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Congressional Record: June 6, 2007 (House) Pages - H6048-H6062
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access - DOCID:cr06jn07-154 Part 1

AFGHANISTAN FREEDOM AND SECURITY SUPPORT ACT OF 2007 Part 1

The Speaker pro tempore: Pursuant to House Resolution 453 and rule XVIII, the Chair declares the House in the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union for the consideration of the bill, H.R. 2446.

In the Committee of the Whole

Accordingly, the House resolved itself into the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union for the consideration of the bill (H.R. 2446) to reauthorize the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002, and for other purposes, with Mr. Ross in the chair.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

The Chairman: Pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered read the first time.

The gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) each will control 30 minutes.

The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.

Mr. Lantos: Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2446 and yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, the Taliban is back, posing not only an insidious threat to the people of Afghanistan but to our Nation as well. We simply cannot allow a resurgence of the Taliban. If we do, al Qaeda will once again be able to use Afghanistan as a state-sponsored launching pad for terror.

And so every schoolhouse door in Afghanistan is a threshold to stopping terrorism. Every new power line in Afghanistan is a frontline in the war on terror. Every farm in Afghanistan used for legitimate crops, instead of opium poppies, is fertile ground for peace.

So we ought to look at funding Afghanistan as both good foreign policy and good domestic policy. Every dollar we invest now translates into lives and dollars we save in the future, both in Afghanistan and in the United States.

Our initial efforts, Mr. Chairman, in Afghanistan must be redoubled. For that reason, it was my pleasure to join with the ranking Republican member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, my good friend, Ileana Ros- Lehtinen of Florida, in introducing this crucial reauthorization bill, which clearly demonstrates our long-term, bipartisan commitment to Afghanistan.

Our job in Afghanistan is not finished, not by a long shot. Yes, the Taliban was seemingly purged from that Nation in 2001 and a democratic government was established in its place, but we must not have a false sense of security.

The effectiveness and very existence of the Karzai government is threatened as we meet here today. As we speak, the volatile southern part of Afghanistan is aflame with clashes between NATO coalition troops and the reorganized forces of the Taliban. Make no mistake: Afghanistan is a brush fire that could ignite easily into an all-out conflagration.

Recently, Mr. Chairman, there has been an alarming return to the reign of terror against women in Afghanistan. Just today we learned of the slaying of a pioneering advocate of free speech, a courageous woman who owned a radio station near Kabul, shot to death in her home. This brutal attack shows how difficult the working environment has become for journalists, especially for journalists who are women.

So the Afghans need our help as much as ever. The teetering situation there is an echo of the instability just after the United States and our allies invaded that country. Security for the people and stability of the government are paramount.

Let me sketch, Mr. Chairman, the basic outline of our bipartisan legislation. The first title of the Lantos/Ros-Lehtinen bill provides much-needed financial aid for health care, energy development, programs for women and girls, assistance to combat corruption, and a crop substitution program to curtail the growing of poppy. Under this section of our bill, the administration will be required to certify whether any senior official in Afghanistan's provincial or local government is involved in the illegal narcotics trade and to take appropriate action.

Our bill also requires the President to appoint a coordinator for our Afghanistan assistance programs, including counter-narcotics. We mandate accountability in the effort to eliminate narcotics corruption.

Title II of our bill bolsters security and policing in Afghanistan, supporting the international security force beyond October, 2007, and further training the Afghans. It encourages greater participation from countries in the region, and it mandates the creation of special drug interdiction teams.

We must recognize, Mr. Chairman, that security in Afghanistan is inextricably intertwined with the fight against the narcotics trade.

Title III of our bill ensures greater planning and accountability for the future of the country, and it fosters regional coordination. A structured blueprint for 2008 will be required, with updates as necessary. Reporting and evaluation measures will be expanded and extended. These are all crucial provisions for meeting benchmarks and assessing progress so that Congress can perform the oversight that is important to our successful effort in a war-torn country.

I want to repeat, Mr. Chairman, we will not let Afghanistan fail. The world is watching, and it wants to know whether we have the resolve to fight the terrorist forces threatening Afghanistan, whether we are ready to maintain the country's security and stability.

Mr. Chairman, the Committee on Foreign Affairs approved our bipartisan legislation unanimously. I want to repeat this because it indicates the unanimous conviction of the Foreign Affairs Committee, reflecting the view of this body and the American people, that Afghanistan will be a successful endeavor.

I want to express my appreciation for the support of not only the ranking member, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, but also the chairman and ranking member of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, Mr. Ackerman and Mr. Pence.

I urge all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join us in strongly supporting this most important piece of legislation.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. Ros-Lehtinen:I thank the chairman of our committee, Chairman Lantos, for his leadership for so long on this issue.

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

I would like to voice my strong support for the chairman's bill, H.R. 2446, the Afghanistan Freedom and Security Support Act, and that's the key part of what we're talking about today, security support. This legislation is the product of the bipartisan cooperation that our committee has shown on an issue of critical importance to the United States and our allies in the war against Islamic militant extremists.

Five years ago, our Nation experienced a terrible tragedy, and it led our Nation to destroy the al Qaeda safe haven in Afghanistan that the brutal Taliban regime had created there. Our focus was to provide a safe, stable and secure Afghanistan that would deny global jihadists a base of operations to conduct their campaign of terror and destruction against our Nation and our critical security interests around the world.

Since then, Afghanistan has taken notable steps to emerge from decades of war, of violence, of oppression, toward a prosperous, secure, free, democratic nation. Today, over 5 million Afghan children are in school, including 2 million girls. This was prohibited under the Taliban rule. Hundreds of clinics and new schools are now open to serve the population as a result of international efforts. Media, cultural, business and political leaders are free to meet to discuss, to demonstrate and to guide policies that are transforming their nation across all sectors.

The Afghan economy is growing at an incredible rate, and institutional assistance for Afghan economic reconstruction has been forthcoming. Most importantly, the Afghanistan people, through their active direct participation in the political process, have demonstrated their desire to accelerate and ensure the movement of Afghanistan toward modern society.

However, challenges to these and other efforts remain, as Mr. Lantos has pointed out. A dramatic increase in illicit opium cultivation is financing and strengthening the Taliban and anticoalition activity. It's increasing crime and corruption, and it is eroding the authority of the central government institutions.

Afghanistan's ballooning drug trade has succeeded in expanding the ranks of the Taliban. It is no coincidence that opium and heroin production dramatically increased at the same time that the Taliban- staged massive counteroffensive, particularly in the south of the country.

The issue of Taliban and al Qaeda resurgence cannot be considered in a vacuum. In response, this critical legislation seeks to address the current situation in an integrated fashion, to include the confluence of the short-term goals to reduce opium activity and related corruption, while addressing longer-term developmental goals which have an impact on our counterterrorism and our counternarcotics policies and objectives.

In particular, within this critical legislation, we have worked to establish the means for developing a long overdue and coherent interdepartmental and counternarcotics strategy that addresses the deadly and the neglected illicit drug trade and its links to radical Islamic terrorism that imperil the future of Afghanistan.

In February of this year, I, along with some of my other colleagues on the Foreign Affairs Committee, wrote to the administration on the need for an across-the-board policy change on the illicit drug threat fueling the resurgence of the Taliban, the attacks on our coalition troops, and official corruption in Afghanistan.

The bill before us incorporates many of the recommendations that we proposed in this letter, and I thank Chairman Lantos for working so closely with us. I believe that his bill will prompt much-needed changes by mandating the appointment of a high level, interdepartmental Afghan coordinator with emphasis on a development of a coherent government-wide counter drug policy. This includes bringing the U.S. military into the fight, providing meaningful support for the drug enforcement administration with an emphasis on interdiction and on the extradition of major drug kingpins.

