Tom Lantos

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Chairman, before yielding back, I would like to make just a couple of observations. It is such a rare pleasure to manage a major bill of international significance on a bipartisan basis. Our Nation wins when Congress is united. This Congress is united on our policy with respect to Afghanistan. Just as importantly, Mr. Chairman, was my privilege some years back to point out that Afghanistan is not an American problem; it is a problem for the civilized the world. And I called for NATO to take over the responsibility in Afghanistan. NATO is now the principal operating entity on behalf of freedom and democracy in the country of Afghanistan. NATO should be performing this function. It is the greatest military alliance in the history of the world, and it is my earnest hope that, just as NATO has accepted its responsibility in the struggle in Afghanistan, it will do so in other troubled parts of the world.

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

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Chairman, I am offering this amendment on behalf of my distinguished colleague, the ranking Republican member, and myself. Our amendment makes a number of technical, clarifying and clerical changes to several provisions in this bill as reported by the Committee on Foreign Affairs. Mr. Chairman, this amendment has been cleared by both the Republican and Democratic sides, and I urge all of my colleagues to support it. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. LANTOS. Will the gentleman yield?

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

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank my friend from Indiana for yielding, and I want to thank him for working with the committee. I understand the gentleman is going to withdraw his amendment, and I thank him for his courtesy. I fully support his sentiment that is behind his amendment, and I will work with him on this issue as H.R. 2446 goes through the legislative process.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank my friend for his extremely thoughtful and very necessary amendment, and I am very pleased to support it strongly. With billions of dollars being poured into reconstruction and development assistance, justifiably so, we have a heavy responsibility to the American people to ensure that our taxpayer dollars are being spent in the manner in which they were intended. As the gentleman knows, we just had a hearing with the Inspector General for Afghanistan which was singularly instructive and illuminating and highlighted many of the problems in the spending of our tax dollars in Afghanistan. This function is the function of the Inspectors General at the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development. Your amendment requires that these officers be permanently deployed in Afghanistan, which they are not currently, so that on-the-ground assessments can be made in real time and with full continuity. Your amendment authorizes additional funds to help ensure that adequate resources are allocated to measure the effectiveness of our aid program without increasing the cost of this bill. Mr. Chairman, I strongly support this amendment and urge all of my colleagues to do so as well.

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

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

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Chairman, will the gentlewoman yield?

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

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

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

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. As you well know, a version of this amendment has passed before on the floor of this House. I welcome any incentives that help to prevent elements of al Qaeda and the Taliban to engage in further international terrorist and criminal acts, and I strongly support this amendment in the hope that it might lead at long last to the capture of Osama bin Laden. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance our time.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Chairman, winning the hearts and minds of the Afghan people is crucial to our success in Afghanistan. This amendment seeks to bolster that support by providing more resources to a fund operated by the International Security Assistance Force, led by NATO, which seeks to assist those Afghan individuals and families who have suffered injuries due to unintended military operations. Currently, there are a handful of NATO countries who contribute to this fund, and it is important for the United States to show leadership in this area. With our contribution, other NATO allies will also be encouraged to participate. Mr. Chairman, I support this amendment and urge my colleagues to do so as well. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Chairman, I support the underlying premise of the gentleman's amendment that assistance should be provided through organizations that have a cost-effective record of administering programs in Afghanistan. I am also gratified that the gentleman made some modifications to the original version of his amendment. As H.R. 2446 reflects, we must continue to assist the Afghan people in creating and sustaining economic and development systems for themselves. We must continue to endow the Afghan government, Afghan organizations and the Afghan people with the necessary know how, expertise and resources so they can lead a free, stable and prosperous Afghanistan. I believe that this amendment strikes the right balance in calling for USAID to prioritize organizations that have a cost-effective record of administering programs in Afghanistan, while allowing for assistance to Afghan entities as well. On that basis, the amendment is acceptable to our side. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LANTOS. Will the gentleman yield?

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

Mr. LANTOS. As we close discussion and debate, Mr. Chairman, let me first express my appreciation to my friend and colleague, the ranking Republican member of the committee, for her exceptional leadership on this matter. Let me thank all of my Republican and Democratic colleagues who have worked so hard on this matter. But I particularly want to express my personal thanks to the committee staff on both sides, specifically, Matthew Zweig and John Mackey on the Republican side of the committee staff, as well as all other members of the Republican staff, and on our side, Manpreet Anand, Robin Roizman, David Fite and our extraordinary general counsel, David Abramowitz. We have done good bipartisan work, and I think the Congress did some useful work today. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of our time.

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

Mr. LANTOS

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that during consideration of H.R. 2446 in the Committee of the Whole, pursuant to House Resolution 453, amendment No. 11 be permitted to be offered at any time.