Secretary of defense Ashton Carter and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, general martin dempsey, both testified before the committee. And i have Great Respect for both of them. I asked them if after a decade in afghanistan keeping troops in afghanistan for nine more years would even make a difference. Last year in his politico article and i quote the title was down the opium rathole, roger says, and i quote, if you spent 13 years pounding money down the rathole with little to show for it you might wake up one morning and say, hey, ill stop pounding money down this rathole. Unfortunately, the United States government does not think this way. Even though our combat troops are leaving afghanistan, our money will continue to flow there. Billions after billions. Mr. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent to submit this politico article for the record. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Jones in recent days, the waste of billions of dollars in afghanistan has been dominating the headlines. March 20 of this year and i quote, afghanistan cannot manage billions in aid, u. S. Inspectors find. March 14, 2015 c. I. A. Cash ended in coffers of al qaeda. May 4 2013, karzai says he was assured 2013 karzai says he was assured c. I. A. Will continue to deliver bags of cash. Mr. Speaker, this squandering of billions of u. S. Taxpayer dollars by the Afghan Government is one small aspect of the rampant waste, fraud and abuse in afghanistan. The house is looking to vote on the budget produced by the republican majority this week which contains billions of dollars the military deserves. But the billions of dollars going to afghanistan are a waste. The republican budget also provides billions of dollars for emergency war funding to get around sequestration. Why do we have sequestration in the first place . Because congress has not passed an honest budget in years. A couple of weeks ago, the House Armed Services committee had a hearing on u. S. Policy in afghanistan where i asked general john campbell, u. S. Army commander of International Security assistance, forces and United States forces in afghanistan if he will ever have a successor who will be honest with congress and the American People about the fact that we have done as much as we can do in afghanistan. He did not give me a direct answer, but his response was this for very little continued investment, we can make this a shining light of central asia. Mr. Speaker, if i had more time, i would have asked the general what his definition of very little continued investment is when we have already spent billions and billions of dollars in blood in afghanistan. There are bridges roads, educational needs, Veterans Benefits to provide here in the United States. Lets focus on those needs rather than chasing something that will never happen. History has proven afghanistan will never change. It is a grave yard of empires. Mr. Speaker, without a debate in congress, president obama signed a bilateral Security Agreement with afghanistan to keep our United States troops there for nine more years. Lets cut the nine years to three or four years and bring our troops home. Finally, with an everclimbing 18 trillion debt the American People are frustrated. Congress needs to impose spending controls to save taxpayer money. Mr. Speaker may god continue to bless our men and women in uniform and may god continue to bless america. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The chair recognizes the gentleman from oregon mr. Blumenauer, for five minutes. Mr. Blumenauer thank you mr. Speaker. This week marks the latest chapter in the drama of reason control of congress. This is their republican control of congress. This is their first opportunity to bring into focus what they would do governing. And the results arent pretty. Were discussing this week a budget thats been labeled by press accounts that actually give them the benefit of the doubt as being phony or a disaster. Its been condemned by many conservative commentators as a sham. The purported 5. 5 trillion in budget savings over the next 10 years provides no good explanation about how it can actually be achieved. Theres 1 trillion of unspecified reductions, other mandatory programs. They would abolish the Affordable Care act but somehow keep all of the revenues that finance it. There are a few areas of clarity which are hardly comforting. They ratchet down support for our lowincome College Students through pell grants, hardly a step forward, and will be widely condemned the more people clearly understand it. Were back to the medicare voucher which may have a different name but is still toxic. A measure of their understanding of its unpopularity is their refusal to put it into effect for seniors now. Instead, they would have people approaching retirement age in their mid 50s, be able to enjoy the benefits and uncertainty of a vouchered medicare program. Its silent on the transportation crisis that is already upon us. The latest transportation extension expires may 31. Resources are not going to be available to get us through this fiscal year, let alone the next fiscal year that they would budget for. And if the budget that they have foreseen is somewhat written the next fiscal year would see massive cuts for every single state across the country for transportation. It