This legislation also contains limitations on assistance to senior Afghan local and provincial government officials who, based on evidence, are found to be supporting Islamic terrorist activities or narco-traffickers or drug producers or are involved in other criminal activities. This important oversight provision will be instrumental in assuring that vital U.S. reconstruction assistance is properly allocated and utilized.

I am also pleased that we were able to come to an agreement with Chairman Lantos on the extension of draw-down authority for military equipment, which promotes greater ability to operate with the international security assistance force and other allies in the country of Afghanistan.

In addition, the bill ensures that there will be prevetting of the recruits of the Afghan police to help adequately assess the candidates' aptitude, professionals skills, integrity and other qualifications for law enforcement work before they enter the service. Our efforts in Afghanistan, in particular, and our campaign against militant Islamic extremists in general must be pursued in a comprehensive manner.

As illustrated by this critical legislation, it requires an effective and unified reconstruction strategy with a unified counternarcotics strategy, counterterrorism strategy, and an Afghan government committed to fighting and eliminating corruption.

Only with this comprehensive approach will we accelerate economic development and reconstruction, improve the quality of life for Afghanistan and address the underlying conditions that fuel extremist acts and decisively defeat the jihadist elements that want to once again control Afghanistan.

My daughter-in-law, Lindsay, after serving her military tour in Iraq as a marine pilot, is now serving in Afghanistan. We hope that she will be back home with us by Thanksgiving. But we thank every brave man and woman who is wearing our Nation's uniform in Afghanistan, and we thank them for freeing an entire population, and we hope that their contributions will always be celebrated in this House.

This bill before us brings us closer to making sure that Afghanistan remains a free country and be without the extremist Islamic elements that seek to destroy it.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of our time.

Mr. Lantos: Mr. Chairman, I am very pleased to yield 3 minutes to the distinguished chairman of the Armed Services Committee, my good friend from Missouri, Ike Skelton.

Mr. Skelton: I thank the chairman for allowing me to speak on this very important subject.

Mr. Chairman, for too long, Afghanistan has been the forgotten war. Opportunities there have been lost, and progress has been limited. Recently, there has been movement in a more positive direction.

Secretary Gates has been focusing more on Afghanistan and NATO-led and U.S. forces achieved some notable successes against the ongoing Taliban insurgency this spring. This, of course, is encouraging. I commend Secretary Gates for his efforts, and, of course, I commend our troops for their tremendous contributions.

However, over the same time, violence is on the rise in Afghanistan. Roadside bombs, suicide attacks are increasing, and the number of civilian casualties is, of course, troubling. Opium production is at high levels. The authority of the central government remains, of course, limited. Corruption and poverty still plague the country. These are significant challenges that will not be overcome either easily or quickly.

Lasting security in Afghanistan depends on long-term comprehensive efforts that, of course, are well coordinated. It is critical that our NATO partners who are there play a central role in this effort in terms of both troop contributions, as well as aid.

Earlier this year, I traveled to Afghanistan with a delegation led by Speaker Pelosi. I came away from that trip convinced that the effort in Afghanistan is winnable, and I am still optimistic.

But together with NATO, we must ensure that the Taliban and al Qaeda are destroyed and destroyed for good. Afghanistan will never again become a terrorist harbor as it once was.

The House Armed Services Committee, which I am pleased to chair, is committed to doing whatever it can to achieve this goal. Our committee has held comprehensive hearings on Afghanistan this year.

Just recently, in the defense bill that we passed, we had provisions regarding Afghanistan. This bill not only provides funds for Afghan national security forces, but it includes a range of provisions that will promote long-term security, as well as robust oversight of American activities in that country.

I am pleased to see that the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act builds upon our committee's efforts. This legislation includes many important bipartisan provisions that will further advance long-term security in Afghanistan.

I strongly encourage my colleagues to support this. We must build on recent gains in that country and seize the moment to establish real security there.

I do support this legislation.

Ms. Ros-Lehtinen:Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to Judge Poe of Texas, a great member of our Foreign Affairs Committee.

Mr. Poe: I thank the gentlelady from Florida for yielding time.

Mr. Chairman, I was a prosecutor and a judge in Texas for 30 years total, and I can tell you that I saw the results of poppy and opium fields in my courtroom. Opiates make victims out of capable, independent citizens, and they turn decent people into monsters, and I have seen it with my own eyes. Case after case after case.

Illicit drugs take complete control of people's lives, and they are now strangling the democracy in Afghanistan. Opiates not only poison Americans, the poppy trade funds our enemies. The Taliban, or more appropriately, those demons in the desert, are getting rich off of the poppy fields, and they are using that money against American troops and NATO troops.

They are using their wealth to become more numerous, more organized, and more deadly to the military of NATO and the United States. They are promoting intolerance and propping up evil and propelling Afghanistan really back toward the dark ages to a fundamentalist rule.

In the 2005 and 2006 growing season, poppy production in Afghanistan actually grew to almost 60 percent. That resulted in a net growth of almost 50 percent in the production of illicit opium, and all the profit from this drug trade lined the pockets of our enemies, the Taliban. Those poppy fields are growing like weeds, and they are choking Afghanistan's freedom. Also, those narcotics are eventually choking the lives out of many Americans addicted to opiates.

The administration, I know, recognized the importance of counternarcotics operations. However, judging from the rapid spread of the poppy production in Afghanistan, it's evident that whatever we are doing is not working. The time has come for a clear and comprehensive and truly wide-reaching counternarcotics strategy in Afghanistan.

That is why I rise in support of this bill, the Afghanistan Freedom and Security Support Act. This bill does numerous things, but it specifically provides a comprehensive strategy and a priority to deal with the narcotics. It allows the military to give greater logistics support to the Drug Enforcement Administration, and, more importantly, though, this bill creates a coordinator role that will reach across government departments to develop a comprehensive strategy in how to deal with this problem.

Our military is unmatched in its ability to get the job done. Any time, anywhere. But including enhanced civilian interdiction teams, the fight against the drug trade will help our troops get the bad guys, the kingpins in Afghanistan, these people that are making money off of the drug trade.

Also, the team will receive support from our military, international resources and Afghanistan law enforcement officers. I believe that allowing law enforcement to participate in taking down these desert kingpins will give the Afghanistan police a sense of ownership over their own security and help further train them in counternarcotics operation. That could only be a good thing for the citizens of Afghanistan.

Again, Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the administration's commitment to taking care of the poppy fields in Afghanistan that fund our enemies, but I think we're missing a link somewhere in our strategy. Provisions in this bill focus on funding that link, and that's a good start. All of our sacrifice and that of our NATO allies and the future of Afghanistan depend on establishing a stable and viable democracy in that region of the world. That democracy can only thrive amidst a legitimate economy. Our troops, our allies, and, most importantly, the Afghanistan people deserve a chance to live unfettered and free of the rule of kingpins of the drugs and the Taliban.

Mr. Lantos: Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to Congressman Adam Smith, the chairman of the Armed Services Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee and a valued member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Mr. Smith of Washington: Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the leadership in both the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Armed Services Committee for their efforts to make Afghanistan a top priority and to focus on our challenges there. They've done a fabulous job.

I recently returned, during the last break, from a visit to Afghanistan. I am very optimistic about what's going on there but at the same time mindful of the effort that it's going to require in the years ahead to continue to succeed, and I believe this bill reflects an understanding of that required effort.

The Afghan people are on our side. They support the presence of the NATO troops to support the Karzai government. They do not want the Taliban to return, and they will fight them and appreciate our help in doing this.

I'm also very impressed with the job our military and the military of the NATO alliance is doing there. We have some of the most talented folks in our military there doing a fabulous job of fighting the Taliban. But as we go forward, there are remaining challenges, significant challenges.

