Chellie Pingree: “Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this rule and the underlying concurrent resolution. It is a rare occurrence that…”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this rule and the underlying concurrent resolution. It is a rare occurrence that Members of this body have the opportunity to devote 3 hours of debate to such an important issue, and it is even more unusual that Members are given a chance for a clean up-or-down vote on ending the war in Afghanistan. Each time an emergency war supplemental, a Defense appropriations bill or a Defense authorization bill has come to the floor, continued funding for the war in Afghanistan is hidden behind spending to create jobs, to provide humanitarian relief or to increase medical benefits to our troops, all of which I support. And privileged resolutions like this, which exercise the constitutional right of the United States Congress to decide whether or not to continue the use of the military force, rarely sees the light of day. This country has spent over $250 billion, Mr. Speaker, on the war in Afghanistan. The share of my home State of Maine is almost $700 million. And in the next few months, the administration will likely ask this Congress to spend another $30 billion to fund a surge of troops in Afghanistan.”