Walter Jones

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, at this point in our Nation's history, I believe both parties will acknowledge that we have major economic issues facing our country. As Congress just recently came to a temporary resolution which raised the debt ceiling by $230 billion, it is incredible to me that we still found $30 billion in aid to send to Afghanistan and $1.6 billion in aid to send to Pakistan. Mr. Speaker, at a time when America is drowning in debt, this is completely unacceptable. And even more important than the money are the American lives that have been lost--six in the time the government was shut down and one the weekend after. As we work to fix our national problems, we should be wise enough to follow the lead of the nations who have interfered in Afghanistan before us--England and Russia are only two examples--and stop wasting lives and money on a country that will never change. History tells us that it is time to bring our troops home. I want to thank ABC News for their effort each Sunday morning during ``This Week with George Stephanopoulos'' to faithfully list the names of the Americans who have been killed in Afghanistan, just as they did during the Iraq war. It is with sadness that I report that they have added seven names to this list over the last 3 weeks. Mr. Speaker, on the poster beside me are the faces of two little girls, Stephanie and Eden, whose father, Sergeant Kevin Balduf, from Camp Lejeune Marine Base, which is in my district, was killed in Afghanistan. He and Colonel Palmer, from Cherry Point Marine Air Station, also in my district, were trying to train the Afghans to be policemen. One of the trainees turned their pistol on Palmer and Balduf and killed both of them. So these little girls are standing at Arlington Cemetery with their mom holding their hands. Perhaps more disheartening is the fact that two of the most recent deaths in Afghanistan also were an example of Afghans that we were trying to train killing Americans. We were just trying to help them. Mr. Speaker, a few weeks ago, I spoke on the floor about an article I read, entitled, ``The Forgotten War'' by Ann Jones. I also will submit an article written by an Iraq war veteran named Jayel Aheram, who now attends the University of Southern California, which is entitled, ``Afghanistan War Must End Immediately.'' Both of these articles hold the same conclusion: the war in Afghanistan is a misuse of American youth, American money, and American military power. It is time for the Congress of the United States to face the fact that we have our own problems here in America. To send over $600 billion to Afghanistan to build roads, schools, and utility plants so the Taliban can blow them up makes no sense. It is time for little girls like these two to have their daddies at home and not in a coffin. [From the Daily Trojan, Oct. 7, 2013] Afghanistan War Must End Immediately (By Jayel Aheram) Yesterday marked the 12 year anniversary of the war in Afghanistan. Americans have grown weary of the drawn-out conflict's undefined goals and increasingly unsustainable financial costs. According to a CBS News poll, support for the war in Afghanistan plummeted last year to its lowest with only 1 in 4 Americans agreeing that the United States is doing the right thing. President Barack Obama responded to this political reality when he announced last February that ``by the end of next year, our war in Afghanistan will be over.'' But will there really be an end to the Afghanistan war? There were three ends to the war in Iraq: The first was in May 2003, when President George W. Bush announced, ``Mission accomplished,'' in an infamous speech aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln just two months after the invasion of Iraq. The second was in September 2010, when ``combat troops'' silently crossed the Iraqi border into Kuwait, an event Obama's MSNBC boosters were breathlessly proclaimed as the triumphant ``End of the Iraq War.'' The third was in December 2011, when the Iraqi parliament refused to grant further immunity to U.S. troops beyond 2011, finally forcing to U.S. troops' withdrawal from Iraq. If Iraq had three ``end of wars,'' how many will there be in Afghanistan? According to the Washington Post, a few thousand U.S. combat troops will likely remain in Afghanistan beyond 2014 to train and advise security forces. Despite this promise by Obama of the war's end, American presence in Afghanistan will merely add to the grim death toll after 2014. According to Los Angeles Times, an American service member was killed last week in an ``insider attack''--incidents where Afghan allies attack the U.S. troops who train them. This recent event follows another from the weekend before in which three U.S. troops were killed. According to NATO, in 2011 and 2012, 97 coalition members were killed by their Afghan counterparts in these insider attacks. Even as the United States shifts its role from combat to advisory and training, deaths from insider attacks will most likely continue. Taliban leaders, including Mullah Muhammad Omar, have urged their sympathizers and members to continue to infiltrate the security forces and kill American trainers and Afghan trainees. Bob Dreyfuss wrote in The Nation that military commanders believe in an ``insurgent math''--that