Number one, we have to maintain the military presence. In fact, I believe we need more troops and further support to train the Afghan army and to fight off the Taliban as they try to resurge in the south and throughout the country.

But overarching all of this is the economic challenge. That is the enormous challenge in Afghanistan. It is a country that has never had the best economy, and it has also faced 30 years of civil war. Their infrastructure is destroyed and needs to be rebuilt. Their ability to govern has also been significantly reduced and needs to be rebuilt.

The Karzai government has the support of the people, but the people also want infrastructure. They want electricity, and they want jobs. They want alternatives to the poppies, alternatives to that as a way of making their living, and we have to give them a long-term commitment to show them that we will help. We need that long-term financial commitment that is contained in this bill to get them to believe that their economy will be strong again. We need to reward their faith in the Karzai government, their faith in our ability to defeat the Taliban and to build a better future for Afghanistan; and this bill does that.

So, again, I thank the chairman. I want to thank the ranking member as well for putting together this piece of legislation and ask all Members of Congress to understand this is a long-term commitment in Afghanistan.

Ms. Ros-Lehtinen:Mr. Chairman, I'd like to yield such time as he may consume to Mr. Pence of Indiana, the ranking member of the Middle East and South Asia Subcommittee who has traveled to Afghanistan and closely follows the developments there.

Mr. Pence: Mr. Chairman, I especially want to thank our ranking member from Florida for yielding and the distinguished chairman of the full committee for their work on this important legislation.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the Afghanistan Freedom and Security Support Act, and I call for its passage. It was reported unanimously out of the Foreign Affairs Committee last month. Our action today would reauthorize the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002 passed 5 years ago this month, just a few short months after our invasion of the country that harbored the September 11 attackers.

Mr. Chairman, there is nearly unanimous agreement in this body that the battle currently under way in Afghanistan is in our vital national interests, and it is crucial and central to the war on terror. It is critical that we adequately resource and support our mission and the government and the people of Afghanistan.

As with any conflict, there are both positive and troubling signs today in Afghanistan. Challenges facing us include a resurgent Taliban, growing opium trade and slow progress on reconstruction.

On the positive side, our forces, in conjunction with NATO, are waging war on the Taliban, pursuing terrorist nests and providing support to the Karzai government. I was able to witness some of the early fruits of these efforts firsthand, along with some of my colleagues in December of 2004 when I visited. As in Iraq, our troops and civilian efforts there are inspiring in difficult and dangerous conditions.

Opium production remains a plague that will haunt this country until it is curbed. Tragically, Afghanistan is the world's largest opium producer. As Antonio Maria Costa of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime said last year, and I quote, "Afghanistan's drug situation remains vulnerable to reversal because of mass poverty, lack of security, and the fact that the authorities have inadequate control over its territory."

And that's why this bill is so important. In this legislation, $1.6 billion per year over the next 3 years are authorized for reconstruction and security assistance, specifically a pilot program of crop substitution to encourage legitimate alternatives to poppy cultivation, as well as an anti-corruption effort.

This bill also addresses, as has been alluded to by my colleagues, the continuing humanitarian needs and offers programs for women and children.

One of the most inspiring experiences of my life, Mr. Chairman, was during a visit to an American installation in the mountains of Jalalabad where we walked outside of the military base and visited a school which, for the first time, had running water, which, for the first time, more poignantly, had little girls in the classrooms. It was an extraordinary experience as I approached the gates of that school surrounded, as I was, by heavily armed American military personnel, only to see the children run forward out of the gates, embrace those soldiers and greet them, not as the glowering menaces that they might appear to a stranger but as friends. And I stood and marveled as the soldiers taught me words in their native Afghan tongue to greet the children and to be able to speak to them. It was extraordinary.

This legislation providing for the humanitarian needs and for programs for women and girls like those which I saw is truly treasure in heaven.

This legislation also encourages greater cooperation from friendly countries in the region, and it requires the President to keep Congress informed on the progress of these various issues.

Mr. Chairman, our success in Afghanistan will require a multi-tracked effort on numerous fronts in order for the United States to stay on the offensive in the war on terror and to stabilize this key ally in our shared struggle. The Afghanistan Freedom and Security Support Act is an important and central component in that fight, and I urge its strong support from my colleagues on both sides of the aisle.

Mr. Lantos: Mr. Chairman, I'm pleased to yield 2 minutes to my neighbor in California, a valued member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Ms. Lynn Woolsey.

Ms. Woolsey: Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act and to thank the chairman and the ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee for this bipartisan bill.

H.R. 2446 provides for reconstruction and reconciliation. It provides for the future of Afghan people by supporting women's rights, supporting education, agricultural initiatives and civil society reform.

Actually, this bill is doing what we could and what we should do in Iraq. It builds a path, a true path to peace. With H.R. 2446, through economic political and reconstruction support, we can help rebuild a nation. We can provide hope for a safe and prosperous future for another nation. And we can also learn from this bill, learn that democracy and stability come from international partnerships, not from guns, not from bombs.

Ms. Ros-Lehtinen:Mr. Chairman, I'm pleased to yield such time as he may consume to Mr. Doolittle, of California, a member of the Appropriations Committee.

Mr. Doolittle: Thank you to Ranking Member Ros-Lehtinen and Chairman Lantos. I'm very happy to see the strong support for Afghanistan manifested here by the statements on the floor and, obviously, by a bill like this with unanimous approval out of the committee.

Mr. Chairman, we had some great initial successes in Afghanistan, and those are now threatened by subsequent developments that would be absolutely tragic and really intolerable for us to allow any reversals to occur. We need to build upon a solid foundation that has been laid, and I'd just like to briefly cite what I think the need for this legislation is.

Others have alluded to it as well, but the fact is that remnants of the Taliban regime have regrouped and are using increasingly deadly tactics, including the introduction of suicide bombings against both U.S. and NATO troops, Afghan officials and civilians and international and Afghan assistance workers.

Also, the poppy cultivation and opium production which directly support local warlords and sustain and finance insurgents, militias and terrorist organizations is increasing at a staggering rate. Indeed, the narcotics problem in Afghanistan threatens to overwhelm the entire country. More than 500,000 laborers and an unknown number of traffickers, warlords, insurgents and officials also participate in and benefit from the drug trade.

The risk for Afghanistan to again devolve into a failed state is increasing. The ability of the Taliban and other insurgents to enjoy safe haven in Pakistan-controlled areas destabilizes the region and adds to the political tension between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

I'm very encouraged to see that this legislation establishes the means for developing a long-overdue and coherent interdepartmental counternarcotics strategy that addresses a deadly and neglected illicit drug trade and its links to radical Islamist terrorism.

Mr. Chairman, for all of these reasons, I endorse this bill and encourage our Members to support it and pray that it may further strengthen our efforts to bring stability and peace to that vital region of the world.

Mr. Lantos: Mr. Chairman, I'm very pleased to yield 3 minutes to my good friend and distinguished colleague from New York, Mrs. Carolyn Maloney, chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions.

Mrs. Maloney of New York: Mr. Chairman, I thank Chairman Lantos for his leadership on this important bill and in so many other areas; and I rise in strong support of the Afghan Freedom and Security Support Act.

The bill includes provisions from legislation that I introduced earlier this year, H.R. 937, the Afghan Women Empowerment Act, which targets critical assistance to Afghan women and girls. The bill authorizes $45 million each year from fiscal year 2008 through fiscal year 2010 for programs in Afghanistan that benefit women and girls, as well as the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission and the Afghan Ministry of Women's Affairs.

The funding would be directed toward important needs, including medical care, education, vocational training, protection from violence and civil participation.

