Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) said Tuesday that Congress should stop funding the war in Afghanistan.
Jones, who has long called for withdrawing American troops from the region, said the money could be better spent toward domestic priorities. He suggested the funding for the war could be used instead toward veterans’ healthcare.
{mosads}”This is money that we could be using right here in America to care for our many wounded veterans, rebuild our country, our schools, our roads, our infrastructure, and yet every day we continue to spend billions and billions overseas,” Jones said on the House floor.
Jones recalled recently visiting wounded veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
“I wonder what his future’s going to be,” Jones said of one veteran he met in the hospital.
The North Carolina Republican said Congress should at least engage in a thorough debate of whether to continue spending money on Afghanistan.
“Congress needs to have debates and stop wasting money in Afghanistan because it costs our soldiers and their families so much … their lives, their limbs, and there’s noting we have to show for it, but pain and a waste of money,” Jones said.
Later this week, the House may vote on a resolution directing the president to remove U.S. armed forces from Iraq.