Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to H.R. 1797 because we have been here before. Not less than a year ago, this body took up a very similar measure, and it failed. I hope my colleagues will join me in rejecting this attempt…

We commend President Karzai and the Afghan government for their determination to end the conflict.

That involved considerable sacrifice on the part of the French people, but it's part of a broader commitment on both our parts to pursue a smart counterterrorism policy.

Ensure law enforcement authorities, including tax authorities, will be able to access beneficial ownership information upon appropriate request through a central registry at the state level.

Peace is not at hand.

Our core goal in Afghanistan is always primary, and that is to defeat al Qaeda.

We have long said that this conflict will likely not be won on the battlefield.

The U.S. National Action Plan demonstrates the U.S. commitment to combating this global problem.

We strongly urge the leaders of all the sides to recommit to the Helsinki principles.

Today is an important day for our ongoing effort in Afghanistan.

Today's G-8 principles make clear that companies should know who owns and controls them.

The core of this process is not going to be the U.S. Taliban talks.

The outcome of this process marks that the Taliban and other insurgent groups meet three end conditions.

we have nearly doubled nutrition funding and tripled agriculture funding since 2008

Mandate civil and criminal penalties for knowingly providing false information or documentation to a State or formation agent.

The U.S. will continue to forcefully advocate for comprehensive legislation to require the disclosure of beneficial ownership information.

Our strategy in Afghanistan has these five elements and you've just addressed two of them.

We don't anticipate this process will be easy or quick, but we must pursue it in parallel with our military approach.