In 2003, I successfully attached, with the leadership and help of Chairman Lantos, an amendment to the fiscal year 2004 emergency supplemental bill that provided $60 million in funding for Afghan women and girls NGOs, including $5 million for the creation of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission.

During the past several years, the U.S. has invested in the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan, both because it is the right thing to do and because it is also critical to our national security. However, like many of my colleagues, I am troubled by the challenges facing Afghani women. In March, I had the pleasure and on other occasions of meeting with Dr. Sima Samar, head of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission. She says Afghan women are losing ground. Many women continue to endure hardships including targeted violence, limited mobility, and a high rate of maternal mortality. I am also deeply concerned about reports that girls schools continue to be targeted for violence, including dozens in this past year.

Clearly, we have a great deal of more work to do. And by giving women access to the skills and opportunities that they need, they will become partners in creating Afghanistan's future and we will ensure that women will no longer be second class citizens.

I deeply thank Chairman Lantos and Ranking Member Ros-Lehtinen for their leadership in getting this important bill to the floor, and I also want to acknowledge Congress Member Abercrombie for his strong support for this legislation and his efforts on its behalf, along with the Feminist Majority, led by Ellie Smeal.

This legislation is another critical step in helping Afghan women, and I commend the House for passing this legislation today.

Ms. Ros-Lehtinen:Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. McCotter), the House Republican policy chairman.

Mr. McCotter: Mr. Chairman, first, I wish to begin by commending the work of the chairman and the ranking member for bringing this bill to the floor.

Upon my first visit to Iraq in 2003, I was struck by the centralized reconstruction process. I believed it was a mistake, and I came back in November of that year and gave a speech on the floor of the House and I said that I thought that one of the things that we needed to do was to provide the Iraqi people a transactional benefit to undergird the transformational change to democracy. This lesson is equally applicable in Afghanistan, which is why this bill today is so welcomed, because it recognizes that the people of Afghanistan in the provinces, in the local levels are where the reconstruction money must really be targeted.

If you think about how the United States evolved into a democracy, we began with the family unit and went to the town halls and went to our county government level and eventually became States and eventually became a strong union. We can expect no more nor no less from the people of other nations who are yearning to breathe free and have been given the chance to seize the opportunity.

On a more personal note, having been on my first trip to Afghanistan with my colleagues, we had the opportunity to meet with some female parliamentarians, and I was struck by two things: The first, and I said this to them, was that I admired their courage and that there was a part of me that envied them. I envy them because here in the United States capital we see portraits and we see monuments and we continue to this day to hear testaments to the courage and perseverance of our Nation's founders.

And I said that I was so honored to be in the presence of these female parliamentarians for in Afghanistan, as they move towards democracy, one day there will be testaments and monuments and portraits of them hanging on the walls of their own chambers and in the homes of their fellow countrymen.

We promised that day not to forget or forsake them. And today, thanks to the leadership of the ranking member and the chairman, we can tell those female parliamentarians that we have not forgotten them and that we stand with them.

And, finally, let us not forget when we think about the role of the United States, which was conceived in liberty, those female parliamentarians were once considered property until they were emancipated by the United States of America and the coalition allies.

Mr. Lantos: Mr. Chairman, I am very pleased to yield 4 minutes to my good friend from Texas, a distinguished colleague, Sheila Jackson-Lee, chairwoman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection.

(Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas: Mr. Chairman, allow me to thank my good friend the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House for his energy and the focused way in which this committee is pursuing its business of engaging and improving the relations of the United States with those around the world. Let me thank the ranking member as well, whom I have worked with on many issues dealing with women and children, and I appreciate their collective leadership.

This bill is an important restatement of what many of us have argued for and continue to make the point that the building pieces that we can offer to Afghanistan will build a building of peace for decades and centuries to come. Frankly, many of us believe that the war on terror is seeded in Afghanistan and would like us to find or to be able to invest not only as it relates militarily to the concerns of the borders between Afghanistan and Pakistan and the rise of the Taliban but to seed out, if you will, the bad seeds of terrorism, to make Afghanistan the shining star, people desiring and hungering for the water of democracy.

So this legislation, the Afghanistan Freedom and Security Support Act of 2007, needs to be reauthorized and has in it a valuable statement about the United States' commitment, longevity in its commitment, to helping Afghanistan put forward the building blocks of peace. The fact that it authorizes $1.7 billion in each of the fiscal years 2008 to 2010 emphasizes economic and development assistance and as well capacity building programs and, as has been mentioned, women and girls programs.

Let me cite, Mr. Chairman, an individual who has really been a sole champion on the issue of educating Afghan children. And, of course, I am very grateful for your accepting my amendment regarding the refugee resettlement in the manager's amendment and look forward to discussing my amendment regarding the emphasis on training girls to encourage them to finish secondary school, and as well, my amendment regarding the safety of women legislators. But I do want to pay tribute to Josanna Smith. She is a name that you may not have heard, but she has devised a little chalkboard that is able to travel in places where many of us couldn't in the high hills of Afghanistan to give to the children that many of us see in pictures or have actually visited them, as I have done, and giving books to these children, sitting in little circles trying to learn.

This little simple, if you will, chalkboard that ties to it a piece of chalk allows children to learn. Josanna has put together a foundation where it is almost self-funded. She has been to Afghanistan and many places around the world.

I cite Josanna Smith as an example of the kind of good heartedness of Americans who really desire the best for Afghanistan and see it as the place where we can, in essence, make the fruits of democracy thrive.

This legislation acknowledges that the war on terror started first in the bowels of this country. It acknowledges the need to address the controversy and conflict on the Afghan and Pakistan border. It recognizes the rise of the Taliban. And, hopefully, it will characterize the foreign policy of this Nation, that is, that we must solve the terror in Afghanistan before we begin to completely finish the war on terror or at least make the forward step that we need to make.

I look forward to discussing the amendments that will hopefully further help women and women legislators take their rightful place in a free and open democracy that is safe and secure, and that is the country of Afghanistan.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of H.R. 2446, "the Afghanistan Freedom and Security Support Act of 2007." This is an extremely important and timely piece of legislation, and I commend the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Mr. Lantos, for introducing it. In the nearly 5 years since the 9/11 attacks, and the subsequent ouster of the Taliban and al-Qaeda from Afghanistan, we have made significant efforts to secure that nation from the Taliban.

However, the Taliban continues to pose a very real threat to Afghanistan's stability. After enduring decades of violence and hardship, the people of Afghanistan continue to live in a climate of ongoing turmoil, particularly in the southern regions of the country, where there are ongoing and dangerous clashes between coalition-led forces and insurgents. Despite our positive efforts, the Taliban has been able to reorganize, and continues destabilize the country.

These unfortunate realities remind us of the need to continue U.S. programs in Afghanistan, as well as the necessity of continually studying and revising our involvement to ensure that taxpayer dollars are being put to the best possible use. If the United States is to ensure that Afghanistan is secure and stable in the long run, we must address the underlying causes of persistent violence, including the still-flourishing opium trade and the nation's lack of infrastructure.

Education, so long neglected under the Taliban regime, will be a vital component of Afghanistan's development. I commend the many individuals and groups who have been tirelessly furthering the cause of Afghanistan; individuals like Josanna Smith and her organization Worldwide Wisdom United, Inc. Ms. Smith's organization has distributed thousands of Learning Boards TM, which are sturdy, hand-held chalkboards containing eraser and a supply of chalk. This simple but ingenious device can mean the world of difference to a child in Afghanistan, opening up a future of economic success and self- sustainability. I commend Ms. Smith, and other Americans like her, for bravely recognizing and addressing this ongoing problem.

