistan than it did rebuilding Europe at the end of World War II, according to a government watchdog. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) said in a statement to Congress last week that when adjusted for inflation the $113.1 billion plowed into the chaos-riven country outstripped the post-WWII spend by at least $10 billion. Billions have been squandered on projects that were either useless or sub-standard, or lost to waste, corruption, and systemic abuse, according to SIGAR's reports. NBC News spoke to SIGAR's Special Inspector General John F. Sopko about 12 of the most bizarre and baffling cases highlighted by his team's investigations. Paraphrasing Albert Einstein, Sopko said the U.S.'s profligate spending in Afghanistan is ``the definition of insanity--doing the same things over and over again, expecting a different result.'' 1. $486 million for `deathtrap' aircraft that were later sold for $32,000 Two of the G222 aircraft in a corner of Kabul International Airport in November 2013. SIGAR The Pentagon spent close to half a billion dollars on 20 Italian-made cargo planes that it eventually scrapped and sold for just $32,000, according to SIGAR. ``These planes were the wrong planes for Afghanistan,'' Sopko told NBC News. ``The U.S. had difficulty getting the Afghans to fly them, and our pilots called them deathtraps. One pilot said parts started falling off while he was coming into land.'' After being taken out of use in March 2013, the G222 aircraft, which are also referred to as the C-27A Spartan, were towed to a corner of Kabul International Airport where they were visible from the civilian terminal. They had ``trees and bushes growing around them,'' the inspector general said. Sixteen of the planes were scrapped and sold to a local construction company for 6 cents a pound, SIGAR said. The other four remained unused at a U.S. base in Germany. Sopko called the planes ``one of the biggest single programs in Afghanistan that was a total failure.'' 2. $335 million on a power plant that used just 1 percent of its capacity Tarakhil Power Plant pictured in October 2009. SIGAR The Tarakhil Power Plant was fired up in 2009 to ``provide more reliable power'' to blackout-plagued Kabul, according to the United States Agency for International Development, which built the facility. However, the ``modern'' diesel plant exported just 8,846 megawatt hours of power between February 2014 and April 2015, SIGAR said in a letter to USAID last August. This output was less than 1 percent of the plant's capacity and provided just 0.35 percent of power to Kabul, a city of 4.6 million people. Furthermore, the plants ``frequent starts and stops . . . place greater wear and tear on the engines and electrical components,'' which could result in its ``catastrophic failure,'' the watchdog said. USAID responded to SIGAR's report in June 2015, saying: ``We have no indication that [Afghan state-run utility company] Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), failed to operate Tarakhil as was alleged in your letter.'' 3. Almost $500,000 on buildings that `melted' in the rain The dry-fire range in Wardak is pictured in February 2013.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I have been coming to the floor for weeks and months to complain about the waste of money and life in Afghanistan. In the last couple weeks, I had an opportunity to read two articles. The first is titled, ``This is How the Pentagon Wasted $17 Billion in Afghanistan,'' by Emily Leayman. I would like to quote a couple of examples of the Pentagon's waste that she describes in her article. The Pentagon spent ``$8 billion for a failed drug war: Despite a 14- year effort, Afghanistan now leads the world in heroin production.'' The Pentagon also spent ``$486 million for useless aircraft: Speaking of planes, 20 planes could not be flown, and most were sold for scrap . . . Legislators like Senators John McCain and James Lankford are fed up with the lack of accountability in spending.'' Senators McCain and Lankford have joined me in bringing to the public's attention the lack of accountability in Afghanistan. It is astounding, to say the least. Mr. Speaker, last month John Sopko, the Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, testified before the Senate Committee on Armed Services about a recent report he wrote on the waste in Afghanistan. In that report, he exposed that the Pentagon paid $6 million to buy nine male Italian goats--the reason they bought the goats from Italy was because they are blond in color--to send to western Afghanistan to set up a farm and try to boost the cashmere industry there in Afghanistan. Now, the Pentagon doesn't even know where the goats are. And the sad thing is, as Mr. Sopko said to the Senate, ``We don't know where the goats are. They might have been eaten''--$6 million. Mr. Speaker, American people could do a lot with $6 million, I assure you. And they wouldn't be spending $6 million for nine goats, that I am certain. The report that Mr. Sopko made reference to is titled, ``Report Cites Wasted Pentagon Money in Afghanistan.'' Mr. Speaker, the waste goes on and on and on, and yet we in the House every year will send more and