is, for every civilian the U.S. military kills, 20 insurgents take their place. Approximately 6,841 civilians have been killed since the beginning of the Afghanistan war. Using this ``insurgent math,'' that would mean the U.S. military has created more than 120,000 insurgents who continue to threaten the lives of U.S. troops and Afghans loyal to the Karzai regime. These newly created insurgents have empowered the Taliban as evidenced by a recent article by the Associated Press, which reported that Taliban fighters have started an insurgent campaign of regaining lost territories as foreign troops depart. After 12 long years, $600 billion spent, more than 2,000 military deaths, 6,000 civilian deaths and tens of thousands of lives irrevocably altered, when will Americans muster the political will and courage to end America's longest war? Renaming the war is not progress, it is not peace and it will certainly not stop American deaths.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I am on the floor today in remembrance of the bombing of the United States Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, 30 years ago. On October 23, 1983, at approximately 6:20 in the morning, a truck packed with explosives broke security and detonated outside of the barracks, killing 241 Americans and wounding 128 more. Mr. Speaker, I believe it is appropriate that, on the 30th anniversary of this act of terrorism, we recognize the sacrifice of the individuals who lost life and limb, and join with the families and friends of the victims in mourning their loss. Furthermore, I believe that we should learn from the example of America's leader at the time of the bombing, President Ronald Reagan. President Reagan appreciated the sacrifice made by our servicemembers and was deeply pained by the loss of life. While many other Presidents would have continued sacrificing young men and women for the sake of the mission in Lebanon, President Reagan acknowledged his mistake. I would like to take a moment to read a statement he made regarding the bombing: Perhaps we didn't appreciate fully enough the depth of the hatred and the complexity of the problems that made the Middle East such a jungle. Perhaps the idea of a suicide car bomber committing mass murder to gain instant entry to Paradise was so foreign to our own values and consciousness that it did not create in us the concern for the marines' safety that it should have. In the weeks immediately after the bombing, I believed the last thing we should do was to turn tail and leave. Yet the irrationality of Middle East politics forced us to rethink our policy. If there would be some rethinking of policy before our men die, we would be a lot better off. If that policy had changed toward more of a neutral position and neutrality, those 241 marines would be alive today. I have read these quotes from President Reagan to honor the sacrifice of the 241 marines and their families. They did not die in vain, but gave their lives to bring peace to a troubled area. The leaders of our country must learn from tragedies like Beirut that our men and women in uniform are very precious. Our foreign policy must be formed with a better understanding of the commitment and purpose in a mission before we risk the life of one single American. I believe sincerely that this was the point President Reagan was making as he remarked with remorse on the bombing of the marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, on October 23 of 1983. Mr. Speaker, I have the privilege to represent Camp Lejeune Marine Base and other bases in eastern North Carolina, and I have visited the Beirut memorial many times to look at the names, certainly people I never knew and probably would not have known. But the point is that our foreign policy continues today in Afghanistan. We have had six Americans killed in the last week. In the bill that passed recently to raise the debt ceiling, there was $30 billion for Karzai, who is a crook. I do not understand this Congress, why we continue to sacrifice our young men and women, and why we continue to send money that we do not have to a foreign dictator and we cut programs for children and seniors who want to have a meal. With that, Mr. Speaker, in closing, I honor the 241 who died by saying I ask God to please bless our men and women in uniform, to please bless the families of our men and women in uniform. And Dear God, I ask You to continue to bless America.

Mr. JONES

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

Mr. JONES. Mr. Chairman, Uncle Sam has largely stopped funding maintenance of federally authorized shallow draft inlet projects. There are over a dozen of these projects in the district that I represent in North Carolina. These are critical to the local economy. To fill the gap, the State of North Carolina is stepping up to pay for dredging these waterways. My concern is that section 108 of the bill may be interpreted to allow States to only pay for maintenance of projects damaged by disasters. Does the chairman share my belief that States should be allowed to contribute funds to any of the Federal projects, not just those damaged by disasters? And will he agree to work in conference to perfect the bill's language to meet our shared intent?

Mr. JONES. I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania.