I am proud to have offered two important amendments to this legislation, both of which I believe will strengthen this bill and help it to achieve its intended purpose. My first amendment states that technical assistance should be provided to train national, provincial, and local governmental personnel for capacity-building purposes as it relates to education, health care, human rights (particularly women's rights), and political participation. This amendment also seeks to ensure girls complete secondary education so they are prepared and have the ability to pursue post-secondary education.

My second amendment seeks to bolster women's political participation by protecting women legislators when they return to the provinces they represent. It states that it is the sense of Congress that assistance provided to foreign countries and international organizations under this provision should be used, in part, to protect these female legislators.

This bill has many other important provisions. Key among these are programs to combat narcotics trafficking and rampant corruption. Additionally, this bill encourages greater regional cooperation. I believe this to be a vital aspect to any effort toward peace in Afghanistan, and I strongly encourage regional dialogue and the involvement of Afghanistan's neighbors.

Mr. Chairman, we have a responsibility to Afghanistan. We have pledged a commitment to Afghanistan's long-term stability. I believe that this bill is essential and urgent, and I strongly urge my colleagues to join me in support of it.

Mr. Lantos: Mr. Chairman, I am very pleased to yield 2 minutes to my good friend from Connecticut, Congressman Joe Courtney, distinguished member of the Committee on Education and Labor.

Mr. Courtney: Mr. Chairman, it is an honor to stand in support of the Afghan Freedom and Security Support Act.

Exactly 1 week ago, I was in Afghanistan with a congressional delegation from the Armed Services Committee and had the opportunity to see firsthand both the progress and challenges that face the people of Afghanistan. It is a land of contrasts. On the upside there is a healthy political life. President Karzai, who met with our delegation, is clearly a dynamic, moderate, engaged leader who has a national government which is clearly focused on trying to move the country forward. There are clear signs of economic life. The shops were open. There was traffic. Schools were being built. Roads are being constructed, 16 percent growth of GDP over the last couple of years and a clear commitment to strengthening and building the Afghan army and police. In fact, our delegation was present at a graduation ceremony for the Afghan national police and handed out the diplomas to the young cadets who were taking on these important critical duties to Afghanistan's future.

There clearly are challenges, however. The reappearance of the narcotics trade; the resurgence of the Taliban; and the challenges in the border areas of Pakistan, which our military are fighting very bravely every day. Seven soldiers lost their lives the day that we were there because of the struggle that is still going on with the Taliban.

What is clearly needed, and this bill addresses it, is a strong, long-term commitment by this country to continue the efforts that have been made with our international allies, NATO allies, who were present also during our trip. French Marines, Scandinavian troops, Germans who are taking responsibility for control of some of the PRTs in the different provinces. And, clearly, lastly, most importantly, is the economic aid that is so critical to defeating the rise of the narcotics trade and defeating the Taliban. As one of the generals stated to us, where the roads end, the Taliban begins in Afghanistan.

Flying from Kabul to Jalalabad, we actually tracked a new road which was constructed by Chinese contractors that had heavy truck traffic and again showed that there were real opportunities in growth in that area which this bill will continue to build upon, and I applaud the chairman for his efforts and urge its unanimous passage.

Ms. Ros-Lehtinen:Mr. Chairman, I encourage all of my colleagues to support this far-reaching bill.

Mr. Chairman, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Lantos: Mr. Chairman, before yielding back, I would like to make just a couple of observations.

It is such a rare pleasure to manage a major bill of international significance on a bipartisan basis. Our Nation wins when Congress is united. This Congress is united on our policy with respect to Afghanistan. Just as importantly, Mr. Chairman, was my privilege some years back to point out that Afghanistan is not an American problem; it is a problem for the civilized the world. And I called for NATO to take over the responsibility in Afghanistan.

NATO is now the principal operating entity on behalf of freedom and democracy in the country of Afghanistan. NATO should be performing this function. It is the greatest military alliance in the history of the world, and it is my earnest hope that, just as NATO has accepted its responsibility in the struggle in Afghanistan, it will do so in other troubled parts of the world.

Mr. Holt: Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of this very important legislation.

During the first 6 months of 2007, this Congress has rightly spent a great deal of time debating and trying to reorient our policy in Iraq. It's important to remember that one of the chief reasons we need to leave Iraq is so that we can win the other war we've been fighting since 2001: the war against Al Qaeda and their Taliban allies in Afghanistan.

This bipartisan bill provides additional support for programs as diverse as assistance to women and girls, energy development and counter-narcotics. It authorizes $6.435 billion for fiscal years 2008 through 2010, of which $2.145 billion is authorized to be spent in fiscal year 2008. Let me comment on a couple of specific provisions that I think are particularly important.

This bill seeks to set standards, create performance metrics, and mandate a tightly coordinated interagency strategy for Afghanistan--the very kinds of measures that were absent in our effort in Iraq from the very beginning. Starting in December 2007 and every 6 months afterwards through September 30, 2010, this bill would require the President to submit detailed reports to Congress on the political, military, and economic progress being made--or not being made--in Afghanistan. It is long past time that Congress mandated such benchmarks so that we can know what is working in Afghanistan and make adjustments where things are not working.

This bill also mandates the creation of a special envoy to help more closely coordinate activities between those governments and the International Security Assistance Force in their joint efforts to interdict Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters who attempt to use Pakistani territory to launch attacks against civilian and military targets in Afghanistan. Pakistan's record in this area is at best mixed, and I am glad that the committee has recognized the need for our government to increase its effort to get both governments to make the borders no-go zones for insurgents.

Finally, this bill recognizes that the Taliban and Al Qaeda are not the only enemies of Afghanistan's fledgling democracy. The narcotics trade in Afghanistan is producing violence and corruption that threatens the people and government of Afghanistan just as much as the actions of the terrorists. Indeed, we know that in many cases the terrorists are using narco-trafficking to help fund their violent campaign to overthrow the Afghan government.

Weeding out potentially corrupt police who assist the drug lords and the terrorists is essential, and this bill would require that future assistance to the Afghan National Police include "vetting procedures to adequately assess each Afghan National Police candidate's aptitude, professional skills, integrity, and other qualifications that are essential to law enforcement work." This is exactly the type of framework that we have lacked in Iraq to deal with police corruption in that country, and so I'm pleased that the committee is including such a vetting requirement for Afghan police in this bill.

Mr. Chairman, I look forward to the day when the people of Afghanistan are free of the fear and uncertainty that decades of war and civil strife have produced in that ancient country. Let us hasten the arrival of that day by reaffirming our partnership with them by passing this bill.

Mr. Barton of Texas: Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of H.R. 2446, the Afghanistan Freedom and Security Support Act of 2007.

This bill reauthorizes the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002, which has made a huge impact in the stability and security of a new democracy in that country.

Since 2002, we've seen major reconstruction of schools and infrastructure in that country, as well as the birth of a democratic nation.

Reauthorization of this bill is crucial ensuring that Afghanistan continues to strengthen its government and that its people start to feel safe and secure in a nation that has been riddled with so much violence and terrorism.

H.R. 2446 also makes some important enhancements to the original Act by dealing with a rising narcotics problem related to heroine and poppy production that is threatening to endanger Afghanistan's security.

H.R. 2446 also takes a strong step towards building international diplomacy and shared responsibility in the region with our allies.

The Act expresses the sense of Congress that greater humanitarian assistance is needed in the country for civilians, that the United Nations should play a larger role in assisting the people of Afghanistan and also provides means to train military from foreign countries to share responsibility in Afghanistan.

We also set strong benchmarks for accountability in the region by requiring more reporting, a better overall strategy for Afghanistan, and by pursuing policies that foster regional cooperation.

This bill will make Afghanistan stronger and more secure while securing our own homeland in the fight against global terrorism.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Lantos: Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

The Chairman: All time for general debate has expired.

Pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered read for amendment under the 5-minute rule.

The text of the bill is as follows:

H.R. 2446

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the "Afghanistan Freedom and Security Support Act of 2007".

Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as follows:

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress makes the following findings:

(1) Nearly six years after the liberation of Afghanistan from the Taliban, who provided Osama Bin-Laden and Al-Qaeda with a safe haven for planning the attacks of September 11, 2001, Afghanistan remains highly unstable and the Government of President Hamid Karzai remains subject to attacks from remnants of the Taliban who have regrouped along with other insurgent groups, including some foreign fighters associated with Al-Qaeda.

(2) The Government of Afghanistan supports the continued deployment of international forces to supplement its own nascent national security forces, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which took over international stability operations for the entire country on October 5, 2006, must show continued commitment to these operations in order to assist Afghanistan in defeating the growing insurgency in rural areas of Afghanistan.

(3) The current United States counter-narcotics strategy for Afghanistan has not produced significant results, in part due to a failure to seek out and capture high-level warlords and kingpins who control the flow of illicit narcotics and because sufficient sustainable alternatives have not been provided to Afghan farmers who suffer from a lack of access to microfinance facilities, financial services, and land rights and whose crops are subject to eradication.

(4) In some cases, the misaligned eradication policy endorsed by the United States Government has led adversely- affected Afghan farmers and villagers to support insurgent groups, including the Taliban.

(5) The violence and instability in Afghanistan is further exacerbated by the flourishing trade in opium and opium- related crops, which has reached record levels and which fuel local militias, corrupts the national and local governments, and provides funding for insurgent and terrorist groups.

(6) The United States and the international community must continue to support Afghanistan both through increased support for its national and local police forces, the Afghan National Army, and Afghan counter-narcotics operations.

(7) The United States and the international community must also continue to support the growth of the Afghan economy through foreign assistance and other means because Afghanistan remains one of the poorest countries in the world and economic growth is impeded by the lingering remnants of 25 years of civil war and occupation and the ongoing instability since December 2001, including the growing illicit drug economy.

(8) The United States and the international community must also continue to show a long-term commitment to support the promotion of democracy and the protection of human rights in Afghanistan, including increased assistance for the rule of law, freedom of the press, freedom of association, freedom of religion, and other measures of good governance.

(9) From January 31 to February 1, 2006, the Government of Afghanistan and the international community issued the Afghanistan Compact, which sets forth both the international community's commitment to Afghanistan and Afghanistan's commitment to state-building and reform over the next five years.

(10) The Afghanistan Compact, which supports the Afghan National Development Strategy, provides a strategy for building an effective, accountable state in Afghanistan, with goals and standards set forth in the Afghanistan Compact for improvements in security, governance, and development, including measures for reducing the narcotics economy, promoting regional cooperation, and making aid more effective. The Afghanistan Compact also established a mechanism to monitor Afghanistan and the international community's adherence to the timelines, goals, and objectives set forth in the document.

(11) The security of Afghanistan is closely intertwined with those of its regional neighbors and success in Afghanistan, both economic and political, will be dependent on security and stability in the region.

(12) The recent closure of four refugee camps in Pakistan and the deportation of Afghans from Iran have resulted in over 200,000 Afghan refugees repatriating to Afghanistan who will require urgent humanitarian services.

SEC. 3. DEFINITION.

(a) In General.--In this Act, except as otherwise provided, the term "appropriate congressional committees" means the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.

(b) Amendment.--Subsection (c) of section 1 of the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 7501 note) is amended to read as follows:

(c) Definitions.--In this Act:

(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--Except as otherwise provided, the term 'appropriate congressional committees' means--

(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives; and

(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.

(2) Government of afghanistan.--The term 'Government of Afghanistan' includes--

(A) the government of any political subdivision of Afghanistan; and

(B) any agency or instrumentality of the Government of Afghanistan.

(3) International security assistance force or isaf.--The term 'International Security Assistance Force' or 'ISAF' means the international security assistance force established to assist in the maintenance of security in Afghanistan pursuant to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386 (2001), as amended by United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1413 (2002), 1444 (2002), 1510 (2003), 1563 (2004), 1623 (2005), and 1707 (2006).".

TITLE I--ECONOMIC AND DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE FOR AFGHANISTAN

SEC. 101. DECLARATION OF POLICY.

Section 101 of the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 7511) is amended by striking paragraphs (4), (5), and (6) and inserting the following new paragraphs:

(4) While the election of a President and the establishment of a National Parliament for Afghanistan concluded the process begun in December 5, 2001, in Bonn, Germany, the United States needs to continue to work with the Government of Afghanistan and other friendly countries to ensure that Afghanistan's neighboring countries and other countries in the region do not threaten or interfere in one another's sovereignty, territorial integrity, or political independence, including supporting diplomatic initiatives to support this goal for the establishment of an independent and neutral Afghanistan.

(5) The United States must continue to demonstrate a long-term commitment to the people of Afghanistan by sustained assistance and the continued deployment of United States troops in Afghanistan with the support of the Government of Afghanistan as Afghanistan continues on its path toward a broad-based, multi-ethnic, gender-sensitive, and fully representative government in Afghanistan.

(6) To foster stability and democratization and to effectively eliminate the causes of terrorism, the United States and the international community should also support efforts that advance the development of democratic civil authorities and institutions in Afghanistan's neighboring countries and throughout the Central Asia and South Asia regions.

(7) While rampant corruption has impeded development and economic growth in Afghanistan and contributed to insecurity in the country, the United States should support all efforts to fight corruption in all levels of government in Afghanistan and assist in promoting an efficient and effective Government of Afghanistan.".

SEC. 102. PURPOSES OF ASSISTANCE.

Section 102 of the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 7512) is amended--

(1) in paragraph (2), by striking "the humanitarian crisis" and inserting "the continuing humanitarian needs";

(2) in paragraph (3)--

(A) by striking "heroin, and to" and inserting "heroin, to"; and

(B) by adding at the end before the semicolon the following: ", and to establish a pilot program to test the effectiveness of a crop substitution combined with an appropriate offset policy and to provide practical information on the measures needed to implement such a policy with the potential of scaling up the pilot program for large- scale deployment"; and

(3) in paragraph (7), by inserting ", the energy sector" after "the agriculture sector".

SEC. 103. AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE.

(a) Continuing Humanitarian Needs.--Subsection (a)(1) of section 103 of the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 7513) is amended--

(1) in the heading, by striking "Urgent" and inserting "Continuing"; and

(2) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking "urgent" and inserting "continuing".

(b) Counter-Narcotics Efforts.--Subsection (a)(3) of such section is amended--

(1) in the matter preceding clause (i) of subparagraph (A)--

(A) by striking "To assist in" and inserting "To assist in the apprehension of individuals who organize, facilitate, and profit from the drug trade,"; and

(B) by inserting ", including the destruction of drug laboratories" after "heroin production";

(2) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as subparagraph (C);

(3) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following new subparagraph:

(B) To establish a pilot program to test the effectiveness of a crop substitution combined with an appropriate offset to encourage legitimate alternatives to poppy production for Afghan poppy farmers within an area in which poppy production is prevalent, such as in the Helmand or Nangarhar provinces, by providing--

(i) seeds for alternative crops for which there is internal market demand and in an areas in which there is adequate infrastructure for access to market;

(ii) technical assistance to such Afghan poppy farmers on how to best plant, grow, and harvest the alternative crops utilized; and

(iii) an appropriate offset that would significantly address the difference in income that such Afghan poppy farmers would otherwise earn had they continued to grow and sell poppy.";

(4) in subparagraph (C) (as redesignated)--

(A) by striking (B)" and inserting (B)(i)";

(B) by striking "2003 through 2006" and inserting "2008 through 2010";

(C) by striking the last sentence; and

(D) by adding at the end the following new clauses:

(ii) For each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2010, $10,000,000 is authorized to be appropriated to the President to carry out activities described in subparagraph (B).