more money to Afghanistan. We have already been there 14 years. We are going to be there another 8 years because President Obama signed an agreement with Mr. Ghani to be there for 9 more years. We have already been there 1 year, and that means 8 more years. That is 22 years. General Campbell, who has been the leader in Afghanistan, but is leaving, says that we need more years to train the Afghans to have a security force. I guess we are going to be there 30 years. I will be dead and gone, for sure, by then. What a waste of life and money in Afghanistan. It is time for this Congress to meet its responsibility and put pressure on the administration and stop funding Afghanistan. Mr. Speaker, I have a poster here. The reason I bring this poster to the floor is to show the sad tragedy of war. There is a wife and a little girl. The husband and daddy is in a flag-draped casket. The reason I bring this matter to the floor is that I have signed over 11,000 letters to families and extended families who died in Afghanistan and Iraq. Last Sunday I signed one letter for an Army sergeant who died in Afghanistan. Mr. Speaker, I thought: How sad. How sad it is for that family. It is just so sad. It doesn't have to happen. We need to debate bringing our troops home from Afghanistan, and we need to debate stopping the funding for the war in Afghanistan. Mr. Speaker, before closing, I want to remind the House that this is the longest war in the history of America. I don't know who said it, but they said it right: Afghanistan is the graveyard of empires. I know there is going to be a headstone that says that the empire known as America spent so much blood and money in Afghanistan. It is financially broke. We are $19.1 trillion in debt right now. Let's bring our troops out of Afghanistan. Let them fight the civil war themselves and decide what they want for Afghanistan. Mr. Speaker, I ask God to please bless our men and women in uniform, bless the families of our men in uniform. And, God, please continue to bless America.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, if we do not meet our responsibility, we will become complicit in the loss of life among our troops. How many young children will have a loved one that doesn't come home from fighting for this country? The picture here, Mr. Speaker, is the first one that I brought after we went into an unnecessary war known as Iraq. His daddy, Phillip Jordan, was a gunnery sergeant who was killed in 2003. The little boy's name is Tyler Jordan. This is actually 12 years ago, and now he is 18 years of age. How many more children will have to go without a father or a mother or a brother or sister who lost their life in war? We need to meet our constitutional responsibility. It is embarrassing that we in Congress--I don't even think we have a right to criticize the President, quite frankly. Let's do our job based on the Constitution. Let's do our job and debate a new AUMF or a declaration of war. Let's meet our responsibility for the good of our men and women in uniform and their families. Mr. Speaker, I ask God to please bless our Nation, bless our men and women in uniform, and, please, God, continue to bless America.

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, 2 weeks ago when Secretary of Defense Ash Carter testified before the House Armed Services Committee, I asked him if Congress' debating and voting on an Authorization for Use of Military Force, NOTICE If the 114th Congress, 1st Session, adjourns sine die on or before December 24, 2015, a final issue of the Congressional Record for the 114th Congress, 1st Session, will be published on Thursday, December 31, 2015, to permit Members to insert statements. All material for insertion must be signed by the Member and delivered to the respective offices of the Official Reporters of Debates (Room HT-59 or S-123 of the Capitol), Monday through Friday, between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. through Wednesday, December 30. The final issue will be dated Thursday, December 31, 2015, and will be delivered on Monday, January 4, 2016. None of the material printed in the final issue of the Congressional Record may contain subject matter, or relate to any event, that occurred after the sine die date. Senators' statements should also be formatted according to the instructions at http://webster.senate.gov/secretary/Departments/ Reporters_Debates/resources/cong_record.pdf, and submitted electronically, either on a disk to accompany the signed statement, or by e-mail to the Official Reporters of Debates at ``Record@Sec.Senate.gov''. Members of the House of Representatives' statements may also be submitted electronically by e-mail, to accompany the signed statement, and formatted according to the instructions for the Extensions of Remarks template at https://housenet.house.gov/legislative/research-and-reference/ transcripts-and-records/electronic-congressional-record-inserts. The Official Reporters will transmit to GPO the template formatted electronic file only after receipt of, and authentication with, the hard copy, and signed manuscript. Deliver statements to the Official Reporters in Room HT-59. Members of Congress desiring to purchase