Brian Jones: “I am back on the floor today because, while we were home during the Easter break, there was a tragedy in Afghanistan…”

“I am back on the floor today because, while we were home during the Easter break, there was a tragedy in Afghanistan that largely escaped the national news. On April 8, Army medic John Dawson was shot and killed and eight other Americans were wounded by an Afghan soldier who opened fire on them. This tragedy is yet another example of the American blood spilled in Afghanistan. Sadly, this kind of tragedy, an American soldier being killed by a supposed Afghan ally, is nothing new. The poster I have with me today is a picture of two little girls, Eden and Stephanie, who lived in my district for a time. Their father, Sergeant Kevin Balduf, who was stationed at Camp Lejeune in my district, died in May of 2011 in Afghanistan, along with Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Palmer, who also was stationed in my district at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point. They were shot by an Afghan policeman they were training. The night before Sergeant Balduf died, he emailed his wife, Amy, and he said: I don't trust them. I don't trust them. I don't trust any of them. The next day, he was killed. Mr. Speaker, last December, when Congress passed final appropriations for fiscal year 2015, it provided $4.1 billion for the Afghan National Security Forces and additional funding for development assistance. This is more money than the Afghan Government generates in a year.…”