As Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus’s Afghanistan Taskforce, I want to offer my thoughts on the war in Afghanistan in light of Rep. Kucinich’s resolution, H.Con.Res. 248, considered today on the House floor.  I firmly believe our current strategy falls far short of bringing stability to Afghanistan or security to America.  My serious concerns about U.S. strategy have led me to oppose the war funding supplemental bill in 2009, oppose increased funding for the 30,000 troop surge, support a war tax, and call for an about-face in funding priorities.  My concerns have led me to host innumerous congressional briefings on Afghanistan, pursue the commissioning of GAO reports to audit aspects of U.S. engagement, and author multiple op-eds on the subject.  In short, I take my chairmanship very seriously.

As long as we continue to pursue military solutions to this conflict, paying little to no heed to economic, political and social solutions, security will remain elusive.  As long as we continue to forego the building of Afghan capacity and instead prop up a privatized defense industrial complex, as well as an increasingly privatized development industrial complex, Afghans will never be able to answer our call to “stand up”.  As long as we remain unwilling to bring to justice our allied warlords and corrupt officials in Afghanistan, our calls for an end to corruption in Kabul ring hollow. Read more...

President Obama and Congressional liberals have hit a wall.  The American people have rejected their government takeover of health care, and the only people changing their minds are the moderate Democrat members who are now opposing the latest version.

Despite all the rhetoric, news coverage, and town hall meetings, the public opinion polls have remained constant against ObamaCare. The Wall Street Journal reported public opinion remains at about 2 to 1 against this scheme.  Why? The poll revealed that 57% of voters believe that ObamaCare would hurt the economy, and they are right to be concerned. 

The government take-over of health care that liberals are ramming through will increase taxes on families and small businesses, include mandates that will force employers to cut jobs, increase the cost of health care, and increase uncertainty for families and small businesses.

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Some of the nation's top political commentators, legislators and intellectuals offer their insight into the biggest news story burning up the blogosphere today.




Today's question:

Will Speaker Nancy Pelosi get the votes to pass healthcare reform? Read more...

Congress must adopt a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced federal budget. Our nation’s economic future may well depend on it. Today our national debt sits at more than $12 trillion. The president’s budget projects more than a $1.6 trillion shortfall this year. When you include all of the unfunded liabilities of paying for future entitlement spending the national debt looks more like $65 trillion. It is also projected that in the next 15 years our national debt will eclipse our gross domestic product, essentially bankrupting our government.

This is a bleak picture to say the least.

While these debt figures can be almost numbing, the bottom line is this: our nation is speeding toward a precipice of complete financial calamity. The only solution is to hold Congress’ feet to the fire and require that they, like every family and nearly every state in the country, have a balanced budget. We can no longer recklessly spend money we don’t have. If lawmakers are serious about fiscal responsibility, a constitutional amendment to balance the federal budget should be adopted.

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This country spends, in a typical year, $350 billion importing oil from Saudi Arabia and other foreign countries.  While this is no doubt good news for the Saudi royal family, one of the richest in the world, it is bad news for the average American.

The vast majority of the American people understand that now is the time to move to energy independence so that we are no longer subject to the greed of OPEC or Wall Street speculators, or need to fight “wars for oil” in the Middle East.  Americans also know that if we are serious about addressing environmental pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and the imperative to create millions of good-paying jobs, we must move aggressively to energy efficiency and such sustainable technologies as solar, wind, geothermal and biomass.  

Thomas Edison, one of history’s greatest inventors said; “I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that.”  He was right then, in 1931, and he remains right today. The American people agree.  Today, 92 percent of all Americans want our country to develop solar energy resources, and 77 percent believe the federal government should make solar power development a national priority.

Some of the nation's top political commentators, legislators and intellectuals offer their insight into the biggest news story burning up the blogosphere today.




Today's question:

How is the Obama administration handling national security?

Last weekend our family had the privilege of joining colleagues from both political parties on a walk through the historic sites of the Civil Rights movement in Montgomery and Selma, Alabama. We will never forget the experience. I served as co-leader of the 10th Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage sponsored by the Faith & Politics Institute.
 
We arrived in Montgomery on Saturday afternoon and made our way to the home church of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Sitting in the front pew at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, we heard from Dorothy Cotton about her years working with Dr. King. She spoke of the faith that sustained their work and the historic importance of music and singing to the movement.
 
We then made our way to the Civil Rights Memorial, where our kids were given the privilege of laying a wreath to honor those who had lost their lives in the struggle for equality, and into the nearby museum with its inspiring displays of history. But it was the personal stories of segregation, told by the people who lived it and peacefully fought against it, that were most moving to us. Hearing firsthand accounts of how African Americans in the South were systematically denied the right to vote, intimidated, beaten and even killed fighting for that right will never leave us.

The president recently renewed his efforts to pass his version of health care reform and called on America to “make your voice heard.” Apparently he hasn’t been listening for the past year or just didn’t like what he heard.

From Town Halls to Tea Parties—people all over the nation stood up against the Democrats’ plan for a government take over of health care. You packed auditoriums and church halls and flooded congressional offices (including mine) with phone calls and letters—thousands of voices with one message, “hands off our health care!”

We turned that passion into results and the legislation stalled in Congress.

How far we've come since last June when I first committed to you that I would do all I could to work toward repeal of the corrosive policy known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

Since then, I've worked hard to whip support for an amendment to temporarily halt the enforcement of the policy; I secured the commitment of Chairman Levin to hold the first Senate hearings on DADT, the first of which, I'm proud to say, was held early last month; and just last week, I was thrilled to stand with my colleagues as an original co-sponsor of the Military Readiness Enhancement Act of 2010, which will repeal the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy and prohibit discrimination of servicemembers based on their sexual orientation.

We are now closer than we've ever been to repealing this unjust and discriminatory measure that both hampers our national security and violates the civil rights of some of our bravest Americans.

At a time when we're fighting multiple wars abroad, we need all of our best and brightest serving.

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