On the recordMarch 25, 2014
I am on the House floor today to bring attention to an article from the World Affairs Journal, titled, ``Money Pit: The Monstrous Failure of U.S. Aid to Afghanistan.'' This is an eight-page article documenting case after case of American tax dollars being wasted in Afghanistan. I would like to bring one specific example to your attention, keeping in mind that many more months have now passed since this article was published and these figures are now even larger. In a recent quarterly report, the U.S. Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction said that when security for aid workers is figured, the total amount of nonmilitary funds Washington has appropriated since 2002 is ``approximately $100 billion''--more than the United States has ever spent to rebuild a country. Since then, Congress has appropriated another $16.5 billion for ``reconstruction.'' And all that has not brought the United States or the Afghans a single sustainable institution or program. As I traveled through the Third District of North Carolina last week, I spoke on this subject many times and was met with frustration from the audience at the waste of taxpayer money in Afghanistan. When I went on to explain that the Afghan Parliament was able to vote on the bilateral strategic agreement that we are in the process of finalizing with Afghanistan, but we have not even debated the issue in the House, the individuals with whom I spoke were incredibly disappointed in Congress. Mr.…