(iii) Amounts made available under clauses (i) and (ii) are in addition to amounts otherwise available for such purposes."; and

(5) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:

(D) Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of the Afghanistan Freedom and Security Support Act of 2007, and every 180 days thereafter through the end of fiscal year 2010, the President shall transmit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the status of the implementation of the activities described in subparagraph (B). The report required by this subparagraph may be included in the report required by section 304 of this Act.".

(c) Reestablishment of Food Security, Rehabilitation of the Agriculture Sector, Improvement in Health Conditions, and the Reconstruction of Basic Infrastructure.--Subsection (a)(4) of such section is amended--

(1) by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting the following new subparagraph:

(B) increased access to credit, savings, and other financial services and to farm management and business advisory services;";

(2) by redesignating subparagraphs (K), (L), and (M) as subparagraphs (M), (N), and (O), respectively;

(3) by inserting after subparagraph (J) the following new subparagraphs:

(K) programs to train medical personnel, including doctors, nurses, physicians' assistants, and midwives;

(L) programs to provide equipment to primary and secondary clinics and hospitals;";

(4) in subparagraph (N) (as redesignated), by striking "and" at the end;

(5) in subparagraph (O) (as redesignated), by striking the period at the end and inserting "; and"; and

(6) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:

(P) rebuilding and constructing rural and urban roads and highways, including secondary and tertiary road systems.".

(d) Education, the Rule of Law, Anti-Corruption, and Related Issues.--Subsection (a)(5) of such section is amended--

(1) in the heading, by inserting ", anti-corruption" after "the rule of law";

(2) in subparagraph (B)--

(A) by striking clause (v);

(B) by redesignating clauses (vi) through (viii) as clauses (v) through (vii), respectively;

(C) in clause (vi) (as redesignated), by striking "and" at the end;

(D) in clause (vii) (as redesignated), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and

(E) by adding at the end the following new clauses:

(viii) support for the implementation of the Afghan Action Plan on Transitional Justice, including examination of abuses by all parties as specified by the document with a view to establishing truth, reconciliation, and justice; and

(ix) support for land titling programs and reconciliation of land rights.";

(3) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and (D) as subparagraphs (D) and (E), respectively; and

(4) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following new subparagraph:

(C) Anti-corruption assistance.--To combat corruption, improve transparency and accountability, increase the participatory nature of governmental institutions, and promote other forms of good governance and management in all levels of government in Afghanistan, including assistance such as--

(i) providing technical assistance to the Government of Afghanistan to assist in the efforts to ratify the United Nations Convention against Corruption and assistance in creating implementation legislation and a monitoring mechanism to oversee implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption;

(ii) supporting the establishment of audit offices, inspectors general offices, third party monitoring of government procurement processes, and anti-corruption agencies;

(iii) promoting legal and judicial reforms that criminalize corruption and law enforcement reforms and development that encourage prosecutions of corruption;

(iv) providing technical assistance to develop a legal framework for commercial transactions that fosters business practices that promote transparent, ethical, and competitive behavior in the economic sector, such as commercial codes that incorporate international standards and protection of core labor standards;

(v) providing training and technical assistance relating to drafting of anti-corruption, privatization, and competitive statutory and administrative codes, and providing technical assistance to Afghan governmental ministries implementing anti-corruption laws and regulations;

(vi) promoting the development of regulations relating to financial disclosure for public officials, political parties, and candidates for public offices;

(vii) supporting transparent budgeting processes and financial management systems; and

(viii) promoting civil society's role in combating corruption.".

(e) Assistance to Women and Girls.--Subsection (a)(7) of such section is amended--

(1) in subparagraph (A), by striking clauses (i) through (xii) and inserting the following new clauses:

(i) to provide equipment, medical supplies, and other assistance to health care facilities for the purpose of reducing maternal and infant mortality and morbidity;

(ii) to expand immunization programs for women and children;

(iii) to establish and expand programs to provide services to women and girls suffering from mental illness problems, such as depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder;

(iv) to protect and provide services to vulnerable populations, including widows, orphans, and women head of households;

(v) to develop and implement programs to protect women and girls against sexual and physical abuse, abduction, trafficking, exploitation, and sex discrimination, including emergency shelters for women and girls who face danger from violence;

(vi) to establish primary and secondary schools for girls that include mathematics, science, and languages in their primary curriculum;

(vii) to expand technical and vocational training programs to enable women to support themselves and their families;

(viii) to maintain and expand adult literacy programs, including economic literacy programs that promote the well- being of women and their families;

(ix) to provide special educational opportunities for girls whose schooling was ended by the Taliban and who now face obstacles to participating in the normal education system, such as girls who are now married and girls who are older than the normal age for their classes;

(x) to disseminate information throughout Afghanistan on international standards for human rights, particularly as pertaining to women;

(xi) to provide information and assistance to enable women to exercise property, inheritance, and voting rights, and to ensure equal access to the judicial system;

(xii) to support the work of women-led and local nongovernmental organizations with demonstrated experience in delivering services to women and children in Afghanistan;

(xiii) to monitor and investigate violations against women and to provide legal assistance to women who have suffered violations of their rights;

(xiv) to increase political and civic participation of women in all levels of society, including the criminal justice system;

(xv) to provide information and training related to human rights, particularly as pertaining to women, to military, police, and legal personnel; and

(xvi) to provide assistance to the Ministry of Women's Affairs and the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission for programs to advance the status of women."; and

(2) in subparagraph (B), to read as follows:

(B) Availability of funds.--For each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2010--

(i) $5,000,000 is authorized to be appropriated to the President to be made available to the Afghan Ministry of Women's Affairs for the administration and conduct of its programs;

(ii) $10,000,000 is authorized to be appropriated to the President to be made available to the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission for the administration and conduct of its programs; and

(iii) $30,000,000 is authorized to be appropriated to the President for grants to Afghan-led nongovernmental organizations, including Afghan women-led nongovernmental organizations, to support activities including the construction, establishment, and operation of schools for married girls and girls' orphanages, vocational training for women and girls, primary health care clinics for women and children, programs to strengthen Afghan women-led organizations and women's leadership, and to provide monthly financial assistance to widows, orphans, and women head of households.".

(f) Assistance for Energy Development and Short-Term Energy Supply.--

(1) Amendment.--Subsection (a) of such section is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:

(8) Assistance for energy development.--To support the development of local energy sources, new power generation, and energy transportation, including further development of existing hydrological power sources, studies of the utility of geothermal energy, expansion of local natural gas fields for internal consumption and export, and transport of natural gas or other appropriate energy sources to Afghanistan's neighboring countries.

(9) Assistance for short-term energy supply.--

(A) Assistance objectives.--To provide assistance for the supply of short-term energy resources such as diesel to secure the delivery of electricity to major Afghan cities.

(B) Availability of funds.--For each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2010, $75,000,000 is authorized to be appropriated to the President to carry out this paragraph.

(C) Relation to other available funds.--Amounts made available under subparagraph (B) are in addition to amounts otherwise available for such purposes.".

