Brian Jones: “I must say that it is very disappointing that the last time the House of Representatives officially remembered the men…”

“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.…”