On the recordOctober 25, 2021
I am proud to rise today in support of H.R. 5142 introduced by my colleague, Lisa McClain from Michigan. This bill would posthumously award a Congressional Gold Medal to the U.S. servicemembers killed during the final week of the Afghanistan evacuation. On August 26, 2021, 13 American servicemembers were killed in a brutal suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport, marking one of the deadliest days for U.S. forces in Afghanistan in the past 20 years. These selfless and brave Americans were put into an impossible situation, but their commitment to that mission never wavered. They epitomized what it means to be a hero. They knew about the heightened threat that they faced. They knew the risks, but they stayed at those gates to keep them open, each second buying time for more lives to be saved. The chaos of those days in Kabul and the perilous situation our servicemembers and diplomats faced cannot be overstated. We owe an extraordinary debt of gratitude for the sacrifice that they should have never been forced to have made. Every American should take pride in the heroism that Americans on the ground displayed in our final days in Afghanistan, but every American should also demand accountability from those senior officials whose decisions put our servicemembers in a position that required such heroic acts. Today, we honor the 13 lives lost and keep their families and all who loved them in our prayers.…