Mr. JONES. Mr. Chairman, thank you very much for that. I want to thank you and the ranking member for the outstanding job you and your staffs have done on this bill. Mr. Chairman, I withdraw my amendment.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I have been listening to both sides in this very important debate: the future of America and where we are going and how we are going to pay for the future of this country. What is amazing to me is that President Karzai of Afghanistan, I don't believe he has furloughed one person. We are furloughing U.S. Government workers all across this Nation, but Mr. Karzai continues to get his millions and millions of dollars. Mr. Speaker, this is unnecessary. I don't know why we in Congress continue to fund a war where we can't even get an accountability from the inspectors. It makes no sense. I want to read three paragraphs from an article I read this weekend, called, ``The Forgotten War.'' One of the paragraphs: But even when the war ``ends'' and Americans have forgotten it altogether, it won't be over in Afghanistan. Obama and Karzai continue negotiating towards a bilateral strategic agreement to allow the United States to keep at least nine of the biggest bases it built and several thousand trainers, and undoubtedly Special Operations Forces in Afghanistan, seemingly forever. Another of the paragraphs: It won't be over in the United States either. For American soldiers who took part in it and returned with catastrophic physical and mental injuries and for their families, the battles are just beginning. For American taxpayers, the war will continue at least until mid-century. Think of all the families of the dead soldiers to be compensated for their losses, all the wounded with their health care bills, all the brain-damaged veterans at the VA hospitals. Think of the outgoing costs of their drugs and prosthetics and benefits. Medical and disability costs alone are projected to reach $754 billion, not to mention the hefty retirement pay of all those generals who issued all those reports of progress as they so ambitiously fought more than one war leading nowhere. Mr. Speaker, just this past weekend, we had five Americans brought back in flag-draped coffins. I doubt sincerely if many people in this country read that report, that five Americans came back in a flag- draped coffin. I do not understand why this Congress continues to have these difficulties of trying to fix our own problems in this country, but don't worry about the waste, fraud, and abuse--and, more important, the loss of limb and body and heart that our kids have been giving in Afghanistan. I will close by reading one more paragraph from the article, called, ``The Forgotten War'': Will the United States still be meddling in Afghanistan 30 years from now? If history is any guide, the answer is ``yes''; and if history is any guide, three decades from now, most Americans will have only the haziest idea why. I can only say to the families of those five patriots who came back in a flag-draped coffin, may we never forget. May we never forget that the war in Afghanistan continues to go on and on and probably will for the next 30 years. Come on, Congress, let's get together. Let's stop spending money in Afghanistan. More important, let's stop sending our young men and women to give their limbs and their life. Mr. Speaker, in closing, as I always do, I ask God to please bless our men and women in uniform. I ask God to please bless the families of our men and women in uniform. I ask God, in His loving arms, to hold the families who have given a child dying for freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq. I ask God to bless us in the House and Senate, bless the President, and, please, God, three times, God, please, God, please, God, please, continue to bless America.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, last week, as we debated the Defense appropriations bill for the upcoming year, my good friend, Jim McGovern, a Democrat from Massachusetts, joined me in a measure that would guarantee that Congress would vote on funding the Enduring Strategic Partisanship Agreement with Afghanistan. This agreement with Afghanistan is a 10-year agreement that will start after 2014. It has been negotiated and will soon be signed by President Obama and President Karzai. During the debate, I quoted the former Commandant of the Marine Corps with regard to this agreement. I called him and asked him what he thought about the agreement. He sent me a paragraph back. I used one sentence that I will use again today, Mr. Speaker: Simply put, I am not in favor of this agreement signed. It basically keeps the United States in Afghanistan to prop up a corrupt regime. It continues to place our troops at risk. The amendment failed. I want to thank the 76 Republicans who joined me in that vote, along with 100 Democrats, but it failed. The problem is we really have no oversight in Afghanistan. It is a joke at best. The joke is, though, it is not really a joke because of the young men and women who are dying in Afghanistan, even today. The waste, fraud, and abuse in Afghanistan goes unchecked. We