continues to chip away at the ability of the federal government to hire and maintain the skilled work force americans depend upon. One of the most bizarre examples is their continued attack on the ability of the i. R. S. , the Internal Revenue service to perform the functions necessary to finance our government. What business cripples its accounts receivable department . And the proof of this approach is available to any american who tries to call the i. R. S. To get information. Its almost impossible to get through now, let alone with the budget cuts that are anticipated. You can ask any c. P. A. In your district about the devastating effects of crippling the i. R. S. Has not just on the average citizen but even on people who can hire the best legal and Accounting Services available. While the i. R. S. May be an attractive target for their assault on government the attack is not limited to Internal Revenue or the e. P. A. This budget will have crippling effects on the american way of life all across the country. This budgetary approach produces fewer people to deal with the exploding number of retired people seeking help from the Social Security administration. It shortchanges the maintenance of our national parks. It underfunds medical research that can make a huge difference for American Families. There are things that could be done. I introduced legislation this week, the rein in act, which would cut 100 billion of unnecessary spending on Nuclear Weapons over the next 10 years. These savings could be used to shore up the department of defense without resorting to the budget gimmicks that they are using. That is the bitter reality of their budget approach. Its not their theatrics or the creative terminology. Republicans are avoiding the hard questions and reasonable solutions. Its simply an assault on providing americans with the services they want, need and deserve. The more people understand this, the sooner were likely to get the changes we need in the political process to get us back on course. This budget may be a sham and a fraud but it contains dangerous elements that will affect every family in america. We can and should do better. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The chair recognizes the gentleman from new jersey, mr. Lance, for five minutes. Mr. Lance thank you, mr. Speaker. I rise today to recognize the distinguished Public Service of the honorable Thomas Howard caine 48th governor of new jersey, who will become 80 years old next month. Governor caine is one of the most respected statesmen in the country, due to his tremendous contributions to the civic life of new jersey and of the nation. The governor was born on april 21,1935, in new york city to Elizabeth Howard and robert kaine. His father served 25 years in the house of representatives and become the Ranking Member on the ways and means committee. His grandfather was United States senator from new jersey. Historians can trace his familys long and proud history of William Livingston signer of the United States constitution, and first governor of new jersey. Governor kaine graduated from Princeton University in 1957 and after military Service Returned to liffings tony, new jersey, named for his ancestor. Known as a thoughtful and diligent legislator he was elected to lead the chamber in 1972 when he became the youngest speaker of the General Assembly in new jersey history. Governor be caines two successful campaigns for governor of new jersey were each of historical significance. In 1971 his election marked the closest margin in state history while his reelection was the largest margin of victory ever recorded in a Gubernatorial Race in our state. New jersey saw significant improvements to public education, environmental protection, access to highQuality Health care and stable taxing and spending policies during the kean governorship. His most defining legacy was his record of inclusive Public Engagement that facilitated progress, compromise and advancement of the best interest of new jersey. Following his time in trenton, governor kean served as 15 years as president of Drew University in madison new jersey, where applications, the physical structure and the endowment increased dramatically. In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on september 11, 2001, president bush turned to governor kean and former indiana congressman lee hamilton to chair the commission of terrorist attacks of the United States. They led the exhaustive review of intelligence, Homeland Security and governmental response before and after the acts of terror perpetrated against this country. The 9 11 commissions work and leadership drew bipartisan acclaim and resulted in major reforms to improve our nations security preparedness. The United States is safer today thanks to the tremendous work of governor kean and his colleagues. I had the honor to serve as an assistant counsel to governor kean in trenton and im honored now to call him a constituent in the Congressional District i serve. I have learned continually from governor kean whether through observation or instruction, and i am among the many new jerseyians who consider him a mentor. Governor kean is a wonderful son and brother, husband father and grandfather, educator leader colleague and friend. He and his wife, the former deborah buy of wilmington delaware have twin sons and daughter. His son is my successor in the new jersey state senate. On his 80th birthday, i congratulate governor thomas h. Kean and wish him many years ahead of good health and happiness. The United States of america owes him a significant debt of gratitude for all that he has done in service to the nation. Thank you mr. Speaker. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The chair recognizes the gentlewoman from alabama, ms. Sewell, for five minutes. Ms. Sewell thank you, mr. Speaker. Today i rise against the republican fiscal year 2016 budget resolution. This Budget Proposal would reduce critical economic investments and undermine growth in our jobs as well as its attempt to reduce the deficit on the backs of our students, our seniors, the lowincome families and the american middle class. Our students after all, are our countrys future. It abandons our students by making cuts to college aid, research, job training and innovation. It also abandons our most vulnerable. It would end medicare as we know it and make harmful changes to medicaid threatening our seniors across this country. The 2016 republican proposal also threatens lowincome families by reducing the Food Stamp Program and repealing the Affordable Care act. Leaving 16. 4 million americans who now have access to Quality Affordable Health Care coverage without a viable option. In my state of alabama alone, over 1070 alabamans have selected a plan and or was automatically enrolled in the a. C. A. Thats over 171,000 alabamans. These citizens will be abandoned by the republican Budget Proposal and would not have insurance for Quality Health care. Furthermore, the republican Budget Proposal does nothing to help incentivize job creation or put americans back to work. We are currently on a path towards growth and prosperity. Under president obamas leadership, the economy has added more than 12 million private sector jobs in the last 16 months. The republican 2016 Budget Proposal would reverse those valuable gains. 12 million private sector jobs in the last 60 months. Mr. Speaker it is unfortunate that instead of putting forth a budget that would create jobs, balance our budget, and spur Economic Growth throughout our country we are once again seeing divisive politics at work. Instead of attempting to balance the budget on the backs of American Families as this Budget Proposal does, we should be seeking to find a fair and balanced plan to responsibly reduce our deficit. To grow our economy. To strengthen our infrastructure. To spur innovation. And to create jobs. As we move forward it is my hope that we will pass a 2016 federal budget that works for all americans and leaves no one behind. I ask my colleagues to vote no on the republican 2016 budget resolution. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman yields back. The chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. Thompson for five minutes. Mr. Thompson thank you, mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the House RepublicanBudget Proposal released last week will serve as a strong blueprint to put our country on a longterm path to fiscal responsibility and sustainability. Unlike the president s proposed budget which is the same tax and spend policies that have not worked for the president or the American People, the House Republican proposal aims to balance the budget within 10 years without ever raising taxes. Mr. Speaker, yesterday marked the fifth anniversary of the Affordable Care act being signed into law. Let me be clear, obamacare is certainly not worth celebrating. The House MajorityBudget Proposal would repeal obamacare in full including the tax increases, erroneous regulations and mandates, all while promoting freedom of choice, affordability, and true patientcentered health care solutions. Furthermore, the Budget Proposal aims to further ensure a Strong National security, economic competitiveness, and a atmosphere that will foster positive growth throughout pennsylvania and all across the contry. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support a clear path forward. The American People deserve as much. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The chair recognizes the gentleman from West Virginia, mr. Jenkins, for five minutes. Mr. Jenkins thank you mr. Speaker. I come to the house floor today to introduce my first bill, a resolution to protect black lung benefits. Miners work hard to keep the lights on, to power our homes and businesses, and to provide for their own families. In West Virginia alone, over 18,000 men and women work in the coal mines. Its good work. Its important work. Work that puts food on the table and provides a better life for their families. While Great Strides have been made in mine safety, some miners will still develop black lung disease. The federal government made a promise decades ago to help coal miners and their families if miners develop black lung. Since 1973 miners have known that if they get black lung the federal government will be there and stand up for them. More than 100,000 miners from West Virginia have filed for black lung benefits. And today, almost 5,000 miners and their families depend on these benefits for care for their families when they are no longer able to work. Congress must uphold, protect and secure these concurrent resolution crucial benefits for our hardworking