Department of Defense Appropriations Act 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. CLAWSON of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I would like to start tonight by saying that my mother is gravely ill in Florida this evening, and I can't be with her, but I want her to know that I am with her right now, and I am always with her.

We all want to end U.S. involvement in conflicts where there is no long-term strategy, no vision of success in the end, and the disproportional sacrifice of our brave military forces, Mr. Chairman. U.S. involvement against ISIS in Syria fits this characterization. The administration even admits that there is no comprehensive strategy in place. Therefore, by amendment, we are proposing to defund U.S. support for the Syrian rebels and move the funds to the spending reduction account.

Last September, Congress allocated $500 million to train and arm Syrian rebels. This program, however, is fraught with uncertainties and doubts, and the launch of the program has been less than impressive. Of the 15,000 Syrian rebels we planned to train and equip over a 3-year period, so far, only about 400 have been vetted and deemed ready. Meanwhile, other Syrian rebels have either disappeared from the battlefield or have defected to extremist factions, and ISIS has expanded its ground forces, its operations, and its territories. Other jihadist factions in Syria are also gaining strength, and the Assad regime continues its atrocities.

The civil war in Syria has now resulted in 220,000 Syrian deaths and in 11.5 million people--over half the population--displaced within Syria. The U.S. continues to provide, by far, the bulk of the military might, most of it air power. It is hard to imagine defeating ISIS without substantial ground forces to combat it at this point. The Defense Appropriations bill includes $600 million to train and arm Syrian rebels as part of this needed boots-on-the-ground.

But whatever the number of Syrian rebels we ultimately introduce into the battlefield, they alone, I believe, are unlikely to turn the tide. Nor are these rebels expected to end the Assad government, even though that, too, is one of our stated goals.

History has shown that when we arm untested and difficult-to-vet rebel forces, the weapons we provide too often wind up being aimed at our U.S. troops. I am told that the last time our country funded a foreign war through vicarious fighters was the Taliban fighting against the Russians in the 1970s.

Please join us in saying ``no'' to additional funding for these untested Syrian rebels unless and until Congress receives clear answers to the following questions: Where is the accounting for the first $500 million? I don't have it. Why isn't the second $600 million, if appropriate, funded by other folks in the coalition? What is the objective? What does success look like in the Syrian civil war? Does victory require the end of the Assad government? What is the comprehensive strategy for defeating ISIS in Iraq and beyond?

In our view, without the answers to these questions, it makes no sense to proceed. It is our job to review and assess. I ask that defunding of the Syrian train and equip fund be accomplished by this amendment to H.R. 2685.

I acknowledge my deep admiration for the chairman and ranking member and what they have accomplished in this bill and acknowledge so many good things in the bill, but it is hard for me to accept this war that is going nowhere.

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