sent inspectors general over there. They do their best, but it is a no-win situation in Afghanistan. Mr. Speaker, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll just last week, only 28 percent of the American people believe the war in Afghanistan has been worth fighting. I believe that that number would be even lower if they knew that we are going to sign a 10-year agreement with Afghanistan after 2014. If they were polled on that, I believe that the 28 percent would go down to about 8 percent. The American people are just finding out that we have this 10-year agreement with Afghanistan where we keep spending billions of dollars per month and have a presence of at least 10,000 to 15,000 military. During this same week last week, a poll was done of Congress, and 12 percent of the American people approve of Congress. If it gets much lower, we will be right at zero. And I'm not sure the American people will be wrong if they give us a zero, quite frankly, especially when I look at the fact that we continue to spend money in Afghanistan; we continue to cut programs right here in America for our young, our old, and our infrastructure. The American people are frustrated and fed up because they don't think we in Congress are listening to them. When it comes back to Afghanistan and the fact that we would allow a 10-year agreement to go on with a corrupt leader in Afghanistan, it makes no sense to the American people; it makes no sense to many of us in Congress in both parties. Mr. Speaker, during that debate, I made the statement on the floor 10 minutes after 11 p.m. that night that probably no one on the floor--and in fairness to that statement, there were only about 10 or 12 people on the floor--that they probably did not realize, but from March 1 until July 1 we had lost 78 of our soldiers and marines in Afghanistan. Mr. Speaker, that is why I brought this poster down today. It is a family. It happens to be the Army. They are prepared to walk behind a caisson, probably at Arlington, to bury an American hero. The sad part about it, Mr. Speaker, is there's a wife, I'm assuming--it looks like probably the wife. She has sunglasses on and a black dress. She's holding the hand of her little girl, who appears to be 6, 7, maybe 8. The little girl is holding her mother's hand and the little girl has her finger in her mouth. How many more families in this country have to go through a sadness and a tragedy like this family while we sit here in Congress and we never debate the war? We debate the funding that we did last week. It was a 10-minute debate--5 for my amendment and 5 against. Mr. McGovern and I had 5 minutes. Yet we do not debate the policy that continues to send troops, continues to send money, and all we do is continue to let this war go on and on and on. Mr. Speaker, it's not fair to the families who have loved ones in the military. Again, I will continue to come to the floor one time a week and rail about the policy in Afghanistan. It is a failed policy. History has said no nation has ever changed Afghanistan, and we are not going to change Afghanistan no matter how much money we spend or how much blood we spend. It is not fair to our military. Mr. Speaker, I will close by asking God to please bless our men and women in uniform, to please bless the families of our men and women in uniform. I will ask God in His loving arms to hold the families who have given a child dying for freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq. I will ask God to bless the House and the Senate, that we will do what is right in the eyes of God for God's people. I will ask God to please bless the President, that he will do what is right in the eyes of God for God's people today and God's people tomorrow. And three times I will say, God, please, God, please, God, please, continue to bless America.

Mr. JONES

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

Mr. JONES. Mr. Chairman, I've been here all day, like most of my colleagues. I've watched it on TV, I've been here on the floor. And I've heard so many times other Members say we're going to be out of Afghanistan in 2014. I hate to tell them, but that's not true. The administration is about to finish a negotiation with Mr. Karzai, who is a crook, to say that we will be there for 10 more years. This amendment, what it does is basically just say that we in Congress have a responsibility to the American people to meet our constitutional responsibility of making sure that any agreement that the President should negotiate with any country, we're responsible for funding that agreement, that we will the vote on it. That's basically what this amendment does; it just says that, as we move forward with this strategic agreement, that the Congress will vote on the funds, and not just have any administration, Democrat or Republican, just to assume for 10 years that the taxpayers are going to buy into this agreement. With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. JONES. Mr. Chairman, at this time I'd like to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern).

Mr. JONES. May I inquire of the Chairman how much time I have remaining?

