IV 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 331 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the President 
should immediately reassess the United States mission in Afghanistan 
and redirect funding to strengthen homeland security, to create jobs, 
and to reduce the Federal deficit and debt. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 24, 2011 
Mr. CLARKE of Michigan (for himself, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. 
NEAL, Mr. WELCH, Ms. LEE of California, and Mr. HONDA) submitted 
the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Armed 
Services, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a pe-
riod to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for con-
sideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 
the President should immediately reassess the United 
States mission in Afghanistan and redirect funding to 
strengthen homeland security, to create jobs, and to re-
duce the Federal deficit and debt. 
Whereas on December 1, 2009, President Barack Obama 
stood before the cadets assembled at West Point’s Eisen-
hower Hall and made a solemn promise to deploy addi-
tional members of the United States Armed Forces to Af-
ghanistan only in exchange for a phased withdrawal be-
ginning in the summer of 2011; 
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•HRES 331 IH 
Whereas individuals as diverse as former Secretary of State 
Henry Kissinger, Former United States Senator Sam 
Nunn, and conservative commentator George Will have 
called for a reassessment of the United States mission in 
Afghanistan; 
Whereas in particular, as former Reagan Administration As-
sistant Secretary of Defense Bing West has said, the na-
tion-building as a counterinsurgency strategy is a failure 
and is burning billions of dollars unnecessarily; 
Whereas the United States Government is spending vast 
amounts of money in Afghanistan, the biggest recipient 
of United States aid, with nearly $19 billion spent from 
2002 to 2010; 
Whereas the Department of Defense spends nearly $10 bil-
lion each month for military operations, while the De-
partment of State and the United States Agency for 
International Development (USAID) spend about $320 
million a month in Afghanistan; 
Whereas military aid in Afghanistan, through the Afghan Se-
curity Forces Fund, is used for training and equipping 
the Afghan military and police forces; 
Whereas President Obama requested $12.8 billion for this 
fund in FY12, $5.7 billion of which is directed to the Af-
ghan National Police; 
Whereas this amount is nearly twice as much as is requested 
for all first responders in the United States; 
Whereas USAID’s Office of Economic Growth is engaged in 
nearly $1 billion of ongoing economic and business devel-
opment activities in Afghanistan; 
Whereas under the President’s budget request, the Depart-
ment of Defense’s Commander’s Emergency Response 
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•HRES 331 IH 
Program (CERP) would receive $1 billion for economic 
development projects, much of it without oversight; 
Whereas in contrast, the entire Small Business Administra-
tion budget request is less than $1 billion for the United 
States; 
Whereas the United States Government spent approximately 
$450 million on roads and power development in Afghan-
istan in FY10, while shortchanging the need for infra-
structure investment at home; 
Whereas the American Society of Civil Engineers consistently 
gives the United States’ infrastructure a failing grade, 
which is unsurprising when infrastructure spending has 
not increased in real terms in the past 40 years, despite 
the economy tripling; 
Whereas according to a Senate Foreign Relations Committee 
report, much of the money spent on aid in Afghanistan 
is not advancing United States goals; 
Whereas the staff report notes that aid may even be fueling 
corruption, instability, and insecurity; 
Whereas in a ‘‘Case Study’’, the report notes that the Per-
formance-Based Governors Fund, which is authorized to 
distribute up to $100,000 a month in United States 
funds to individual provincial leaders for use on local ex-
penses and development projects, ‘‘may not be ‘achiev-
able’ or ‘sustainable’ ’’ because this ‘‘tidal wave of fund-
ing . . . could hamper the ability of local officials to 
spend the money wisely.’’; 
Whereas the United States’ current commitment to Afghani-
stan in troops and in dollars is neither proportional to its 
interest nor sustainable; 
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•HRES 331 IH 
Whereas the United States faces a growing budget deficit, 
which requires cuts in spending and difficult choices in 
how taxpayer money is allocated; 
Whereas State and local officials in the United States have 
demonstrated a consistent need for funding, and an abil-
ity to spend the money that they receive wisely; 
Whereas investments in infrastructure are particularly good 
investments; 
Whereas the Department of Transportation estimates that, 
for every $1 billion invested in Federal highways, more 
than $6.2 billion in economic activity is generated; 
Whereas Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Econ-
omy.com, has calculated that every dollar of increased in-
frastructure spending would generate a $1.59 increase in 
gross domestic product; and 
Whereas cuts in FY11 funding for homeland security grants 
and proposed cuts for FY12 put local communities at 
risk, and may result in much greater costs in human 
lives, community devastation, and first responder safety 
down the road: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that— 
(1) the members of the United States Armed 
Forces have served honorably in Afghanistan and 
should be commended for their efforts, including the 
work to successfully bring Osama Bin Laden to jus-
tice; 
(2) President Barack Obama, in consultation 
with his military, intelligence, and foreign affairs ad-
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•HRES 331 IH 
visors, should immediately reassess the mission in 
Afghanistan, clearly articulate the United States’ 
goals and national interest, and develop a plan to 
swiftly and safely bring the members of the United 
States Armed Forces home and reduce United 
States investments in Afghan nation-building; and 
(3) savings from this phased withdrawal and re-
assessment of civilian assistance in Afghanistan 
should be redirected to priorities and nation-building 
in the United States by investing in critical home-
land security needs including funding for first re-
sponders and by creating jobs and rebuilding the 
economy through infrastructure redevelopment, sup-
port for entrepreneurs, and efforts to reduce the 
Federal deficit and debt. 
Æ 
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