Disinterment of Remains of Fernando V. Cota From Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, Texas
Floor Speech
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Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I want to first thank Chairman Rogers and Ranking Member Smith for the manner in which they worked together in a bipartisan way. It is an example of what has taken place here for almost 60 years, where we come together for this legislation. I will just add, though, that I would love the day when the State authorization bill stands on its own, so I look for and long for that day.
Let me just start with what I believe is good in the bill that was negotiated. The Iraq war ended more than a decade ago, yet Presidents from both parties have cited the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force, or AUMF, to justify military actions completely unrelated to Iraq. Leaving it on the books invites future Presidents to drag us into reckless foreign wars. The American people do not want those wars, and Congress has not yet authorized those wars, nor will it. They will have to come to Congress for that power.
I am honored to take the baton from former Congresswoman Barbara Lee in carrying this legislation forward. I thank the lead across the aisle, Representative Roy, for getting this past the finish line.
This bill also includes legislation like the Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act, which would curb the flow of illegal arms fueling Haiti's crises and hold accountable those elites enabling it. They will be put in check. It restores the State Department's Office of Haitian Affairs in a bipartisan way. The NDAA preserves bipartisan initiatives like the Payne, Pickering, and Rangel Fellowships and the Veterans Innovation Partnership Fellowship at the State Department.
There are, of course, some things in here that I don't agree with and that I wish we could have gotten in. I wanted a stronger DFC, which is dealing with this core development mission and not giving those things away.
All in all, I have decided to vote ``yes'' in that spirit. I know you don't get everything that you want, but as members of the Foreign Affairs Committee, where we try to do things also in a bipartisan way, I appreciate what the two gentlemen are doing in a bipartisan way.
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