On the recordSeptember 11, 2024
I thank the gentleman from Colorado for his remarks. He is an individual who has had a short time here and is respected in just a few short months. He has been one of the most studious and one of the most thoughtful Members that I have seen in my 3\1/2\ years, and I hope to be able to continue to find a way to serve with him. I am sincere about that, and I appreciate his heartfelt comments here tonight. Again, I thank my colleagues for being here and taking time to speak on some of the most pressing issues facing our Nation. Yesterday, Speaker Johnson posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to the families of the servicemembers killed in a barbaric act of terrorism at the Kabul Airport in Afghanistan on August 26, 2021, including Staff Sergeant Taylor Hoover from Utah. President Biden's decision to abandon Bagram Air Base and its equipment forced our troops into the impossible task of securing an urban airport while also conducting an impossibly complex humanitarian operation, all under an unreasonable timeframe and without coordination from our allies. The aftermath gave our enemies a window of opportunity of which they took full advantage. Three years later, the Taliban are in control of Afghanistan and are building stronger diplomatic ties to China, making deeper overtures to Iran, and they have enabled the resurgence of ISIS-K in their backyard.…
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