On the recordDecember 8, 2020
I oppose the NDAA, not because I am against our troops, but because I love them so much. America's fighting men and women are so precious that they should not have to die in some failed state, some faraway land that most Americans can't even point to on a map so that defense contractors can extend our involvement in these wars, so that lobbyists can get rich, and so that Members of Congress can get reelected. This good bill has been hijacked by the forever war lobby and their bought-and-paid-for allies in the United States Congress. It puts barriers in the way of an administration that wants to bring our troops home and put America first. This legislation has become too swampy. It does good things to ensure that America can vanquish any foe on the battlefield, but we should only fight when that fight is just and proper. Mr. Speaker, we have spent two decades trading the same villages back and forth in Afghanistan. And I believe that the administration that leads our country should work to bring those troops home, and unfortunately, this bill does exactly the opposite. From Afghanistan, from Germany, and elsewhere, I am going to put America first and I am voting against this bill. ____________________