Mr. JONES. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. JONES. Mr. Chairman, you know, it is so ridiculous that America is financially broke, can't pay our own bills, and we're going to borrow money to pay for this agreement in Afghanistan. The former Commandant of the United States Marine Corps, when I asked him, what do you think about this agreement? I'll read his one sentence: Simply put, I am not in favor of this agreement signed. It basically keeps the United States in Afghanistan to prop up a corrupt regime. It continues to place our troops at risk. We are not being realistic. The American people are fed up and tired. We had 79 Americans killed the first of March to the end of June, and not one person on this floor knows that tonight but me. Why and how can the American people continue to work their butts off, pay their bills, and we're going to prop up a crook in Afghanistan named Karzai and give him 10 more years of the American taxpayers paying his bills? It is a sad day for the taxpayers of America. Thank you, Mr. McGovern. This is a reasonable approach. All it says is that we in Congress, every year, will vote whether we keep funding the wasted time, life, and money in Afghanistan. With that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. JONES. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. JONES. Mr. Chairman, I withdraw the amendment.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment to honor District Court Judge Joseph A. Blick, Jr., a dedicated public servant and worthy recipient of the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, an honor awarded by the governor of North Carolina. In the journey of life, it is a privilege to meet an individual like Joe Blick--a man of strong faith who always makes time for his family, church, and the local community. Joe rarely utters the word ``no,'' but instead eagerly seeks opportunities to help others. He has been a role model for the Greenville youth by volunteering to coach sports or help with the youth group at St. Peter Catholic Church. He is a man who teaches fairness and compassion in and out of the courtroom and has always led by example. A prime example of Mr. Blick's generous nature comes in his decision to retire a year early, giving up his full retirement status in order to accept a teaching position at St. Peter's Catholic School. As always, he has chosen to follow the will of God and understands that teaching the young men and women who represent America's future is his calling. This new position will represent a return to the classroom for Judge Blick, who taught and coached students in Moore County, North Carolina, before attending law school at Wake Forest University. After graduating, he went on to work for 16 years as an assistant district attorney before assuming the title of district court judge and presiding over the 3A judicial district for 14 years. Joe's commitment to Pitt County has been admired by many, including myself. In recognition of his extensive record of public service, he has been honored with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine--a prestigious award presented to individuals who display a strong dedication to the state of North Carolina. I join with Joe's wife, Mary; his two sons and daughters-in-law, Jeff and Caroline and Brian and Kristen; and his three grandchildren in congratulating him on his many achievements. During my many years of friendship with the Blick family, I had the distinct honor of nominating Brian to the naval academy, from which he graduated in May of 2012. John Wesley once said that ``[o]ne of the principal rules of religion is to lose no occasion of serving God. And, since he is invisible to our eyes, we are to serve him in our neighbor; which he receives as if done to himself in person, standing visibly before us.'' Judge Blick has certainly exemplified this spirit of service, and I am confident that his dedication to God, his family, and his community will continue as he takes this next step in life's journey. I am grateful for Judge Blick's tireless commitment to the Greenville community and pleased to have him recognized by the United States Congress, an honor which he truly deserves.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I must say that it is very disappointing that the last time the House of Representatives officially remembered the men and women who have died in Afghanistan was February of this year. Since then, we've lost a total of 79 members of our Armed Forces: 15 were killed in March, 14 were killed in April, 22 killed in May, and 18 killed in June. Why do we continue to send our young men and women to risk their life and limb in a country that will never change? In addition to this tragic waste of life, I am amazed at the lack of oversight of the taxpayers' money. After listening to the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction speak on the C-SPAN program, Washington Journal, on Monday, I will give you two examples of fraud and abuse that particularly stood out to me. We have countless buildings in Afghanistan constructed with taxpayers' dollars that remain unused or, even worse, falling apart. Mr. John Sopko, the Inspector General, referenced one building made of brick that he said is literally melting due to poor construction. How in the world can we continue to fund these programs in Afghanistan with very little oversight and, quite frankly, a waste of the taxpayers' money? Mr. Sopko further stated that we have $20 billion in the pipeline to be spent in Afghanistan while we are dealing with the ill effects of sequestration that Mr. Hoyer just spoke about, and cutting crucial programs for our military personnel right here at home. In particular, our mental health programs for our veterans are suffering because we are furloughing the civilian workers who help our veterans who are suffering from PTSD and TBI. Those people that are the professionals that help them are being cut. This is why this waste of money in Afghanistan is absolutely, Mr. Speaker, unacceptable. Congress