Rodney Frelinghuysen: “I thank the gentleman for yielding. I rise in opposition to this amendment. The rationale we have been talking about…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. I rise in opposition to this amendment. The rationale we have been talking about here is a human rationale. We have, as we speak, over 60,000 military serving doing the work of freedom in Afghanistan. As they prepare to leave, we should not be cutting funding in these very dangerous times. As you are leaving, you are incredibly vulnerable. They're still in the fight, they're still working hard, they need to protect themselves. While the administration hasn't offered any strategic plan, other than a date for withdrawal, those who serve there deserve our support because they have an important mission to perform. Whether it is in Kabul or a forward-operating base, they are in a dangerous situation. The reality is that things in Afghanistan are hotter than the administration estimated in their budget request. We need this money for contingencies. We need this money because of the delay due to Pakistan affecting our ground transportation--our exit. I strongly oppose this amendment and urge my colleagues to do it as well.”