Buck McKeon

Mr. McKEON

Mr. McKEON. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McKEON. Madam Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. McKEON

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Clerk be authorized to make technical corrections in the engrossment of H.R. 1960, to include corrections in spelling, punctuation, section numbering and cross-referencing, and the insertion of appropriate headings.

Mr. McKEON

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, pursuant to H. Res. 260, I offer amendments en bloc.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I urge the committee to adopt the amendments en bloc, all of which have been examined by both the majority and the minority. At this time, I yield 1 minute to my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis).

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fitzpatrick).

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Huelskamp).

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that during further consideration of H.R. 1960, pursuant to House Resolution 260, amendment Nos. 18, 19, and 20 printed in part B of House Report 113-108 may be considered out of sequence.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Bridenstine).

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, we have no further speakers.

Mr. McKEON. I encourage our colleagues to support the en bloc amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the manager's amendment.

Mr. McKEON. This is the manager's amendment, and it has been worked on and agreed to by the minority. It contains technical and conforming changes, and it's noncontroversial. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I ask our colleagues to support this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I rise to claim the 5 minutes in opposition.

Mr. McKEON. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. McIntyre).

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wittman), a subcommittee chairman on the Armed Services Committee.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Courtney).

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, who has the right to close?

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

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield the balance of our time to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Forbes), subcommittee chairman on the Armed Services Committee.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I rise to claim the time in opposition, although I will not oppose the amendment in its current form.

Mr. McKEON. I yield myself such time as I may consume. This amendment is a reflection of the President's current policy in Afghanistan. My concerns about the President's Afghanistan policy are well documented. I do not believe we should have given our enemies the comfort of a date certain for our withdrawal. I believe the commander in chief should only commit our troops to combat if he is committed to getting the job done right. Notwithstanding my underlying concerns, I must acknowledge the amendment articulates a policy that reflects the President's current policy. I look forward to working with the sponsors of this amendment to further perfect the language going forward. In particular, I note that the amendment expresses the sense of Congress that a post-2014 troop presence should be authorized by a vote in Congress. This Congressman does not agree with that assertion. The Congress does not vote on Status of Forces Agreements with other countries. They are not defense treaties. It would be bad policy and a bad precedent to treat Afghanistan any differently. Moreover, the underlying bill takes meaningful steps to ensure any Bilateral Security Agreement with Afghanistan protects U.S. interests and our troops' ability to defend themselves. This is not a trivial issue. Our vital national security interests are at stake during this delicate time period in Afghanistan. My position is unchanged. The transition of the mission should be based upon the conditions on the ground and the input of our commanders. I, for one, hope that the President's decisionmaking process is not based on a non-binding restatement of his current policies. Rather, I hope his decisionmaking is commensurate with the national security interests at stake. I look forward to working with the gentleman further and reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, at this time, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from Texas, the vice chairman of the committee, Mr. Thornberry.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I rise to claim the time in opposition.