is not listening to the American taxpayer. The taxpayer is fed up and tired of wasting money and life and limb in Afghanistan. History has said no nation has ever changed Afghanistan and no nation will ever change Afghanistan. We need to listen to the American people and stop this spending. And more importantly than the spending is the waste of life in Afghanistan. I ask my colleagues on both sides to come together and work together. Let's start reducing the amount of money that we are spending in Afghanistan, and let's also reduce the number of troops that have to go back and forth to Afghanistan. Sequestration and furloughs are creating one of the worst situations for our military that they have faced in many, many years. And again, we are looking at furloughing the professional doctors and nurses and mental health providers. Mr. Speaker, beside me is really what I say speaks better than my words. It is a photograph of a full-dressed Army contingency walking behind a caisson. Apparently, the wife of the soldier in the caisson is standing there with her little girl holding the mother's hand, and the little girl is wondering: Why is daddy in that flag-draped coffin? That is what's missing here in Congress, quite frankly, is there is no debate on the waste of life and the waste of money in Afghanistan. I ask the American people to put pressure on Members of Congress to stop this waste of life and money in Afghanistan. With that, Mr. Speaker, I will close by asking God to please bless our men and women in uniform, to please bless the families of our men and women in uniform, and in His arms, to hold the families who have given a child dying for freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq. And I ask God to bless the House and Senate, that we will do what is right in the eyes of God for God's people. And I will ask God to please give strength and courage to the President of the United States, that he will do what is right in the eyes of God for God's people. And three times: God, please, God, please, God, please continue to bless America.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment to honor the Carteret County Humane Society Animal Shelter, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and the volunteers in Carteret County, North Carolina, who answered the call to help homeless animals in their local community. The Carteret County Animal Shelter, located in my district, was facing the loss of its state license and possible closure unless it underwent significant improvement due to a tight budget on the local, state, and federal levels. This shelter is the only facility in the area that provides a place for homeless pets to stay while they wait for adoption. In an unprecedented outpouring of support from the community, more than 100 volunteers, including 30 U.S. Marines from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, came together to renovate the facility. The ASPCA, through its nationwide grants program, was more than willing to provide essential funding for supplies and improvements as well. As a result of this funding and assistance from the community, the shelter was given preliminary approval to reapply for its license and continue its work as a safe haven for homeless animals in Carteret County. This situation is a testament to the incredible results that are possible when local citizens, along with national organizations like the ASPCA, come together to serve a community. I want to thank the Carteret County Humane Society Animal Shelter, the ASPCA, and the people of the Third District of North Carolina for their work on behalf of the homeless animals in Eastern North Carolina. These individuals and organizations have provided a tremendous service to Carteret County, and I am pleased to have them recognized by the United States Congress.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I'm going to be on the floor again talking about the failed policy in Afghanistan. Mr. Speaker, most people in my district know that I've signed over 11,000 letters. They're condolence letters to families who've lost loved ones in Afghanistan and Iraq because of the unnecessary war we fought in Iraq. In the last 2 weeks, we were home for the July 4 break. There were two weekends. I've signed 16 letters to families in this Nation who have lost loved ones in Afghanistan. Mr. Speaker, it's almost like we in Congress don't know we're still at war; yet there are young men and women dying in Afghanistan and being wounded every day. The American people do not understand why we continue to fund this failed policy in Afghanistan. Each and every day the failures become clearer and clearer to the American people, but not to Congress. Most recently, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko warned that the Pentagon is moving ahead with plans to spend $771 million on aircraft, including 30 Russian helicopters for an Afghan military team. This purchase comes despite the fact that only seven of 47 Afghan Air Force pilots are qualified to fly the helicopters. As reported by CNN, an audit by Mr. Sopko explained that the reason so few pilots are able to fly the aircraft is that ``it's difficult to find literate recruits who don't have links to insurgents or criminals.'' Mr. Speaker, that should wake up the Congress, if nothing else. Unfortunately, this is only one of many examples of American money being wasted in Afghanistan. I've written multiple letters requesting a hearing to allow Mr. Sopko to testify before the House Armed Services Committee regarding this and other findings that he has made in Afghanistan and the abuse of American funds, but to my knowledge a hearing has not been scheduled. I will continue to push the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, which I serve on. Mr. Speaker, what is so sad, truthfully, is for the American taxpayer, that their Representatives in Washington will continue to spend money in Afghanistan with very little accountability. The American people are tired of this war in Afghanistan, and they're tired of seeing young men and women coming back in flag-draped coffins. While this administration is in the final stages of negotiating a bilateral security agreement with Afghanistan, Congress has had no debate on this strategic agreement. I realize that the President is not required to come before Congress for approval, but it is that we in Congress should have the concern that we would bring up the issue itself and debate it and vote up or down whether we should stay in Afghanistan for 10 more years. Mr. Speaker, before closing, I want to remind that in these 16 letters that I signed in the last 2 weeks, some of these letters were addressed to children, whether it be two, three, four children, to say that I'm sorry that your father, your brother, your sister, or your mother has been killed in Afghanistan. