Brian Jones: “To begin my short statement today, I would like to read you a recent headline from The Washington Times: ``Golden…”

“To begin my short statement today, I would like to read you a recent headline from The Washington Times: ``Golden Hammer: U.S. squandered $34 million on failed Afghan soybean project.'' The first few sentences of this report read: ``Call it the great American soybean heist, the latest tale of U.S. taxpayer abuse to emanate from Afghanistan. Despite clear evidence that Afghanistan's arid soil was a bad place to grow soybeans, the U.S. Department of Agriculture spent $34.4 million tying to establish the crop in that country, according to the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction.'' Mr. Speaker, here we go again, talking about the waste, fraud, and abuse of American resources in Afghanistan. Yesterday I spoke on the House floor in memory of three members of the United States Army who died as a result of their service in Afghanistan. The deaths of these three men represent my greatest concern with our servicemembers continuing to remain in Afghanistan: that more and more of our men and women in uniform will be killed and wounded. The loss of life and limb is far more important than the money that is being wasted. However, Mr. Speaker, our country is in a dangerous financial situation. In addition to the soybean report, I want to read three more headlines that accentuate the waste of our taxpayer money in Afghanistan. From CBS News: ``Is the Pentagon wasting taxpayer money in Afghanistan?'' From the Center for Public Integrity: ``The U.S.…”