reprints of material submitted for inclusion in the Congressional Record may do so by contacting the Office of Congressional Publishing Services, at the Government Publishing Office, on 512-0224, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. daily. By order of the Joint Committee on Printing. GREGG HARPER, Chairman. an AUMF, would help in the cause of defeating ISIL. Secretary Carter said it would be helpful because we would need to show the troops that Congress supports them. Two weeks ago, the Obama administration announced that it would be sending an expeditionary force into Iraq and Syria to fight ISIS. In his column last week entitled ``Obama's Quiet Shift in War on ISIS,'' syndicated columnist Doyle McManus wrote: ``If the first expeditionary forces succeed, as their record suggests they will, they will almost surely be followed by more.'' I completely agree with Mr. McManus. Mr. Speaker, on November 6, my colleague Jim McGovern and I, along with 33 of our colleagues, wrote a letter to Speaker Ryan urging him to allow debate on an AUMF on the House floor. We never received a response. Last week, Jim and I wrote Speaker Ryan another letter urging him to allow a debate on the AUMF on the House floor as one of the first actions Congress takes when we come back in January 2016. Mr. Speaker, President Obama continues to escalate our involvement against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Our fight with ISIS isn't going away any time soon, which is why it is high time Congress fulfills its constitutional duty and debates our role in the Middle East. As James Madison said: ``The power to declare war, including the power of judging the causes of war, is fully and exclusively vested in the legislature.'' The most important vote by a Member of Congress is to commit a young man or woman to fight and die for this country. Mr. Speaker, I have two letters that I include in the Record. Congress of the United States, Washington, DC, November 6, 2015. Hon. Paul Ryan, Speaker, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Speaker Ryan: Among the issues that require urgent attention by the U.S. House of Representatives is the question of the extent of involvement by the U.S. military in the war against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Given the recent announcement by President Obama of a deepening entanglement in Syria and Iraq, it is critical that the House schedule and debate an Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) as quickly as possible. Last week, the president announced initiatives that escalate U.S. engagement in combat operations in Syria and Iraq. Specifically, the U.S. will deploy a U.S. Special Operations contingent into northern Syria to be embedded with and to advise opposition militant forces in that region; and U.S. military advisors and special operations forces already in Iraq will be embedded with Kurdish and Iraqi forces on the front lines of combat. Secretary of Defense Carter also stated that U.S. air operations in both Syria and Iraq will increase their bombing campaigns. Taken all together, these represent a significant escalation in U.S. military operations in the region and place U.S. military personnel on the front lines of combat operations. We do not share the same policy prescriptions for U.S. military engagement in the region, but we do share the belief that it is past time for the Congress to fulfill its obligations under the Constitution and vote on an AUMF that clearly delineates the authority and limits, if any, on U.S. military engagement in Iraq, Syria and the surrounding region. U.S. bombing campaigns have been going on for more than a year, and U.S. troops on the ground have been increasingly close to or drawn into combat operations, including the recent death in combat of a special operations soldier in Iraq. Consistent with your pledge to return to regular order, we urge you to direct the committees of jurisdiction to draft and report out an AUMF as soon as possible. We do not believe in the illusion of a consensus authorization, something that only happens rarely. We do believe the Congress can no longer ask our brave service men and women to continue to serve in harm's way while we fail in carrying out our constitutional responsibility in the area of war and peace. As long as the House fails to assert its constitutional prerogatives and authority, the Administration may continue to expand the mission and level of engagement of U.S. Armed Forces throughout the region. We strongly urge you, Mr. Speaker, to bring an AUMF to the floor of the House as quickly as possible. Sincerely, James P. McGovern; Tom Cole; Barbara Lee; Walter B. Jones; Peter Welch; John Lewis; Bill Posey; John Abney Culberson; Ryan K. Zinke; Richard L. Hanna; Thomas Massie; Ted S. Yoho; Ed Whitfield; Dana Rohrabacher; Justin Amash; Mark Sanford; Paul A. Gosar; Mick Mulvaney; John J. Duncan, Jr.; Matt Salmon; Raul R. Labrador; Janice D. Schakowsky; Peter A. DeFazio; Charles B. Rangel; Louise M. Slaughter; Janice Hahn; Joseph P. Kennedy; Michael C. Burgess; Chellie Pingree; John Garamendi; Joseph Crowley; David N. Cicilline; John Conyers, Jr.; Beto O'Rourke; Daniel T. Kildee.