Social Justice

"Elizabeth Warren has had the temerity to fight back on behalf of consumers, and for this, she's become a target. She is eminently qualified to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and she's been instrumental in getting the Bureau up and running. For the sake of every American who has ever been ripped off by a financial institution, it's time for the President to appoint Warren to the Director's post."

"Our CODEL to Afghanistan solidified my belief that there is no military victory in Afghanistan. Whether we stay in that country a year or a century, the ultimate solution will be a political settlement with a power-sharing arrangement between the central government in Kabul and powerful governors and tribal leaders throughout the country," added Congressman Garamendi. "Afghanistan has a long tradition of feudalism, and America cannot continue spending our precious blood and treasure in a futile exercise in nation-building by force. When a power sharing agreement is reached, we can work with our international partners – within and outside governments – to plan a long term path toward infrastructure construction, secular education, economic development, and with time, a more representative government. But we’re not going to get there until most of our troops get out."

"Today Congress voted to grant the President limitless authority to declare war without Congressional approval – authority President Obama said he does not need or want. I am saddened that 234 of my colleagues have signed a blank check for any war anywhere," said Congressman Garamendi. "I’m cautiously optimistic that the U.S. Senate has a better understanding of the intent of our Constitution."

"In the face of an ongoing international terrorist threat and economic challenges at home, it is time to shift from a broad counterinsurgency campaign in Afghanistan to a laser-like focus on combating terrorists wherever they exist," Congressman Garamendi said. "Maintaining 100,000 troops in a country the size of Texas, at a cost of $10 billion a month, is simply not an effective way to fight a global and decentralized enemy, and drains our resources when we need them most."

"While we agree on the need to address the nation’s long-term deficits, shifting the costs of Medicaid expenditures such as nursing facilities and hospice care onto individuals not only creates excessive hardship on families with aging relatives, it does little to alleviate rising health care costs," they continued. "According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, Medicaid spending grew significantly slower (4.6 percent) per capita than private insurance premiums (7.7 percent) over the past decade."

"The Armed Services Committee voted to continue the war in Afghanistan, the longest war in U.S. history. Because I wholeheartedly support our soldiers and their families, I cannot in good conscience vote to extend a war without an endgame," Garamendi said. "To continue to risk the lives of 100,000 American troops in support of the corrupt Karzai government in Afghanistan’s internal civil war is not in the long-term national interest of the United States."

"Nearly a decade ago we entered Afghanistan to kill Al Qaeda operatives and eradicate their training camps. With Osama Bin Laden dead, the training camps destroyed, and fewer than 100 Al Qaeda left in Afghanistan, we’ve achieved most of our mission critical goals," said Congressman Garamendi. "It’s time we shifted away from fighting an internal civil war and toward focusing on Al Qaeda like a laser wherever it takes root."

"The success of this mission does not change the reality that America still faces a determined and violent adversary," they wrote. "It does, however, require us to reexamine our policy of nation building in Afghanistan. We believe it is no longer the best way to defend America against terror attacks, and we urge you to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan that are not crucial to the immediate national security objective of combating al Qaeda. … The killing of Osama bin Laden was made possible by a strong intelligence operation and well-trained Special Forces units. In combating extremism, the combination of actionable intelligence and highly mobile Special Forces has proven most effective against an enemy that is not limited to a single geographic location."