DELAURO RESPONDS TO PRESIDENT’S REMARKS ON AFGHANISTAN

Washington, DC— Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (CT-3), Ranking Member on the Labor, Education, Health, and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee, released the following statement in response to President Obama's remarks on Afghanistan.

"While I applaud the President's commitment to ending the war in Afghanistan, I believe that we need to begin a more significant drawdown of our troops now. The President's proposal does not go far enough. For a decade, our young men and women in Afghanistan have been operating in one of the most inhospitable environments one can imagine and making extraordinary sacrifices for their country. I have seen firsthand the progress they have made in securing areas, in training security and police, establishing the rule of law, and in developing local economies. I believe that we need to sustain this forward progress, but ultimately, Afghanistan is its own sovereign country, and its citizens need to take responsibility for their destiny.

"I am firmly convinced, especially with the death of Osama bin Laden and the resulting damage to al Qaeda leadership, it is time to significantly redeploy troops out of Afghanistan, and start to bring the longest running war in American history to a close. It is critical that Afghanistan's government acts as a partner in the progress we have made, ensuring that what we have achieved is not lost. But I believe that the costs at a time when we should be focused on rebuilding our economy here at home are too high. It is time to bring our troops home."