Maxwell Frost: “I oppose this rule. The defense authorization bill provides a waiver to the Secretary of Defense to get around the…”

“I oppose this rule. The defense authorization bill provides a waiver to the Secretary of Defense to get around the current cap on U.S. military personnel in Colombia. I strongly oppose such a waiver. It is a serious abrogation of the duties of this Congress to monitor and provide oversight to our military programs and presence in Colombia. I oppose this waiver because it provides the Secretary of Defense with the ability for an unrestricted escalation of U.S. military personnel in Colombia and further engages in that country's 40-year-old civil war, a war that Colombia's government has failed to adequately support. This bill strips away the principal safeguard Congress has insisted upon to protect us from an escalating military mission in Colombia. It deserves a debate. I urge my colleagues to vote 'no' on the previous question so we can bring up the Taylor amendment and other amendments, and if we are not successful in defeating the previous question, then vote against the rule.”