On the recordJuly 26, 2023
I appreciate the comments that I heard this morning from Senator Klobuchar and appreciate her leadership and efforts to see that the Afghan Adjustment Act becomes law. I think I am followed by my colleague on the Veterans Committee, Senator Blumenthal from Connecticut. This has been a bipartisan effort to make certain that legislation was drafted, introduced, and that lives were protected and changed. From my perspective, one of the saddest days--or few days--of my time as a U.S. Senator was when the United States withdrew from Afghanistan--not necessarily the withdrawal but the manner in which it occurred and the number of people--some Americans, many of them Afghans who helped Americans during our time in Afghanistan--who were left behind and the manner in which those who were able to escape, what they had to endure in many instances to do so. As we approach the second anniversary of this disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, many of those Afghans who escaped to the United States now face--continue to face--uncertainty in their lives-- uncertainty as their original parole status is set to expire soon. Most of that status for their legal presence in the United States expires 2 years from their arrival to the United States. And in many instances, that is now the month of August 2023.…
