Howard P. "Buck" McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. WALBERG. Madam Chair, I want to thank the chairman for including this amendment en bloc.

As our men and women transition out of the Armed Forces, they are confronted with a number of challenges as they reintegrate into civilian life. My amendment offers a simple change to current DOD policy that I believe will greatly benefit our servicemembers as they return home.

Based on bipartisan legislation I have introduced, the Servicemembers Transition Improvement Act, this amendment would require a pilot program at DOD to transmit a comprehensive copy of a servicemember's information to State veterans agencies.

Veterans service agencies are a powerful resource, helping veterans through job assistance programs and navigating the benefits they have earned. This legislation will enable veterans service offices to assist separating servicemembers who reside in their communities and confirms that caring for our men and women in uniform does not end when they leave military service.

Also, Madam Chairman, I rise today in support of my bipartisan amendment with Mr. Cohen of Tennessee to prohibit new funds for the Afghanistan infrastructure fund and ensure American tax dollars are invested wisely.

We have already spent billions of dollars toward rebuilding the infrastructure of Afghanistan, and Congress has appropriated over $1.2 billion alone to the Afghanistan infrastructure fund since it was created in 2011.

In their most recent report, SIGAR reported that only $229 million of the $1.2 billion Congress has appropriated has actually been disbursed for projects. More importantly, SIGAR has repeatedly found that the projects which are underway are behind schedule and years away from completion.

Without any assurance that these projects are needed or can be completed, let's focus these funds on growing our economy, investing in American infrastructure, and paying off our debt.

I want to thank Chairman McKeon for accepting this amendment in the en bloc and would encourage my colleagues to vote in support of it.

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