Janice Hahn: “Today is actually my 1-year anniversary of being sworn in to this Congress. It's hard to believe it's been a year. One…”

“Today is actually my 1-year anniversary of being sworn in to this Congress. It's hard to believe it's been a year. One of the things I came to Congress to do was to really move us toward ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. While we look toward the 11th anniversary of Operation Enduring Freedom, I believe it's necessary to reflect on the staggering human and economic costs this country has endured over the past decade. Since 2001, we've spent nearly $635 billion on the Afghanistan war. Under FY 2012 figures, this equates to an average of $8.8 billion a month, $2 billion a week, and nearly $300 million a day. With what it takes to keep this war going for a week, we can hire 45,000 more construction workers to help repair and build our own crumbling infrastructure. With what it costs to keep this war going for 1 more month, we can hire over 250,000 new teachers, nearly enough to hire back all of the teachers and public school officials who've lost their jobs during this great recession. While these figures seem astounding, they don't begin to compare to the human toll that this war has taken on our active servicemembers and military families. Last October, on the weekend of the 10th anniversary of this war in Afghanistan, I visited Arlington West in California--an incredible memorial to the men and women who died in Iraq and Afghanistan. It's truly a moving experience walking through row after row of crosses in the sand at Santa Monica Beach. As of today, 2,041 U.S.…”