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I ask God to please bless the men and women in uniform, to bless the families of our men and women in uniform, in His loving arms to hold the families who have given a child dying for freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq. I ask God to bless the House and Senate, that we will do what is right in the eyes of God. I will ask God to bless the President and give him the courage to do what is right for the American people. And three times I will say, with the greatest respect, God, please, God, please, God, please, continue to bless America.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I continue to be disappointed in the House leadership in that we are not looking into this issue of the CIA giving tens of millions of dollars to Karzai, the corrupt leader of Afghanistan. We don't hold any hearings about it, we're spending money there, and kids are still dying. In fact, we had four American soldiers killed yesterday in Afghanistan. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Senator Corker from Tennessee for taking the lead on Monday and writing a letter to the Secretary of State, John Kerry, and demanding an explanation of the secret payments by the CIA. I fully agree with the Senator's decision to place a hold on U.S. funding for Afghanistan. Mr. Speaker, we're still having kids killed in Afghanistan, severely wounded, and yet there is no full debate on the floor of the House. That to me is a tragedy. We should be debating the issue of Afghanistan. Mr. Speaker, to make things worse, yesterday in The New York Times, Karzai's office made the following statement: In view of the contradictions between acts and statements made by the United States of America in regard to the peace process, the Afghan Government suspended negotiations currently under way in Kabul between Afghan and the U.S. delegations, on the bilateral security agreement. Mr. Speaker, it would be my wish that we would just totally scrap the bilateral security agreement. That means that America would be there for 10 more years after 2014 with a semblance of a military presence and also spending money that we don't have. This is just another failed policy that we in the Congress continue to support. Karzai will not last as the leader of Afghanistan. What will happen is the Taliban will eventually take over. They are the Pashtuns that make up the majority of the Taliban. They are the largest tribe in Afghanistan, and they will eventually lead Afghanistan. I do not understand why the Taliban that we're fighting today, who will probably be the leaders in the next 2 or 3 years of Afghanistan, why we're going to support them with finances and with young men and women. There's something wrong here, and I hope that the House of Representatives, the leadership in both parties, will come together and say we're going to debate the policy in Afghanistan. Mr. Speaker, this cartoon that I have that I've been handing out in a flyer to members in my district, it's got Mr. Karzai standing in front of a CIA ATM machine. He's got a little card. I guess it's paid for by Uncle Sam. He's taking money out, and you can see bags of cash at his feet. Karzai says: ``I'm just making a quick withdrawal.'' But the sad thing about it is that a soldier standing behind him says: ``I would like to make a quick withdrawal from Afghanistan.'' I hope the American people will put pressure on the House and Senate to stop spending money we don't have in Afghanistan if for no other reason than to save the lives of our young men and women who are dying over there each and every week. And I will continue to ask how a Nation that is financially broke can continue to pay a corrupt leader to stay in power when he criticizes us in the paper almost every other week. It's time for Congress to meet its responsibility based on the Constitution and have a debate on this war in Afghanistan. With that, Mr. Speaker, I will close by asking God to please bless our men and women in uniform, to please bless the families of our men and women in uniform. I ask God in His loving arms to hold the families who have given a child dying for freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq. I ask God to bless the House and the Senate, that we will do what is right in the eyes of God. I ask God to please bless the President, that he will do what is right in the eyes of God. And I close three times by saying God, please, God, please, God, please continue to bless America.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to this amendment. We fought this issue of the A-76 several years ago in a bipartisan way and we were able to put it on the shelf for a period of time, and I think trying to activate it and bring it back is absolutely the wrong thing to do. I have Cherry Point Marine Air Station in my district. I have a depot there with over 4,000 workers. They pick up and go overseas and fight these wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, leave their families back home, and stand right there with the warfighter. We need to kill this amendment because it is opposed by the OMB, by the DOD, and there is no reason to reactivate the A-76. It should be dead and buried.

