OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014

Floor Speech

Date: June 14, 2013
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Defense Government Budget and Spending

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Mr. GARAMENDI. Madam Chair, I want to thank the ranking member and the chair for making my amendment an en bloc amendment.

This amendment deals with the 50-plus billion dollars that we have spent on the Afghan National Security Forces. An additional $7.7 billion is to be added this year. That is a 50 percent increase over last year.

The $2.6 billion addition is for equipment with absolutely no justification, no idea what the equipment is--airplanes, related. There is no knowledge of whether the Afghan National Security Force can use it or not. The amendment simply says that money will not be available until and unless there is clarity as to where the money is going to be spent, how it's going to be spent, how the equipment will be purchased. We don't want to write a $2.6 billion blank check for additional graft and corruption in Afghanistan.

This amendment will be in the en bloc amendment, and I thank the committee for making it possible.

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