Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014

Floor Speech

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Mr. President, I rise to voice my support for the people of Afghanistan who this week on Saturday will be in the midst of a Presidential election pursuing the first Democratic transfer of power in that nation's history. April 5 will be a momentous day, a Presidential election where millions of Afghans will head to the polls to determine their destiny by a peaceful means. As we know much is going on in the world in Ukraine, Syria, and Iran. It is easy to miss this milestone, but it is a milestone I think should have some significance to us as Americans.

Americans should be proud of the role we have played in bringing the Afghan people to this point, given the significant sacrifice members of our country have made. There have been nearly 2,300 servicemembers who have given their lives in Afghanistan--2,299. The United States has spent $600 billion in Afghanistan since September of 2011. While we cannot gloss over the challenges that remain in Afghanistan today and tomorrow, we should remember the progress that has been achieved in 13 years since the Taliban fell in October of 2001, progress that has been made possible because of the sacrifices of American service men and women, our diplomats, the American people, and the grit and determination of the Afghan people.

On April 5 Afghans will defy those who seek to intimidate them through violence and terrorism because it is a fundamental choice: Does Afghanistan want to move forward or go backward to horrific days. The ink-stained finger of an Afghan voter will send a far more powerful message than any terrorist gun or bomb. I think Afghan men and women will be thinking of their children as they vote on Saturday, the promise of the next generation as they head to the ballot box. An Afghan girl born in October of 2001 when the Taliban fell is now 13 years old. She has no doubt faced hardship and will continue to, but she now has before her unprecedented opportunities.

Sometimes we get into a little bit of a mode where we say things haven't gone well in Afghanistan or the investment of blood, treasure, and energy by the United States hasn't made a difference. I wish to put on the record 13 very real indicators of a transformation in an Afghan's life in the last 13 years.

No. 1, two-thirds of Afghans today have and are able to use cell phones compared to 5 percent before 2001. Before 2001 Taliban-controlled radio was the only news source in Afghanistan. Today Afghans can choose from 75 television stations and 170 radio stations.

The Afghan national gross domestic product has grown nearly tenfold since 2001. One in three Afghans has access to electricity. Kabul enjoys a power supply 24 hours a day.

In 2001 in Afghanistan there were only 30 miles of paved roads, which had a direct impact on their economy. Today nearly 10,000 miles of paved roads--nearly 300 times the amount in 2001. Over 50 percent of the population now has safe drinking water, nearly double from 2004.

The number of teachers in Afghanistan was only 20,000 in 2001. Today it is 175,000, 30 percent of whom are women. Three million Afghan girls are enrolled in schools compared to only 5,000 in 2001, a nearly 600-fold increase. Overall school enrollment in Afghanistan has increased to more than 8 million.

There are 168 female judges across Afghanistan and 68 women members of the National Assembly. Eighty-five percent of Afghans now live in districts with health care providers. Infant mortality has been reduced to 327 per 100,000 live births, which would still be high for the United States, but in 2002 that number was 1,600. So it has been reduced to one-quarter or one-fifth.

The number that is the most powerful is this: Afghan women now have access to more health care than before. Female life expectancy has increased since 2001 from 44 years to 64 years--from 44 years to 64 years. So just think about what 20 extra years of life is like for a woman and then multiply that by every woman and girl in Afghanistan. Male life expectancy has improved as well because of improvements in infant mortality. This is a significant change, a real transformation in Afghan life.

We cannot discount remaining challenges to combat corruption and strengthen civil society and to further advance women's rights. The recent attacks by the Taliban on the electoral process at an NGO guesthouse in Kabul at the Serena Hotel and over the weekend at the Afghan election commission remind us that security is a problem. Our condolences go out to the victims. The attacks show a cowardly desperation.

The ballot box represents the largest threat to the Taliban and any terrorist affiliate and they are resorting to indiscriminate attacks because they know a ballot box and electoral democracy will be their demise. By killing Afghans on the threshold of an election, the Taliban is only sowing the seeds of their own demise. They recognize the tide of history is against them.

A word about the Afghan National Security Forces who are working together with the United States and other partners going forward, especially on these elections this week: More than 350,000 Afghan soldiers and policemen are the security lead now throughout the country. They bear the brunt of the casualties of these attacks. More than 13,000 Afghan security force members have been killed in the line of duty, but they are determined, with the support of our country and the training we have provided them and that others have provided them--they are determined to protect their homeland and they have proven capable of securing their homeland. Our servicemembers and diplomats have for years trained and assisted, and that training is paying off as is shown every day. We also have numerous examples of Afghan interpreters who have assisted our servicemembers in that training, and we cannot forget them.

The Afghan forces will not face the challenges of this week, the electoral challenge, or the challenges beyond alone. The future of Afghanistan is not a military challenge alone. It rests upon security throughout civil society, and these elections are a pivotal moment but not the only pivotal moment.

The commitment of the United States to Afghanistan continues. In 2011 we signed a strategic partnership agreement. We designated Afghanistan as a major non-NATO ally of our country. There is a text that is complete of a bilateral security agreement outlining our willingness to train, advise, and assist in this mission beyond 2014. I am confident it will be signed once the new government takes place.

One of the reasons I am confident is that all of the candidates for the President of Afghanistan are engaged in a civil debate, and they are being asked what they think about the role of the United States, and they are all committed to the United States playing this new role as they transition their democracy with this peaceful transfer of power.

Finally, a word about what is at stake because it is not just about the statistic, it is also and most importantly about individual lives.

Just 3 months ago in January, Colonel Jamila Bayaz, a 55-year-old mother of five, became the first woman to be appointed a police chief in Afghanistan. At her promotion ceremony she said she would not have achieved her position but for the efforts of the United States and the international community.

In a letter that same month to President Obama, over three dozen civil society Afghan leaders stated as follows:

Over the coming years, Afghanistan will be completing its political and security transitions as the foundation for the future that we seek. It is our sincere hope that the people of the United States, who were with us during difficult years, will remain with us as we complete the challenging transition period and become more self-reliant.

Hengama Anwari is the woman who is the current head of the Afghan human rights commission. Last week she stated: ``10 years is only a drop in the ocean in the process of changing a society.'' But Ms. Anwari is still hopeful about the future of her country and is relentless in her effort to advance women's rights.

When George Washington stepped down as President during America's first Democratic transition, it was a pivotal moment for our young Republic. This transition, the first peaceful transition in Afghanistan's history, is equally pivotal. We stand shoulder to shoulder with Afghans, but this is an Afghan moment. Every candidate, every soldier, every election monitor, every citizen must do their part to ensure the success of this transition.

Finally, as the Afghans transition, so do we--so do we. The congressional action that authorized our military presence in Afghanistan was passed in this body on September 14, 2001, nearly 13 years ago. With our combat mission in Afghanistan coming to an end with this election and a peaceful transition, with the transition of American military participation to a train, assist, and advise role, this 13-year effort is now transitioning to something new that will be the subject of that bilateral security agreement.

We haven't been able to have a welcome home party for all of our American service men and women who served in Afghanistan because the operation was ongoing. It is my hope this transition in Afghanistan, which will also transition our role, will enable us to have one of those pivotal expressions of American pride. We have all seen the pictures of V-E Day and V-J Day, when the American Republic celebrated the end of a period of sacrifice of our service men and women. This is a period of sacrifice that has been going on longer than any war in the history of this country. It is my hope that while we will continue to work together with the Afghans, we may reach a moment where we can celebrate, we can acknowledge this transition, and say welcome home and thank you to all the American service men and women who along with their families have given so much in the last 13 years.

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