Dana Rohrabacher: “Keeping our troops in Afghanistan any longer than they have to absolutely be there is a disservice to those people who…”

“Keeping our troops in Afghanistan any longer than they have to absolutely be there is a disservice to those people who are protecting our country. They are now doing what we said they would do once we have announced that we were leaving: they're picking our people off. How do we explain to those parents who are losing their children in the next few months? Let's not send any more over there, and if we do, let's make sure that it's a decision made by the House of the people rather than just by a clique someplace in the Pentagon or elsewhere. We need to make sure that we're watching out for our troops, and I think that this is the best amendment that would do just that. Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Chairman, I will close. I yield myself the remaining time. Mr. Chairman, hundreds of billions of dollars and tens of thousands of U.S.-NATO allies and Afghan lives have been lost. It is time to end the war in Afghanistan, bring our troops home, and take seriously our duty as a Congress to specifically authorize any mission and troop presence beyond 2014. We are not bystanders in this war. We are responsible for sending thousands and thousands of men and women over into Afghanistan. The least we can do is take seriously our duty as a Congress and authorize any mission and troop presence beyond 2014. Members of Congress ought to go on record as to where they stand on this. We owe it to our troops, and we owe it to their families and the American people.…”