On the recordJuly 23, 2013
I would just say that the argument that we owe it to the Afghan people to ensure that we rebuild their economy, we owe that responsibility first to the American people. We have a crumbling infrastructure in this country--our roads, our bridges, our ports, our transit systems. Every economist I know says that investing in infrastructure so that we can get goods, services and information in this competitive 21st century economy is critical. I hardly believe, with all due respect, that giving $1.1 billion, where only a little over $100 million has actually been spent, that that is abandoning Afghanistan. This is $1.1 billion of taxpayer money; only $111 million has been spent. And we're now appropriating another $279 million. I don't believe we're abandoning anybody. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.