Mr. JONES. Mr. Chairman, it's been said before, we have been in Afghanistan for 12 years. We in Congress should have the opportunity to vote ``yes'' or ``no'' on any commitment of troops after 2014. As a former Commandant of the United States Marine Corps who agrees with my opinion that we should withdraw our troops from Afghanistan said to me, and I quote the Commandant: What do we say to the mother and father--to the wife--of the last marine or soldier killed to support a corrupt government and a corrupt leader in a war that cannot be won? Mr. Chairman, Congress has neglected this war for far too long. We should not allow another American to die in Afghanistan unless we vote on the policy. The American people want our troops out. The American people know that Afghanistan is a failed policy. The American people do not want any more blood or any more treasure to be spent in Afghanistan. I join my friend from Massachusetts and my other friends: please vote for this amendment offered by Mr. McGovern, myself, and others. It is the right thing to do for our military, it's the right thing to do for our Nation, and it is our constitutional responsibility.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment to honor Richard Gaines, an accomplished journalist and great friend of the fishing industry who passed away unexpectedly on June 9, 2013. I began working with Mr. Gaines when he was employed at the Gloucester Daily Times in Massachusetts as a staff writer with a reputation for thorough, effective reporting. Through his passionate coverage of the fishing industry, he became an advocate for fishermen across the country. Elected officials, peers, and readers alike admired Mr. Gaines' ability to clearly and accurately communicate the issues facing the industry. Mr. Gaines began his career in the 1960's as a reporter for United Press International. He went on to become editor-in-chief at the Boston Phoenix, where he was well-known as an investigative journalist and garnered national attention when the paper was named as a runner up for a Pulitzer Prize. He authored a book and worked as a political consultant before joining the Gloucester Daily Times. Mr. Gaines regularly reported on issues directly affecting the Third District of North Carolina, and his insight into the fishing industry will be greatly missed. We have lost not only a talented journalist, but a man of honesty and integrity and a true friend to America's fishermen. I am grateful for Mr. Gaines' service and pleased to have him recognized by the United States Congress, an honor which he truly deserves.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, thank you very much. Last week I was home, and on Saturday I had the pleasure to speak to about 50 citizens in the Third District of North Carolina which I represent. I carry this poster with me, Mr. Speaker, and I also have a one-page flier. The purpose of this is to continue to wake up the American people that we are in Afghanistan; and unless you have a loved one there, you probably don't think about it. That's human nature. It's not a criticism. But I take this and then I give the flier, and it's got the cartoon. Mr. Speaker, the cartoon has Karzai with a little debit card, and he's standing at an ATM machine. At the top it says, ``CIA ATM.'' Karzai says, ``I'm just making a quick withdrawal.'' He's got bags of cash at his feet. Sadly, there's a soldier in the background that says, ``I'd like to make a quick withdrawal from here.'' Last week we had two American soldiers killed and one civilian, and the war keeps going on and on. We in Congress act like it's not happening. I don't understand it. The President has signed a bilateral strategic agreement with the Afghans that will keep us there from 2014 to 2024. We're spending $8 billion a month in Afghanistan. The CIA admitted in a New York Times article that they have been giving tens of millions of dollars for 10 years to Karzai. He's got to be one of the richest men in the world. We keep borrowing the money from the Chinese to give him money. I do not understand it, and I would like to read just a couple of points from The New York Times CIA article: The CIA money, Mr. Karzai told reporters, was an easy source of petty cash, and some of it was used to pay off the political elite, a group dominated by warlords. Mr. Karzai said that when he met with the CIA station chief, ``I told him because of all these rumors in the media, please do not cut all this money, because we really need it.'' Well, Mr. Karzai, so do the American people. Here we are in Congress cutting programs for children and senior citizens, and the Congress has a deaf ear to Afghanistan. The bill coming up this week from the Armed Services Committee, which I serve on, will have $85 billion additional money going to Afghanistan. Mr. Speaker, it is time for the American people to show outrage to those of us in Congress and say it's time to bring our troops home. It's time to stop wasting lives and limbs and getting money from foreign countries, like China, that we have to borrow to pay Karzai. I do not understand it, Mr. Speaker, and I'm pleased to say that the people of the Third District of North Carolina, the home of Camp Lejeune Marine Base--the Wright brothers took the first flight from my district--they're tired of this war. They are fed up with it, and they see no end to it. We in Congress are not meeting our constitutional responsibility for oversight. When you see the kind of money that I just made reference to going to this crook in Afghanistan named Karzai, there should have been hearings held on that money going to Afghanistan. I understand Benghazi and I understand the IRS hearings and these other hearings that we're having, but there are no hearings on the waste, fraud, and abuse in Afghanistan. Mr. Speaker, before I yield back, I want to first ask God to please bless our men and women in uniform. I ask God to please bless the families of our men and women in uniform. The families who've given a child dying for freedom, God hold them in your arms. And God, I ask you to please bless the House and Senate that we will do what is right in the eyes of God for God's people. I will ask God to bless the President of the United States that he will do what is right in the eyes of God for God's people. And three times I will say from the bottom of my heart, God please, God please, God please continue to bless America.