Brian Jones: “At this point in our Nation's history, I believe both parties will acknowledge that we have major economic issues facing…”

“At this point in our Nation's history, I believe both parties will acknowledge that we have major economic issues facing our country. As Congress just recently came to a temporary resolution which raised the debt ceiling by $230 billion, it is incredible to me that we still found $30 billion in aid to send to Afghanistan and $1.6 billion in aid to send to Pakistan. Mr. Speaker, at a time when America is drowning in debt, this is completely unacceptable. And even more important than the money are the American lives that have been lost--six in the time the government was shut down and one the weekend after. As we work to fix our national problems, we should be wise enough to follow the lead of the nations who have interfered in Afghanistan before us--England and Russia are only two examples--and stop wasting lives and money on a country that will never change. History tells us that it is time to bring our troops home. I want to thank ABC News for their effort each Sunday morning during ``This Week with George Stephanopoulos'' to faithfully list the names of the Americans who have been killed in Afghanistan, just as they did during the Iraq war. It is with sadness that I report that they have added seven names to this list over the last 3 weeks. Mr. Speaker, on the poster beside me are the faces of two little girls, Stephanie and Eden, whose father, Sergeant Kevin Balduf, from Camp Lejeune Marine Base, which is in my district, was killed in Afghanistan.…”