(2) Sense of congress on opic activities.--It is the sense of Congress that the Overseas Private Investment Corporation should, in accordance with its mandate to foster private investment and enhance the ability of private enterprise to make its full contribution to international development, exercise its authorities under title IV of chapter 2 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2191 et seq.) to further increase efforts to promote and support United States-sponsored private investment in the energy sector in Afghanistan, including--

(A) issuing loans, guaranties, and insurance, to support energy infrastructure reconstruction and development; and

(B) undertaking a special initiative that includes--

(i) sending a needs assessment team to Afghanistan to determine ways in which the Corporation can best support the essential investment required to restore the energy infrastructure in Afghanistan;

(ii) engaging in an exhaustive outreach program to involve United States business in energy development in Afghanistan and exploring potential new public-private partnerships, supported by the Corporation, which will assist Afghanistan in developing its energy sector; and

(iii) consulting and coordinating with the Government of Afghanistan and regional governments and international financial institutions to promote private investment in the energy sector.

(g) Assistance for Capacity-Building.--Subsection (a) of such section, as amended by subsection (f)(1) of this section, is further amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

(10) Assistance for capacity-building.--To increase the capacity and improve the sustainability of national, provincial, and local governmental institutions, including assistance such as--

(A) providing technical assistance to all ministries through funding to the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund to improve transparency and ability to respond to the needs of the Afghan people;

(B) promoting the implementation of fiscal and personnel management, including revenue tracking and expenditure systems;

(C) assisting in developing ministry-wide recruitment systems;

(D) creating or improving databases and other human resource information systems;

(E) supporting the expansion of the Afghan National Solidarity Project and other provincial and local-led development projects;

(F) providing training and technical assistance to the Ministry of Finance to better account for funding to the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund and other funds implemented by the Government of Afghanistan;

(G) supporting the Afghanistan Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission; and

(H) providing financial and technical assistance to support the Transition Support Strategy for Afghanistan, including the Public Administration Reform project.".

(h) Limitation.--Subsection (b)(1) of such section is amended by striking "adopting a constitution and".

(i) Monitoring of Assistance for Afghanistan; Report.-- Subsection (d)(1)(A) of such section is amended--

(1) by striking "Committee on International Relations" and inserting "Committee on Foreign Affairs"; and

(2) by adding at the end the following new sentence: "The report required by this paragraph may be included in the report required by section 304 of this Act.".

SEC. 104. CERTIFICATION AND PHASED-IN LIMITATION ON ECONOMIC AND DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE.

Title I of the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 7511 et seq.) is amended--

(1) by redesignating sections 104 through 108 as sections 105 through 109, respectively; and

(2) by inserting after section 103 the following new section:

Sec. 104. CERTIFICATION AND PHASED-IN LIMITATION ON UNITED STATES ECONOMIC AND DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE FOR AFGHANISTAN.

(a) Certification.--

(1) In general.--Not later than October 1, 2008 and each October 1 thereafter, the President shall transmit to the appropriate congressional committees a certification that contains a determination of whether or not, based upon substantiated and credible evidence, any senior official of the Government of Afghanistan, at the provincial or local levels, is engaged in or benefits from the illicit narcotics trade or is engaged in terrorist or criminal activities, including the names of any such senior officials and the provincial or local governments over which such senior officials exercise authority.

(2) Form.--The certification required by paragraph (1) shall be transmitted in unclassified form, but may contain a classified annex.

(b) Limitation on Assistance.--For fiscal year 2009 and each subsequent fiscal year, assistance authorized under this title or under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) may not be provided to a provincial or local government of Afghanistan if the President determines and certifies to the appropriate congressional committees pursuant to subsection (a) for such fiscal year that, based upon substantiated and credible evidence, one or more senior officials from such provincial or local government is engaged in or benefits from the narcotics trade or is engaged in terrorist or criminal activities.".

SEC. 105. MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF ASSISTANCE.

Title I of the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 7511 et seq.), as amended by section 104 of this Act, is further amended--

(1) by redesignating sections 105 through 109 (as redesignated) as sections 106 through 110, respectively; and

(2) by inserting after section 104 the following new section:

Sec. 105. MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF ASSISTANCE.

(a) In General.--The President shall establish and implement a system to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of assistance provided under this title on a program-by-program basis in order to maximize the long-term sustainable development impact of such assistance.

(b) Requirements.--In carrying out subsection (a), the President shall--

(1) establish performance goals for assistance authorized under this title and expresses such goals in an objective and quantifiable form, to the extent practicable;

(2) establish performance indicators to be used in measuring or assessing the achievement of the performance goals described in paragraph (1); and

(3) provide a basis for recommendations for adjustments to assistance authorized under this title to enhance the impact of such assistance.

(c) Assistance To Enhance the Capacity of Afghanistan.-- In carrying out subsection (a), the President shall provide assistance to enhance the capacity of the Government of Afghanistan to monitor and evaluate programs carried out by the national, provincial, and local governments in Afghanistan in order to maximize the long-term sustainable development impact of such programs.

(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--Of the amounts authorized to be appropriated under section 110 for a fiscal year, not less than 5 percent of such amounts are authorized to be made available to carry out this section for such fiscal year.".

SEC. 106. COORDINATION OF ASSISTANCE.

(a) Congressional Finding.--Congress finds that the coordinator of assistance provided for in section 106 of the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002 (as redesignated) has not achieved the objectives of an integrated approach to United States assistance programs for Afghanistan.

(b) Appointment of Coordinator.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, a coordinator who shall report directly to the President. The coordinator shall not hold any other position within the United States Government and shall have the rank and status of Ambassador.

(c) Duties of Coordinator.--The coordinator shall be responsible for--

(1) designing an overall non-military strategy, in coordination with the heads of relevant United States Government departments and agencies, to advance United States interests in Afghanistan, including policy coordination relating to counter-narcotics efforts, reconstruction and development, and activities to equip and train the Afghan National Security Forces;

(2) ensuring policy coordination among relevant United States Government departments and agencies in carrying out the strategy described in paragraph (1);

(3) pursuing coordination with other countries and international organizations with respect to assistance for Afghanistan;

(4) coordinating the implementation and oversight by relevant United States Government departments and agencies for assistance for Afghanistan described in paragraph (1);

(5) resolving policy disputes among relevant United States Government departments and agencies with respect to United States assistance for Afghanistan described in paragraph (1);

(6) ensuring policy coordination among relevant United States Government departments and agencies for counter- narcotics efforts and coordinating the implementation of such policies, including by facilitating the access of certain departments and agencies to sensitive sites in Afghanistan, where practicable, for the purpose of conducting critical counter-narcotics operations; and

(7) ensuring coordination among the United States, the Government of Afghanistan, the United Kingdom, and other international partners that are supporting counter-narcotics efforts, reconstruction and development, and activities to equip and train the Afghan National Security Forces in Afghanistan.

(d) Deputy Coordinators.--The coordinator may appoint up to two deputy coordinators to assist the coordinator with the duties of the coordinator described in subsection (c), including duties relating to counter-narcotics, reconstruction and development, or equipping and training of Afghan National Security Forces. A deputy coordinator shall not hold any other position within the United States Government.

(e) Repeal.--Section 106 of the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002 (as redesignated by sections 104 and 105 of this Act), is hereby repealed.

SEC. 107. PILOT PROGRAM TO PROVIDE SCHOLARSHIPS TO AFGHAN STUDENTS FOR PUBLIC POLICY INTERNSHIPS IN THE UNITED STATES.

Title I of the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 7511 et seq.), as amended by sections 104 and 105 of this Act, is further amended by inserting after section 105 (as redesignated) the following new section:

Sec. 106. PILOT PROGRAM TO PROVIDE SCHOLARSHIPS TO AFGHAN STUDENTS FOR PUBLIC POLICY INTERNSHIPS IN THE UNITED STATES.

(a) Pilot Program Required.--The Secretary of State shall establish a pilot program to provide scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students in Afghanistan for public policy internships in the United States to improve the ability of such students to increase the capacity of the Government of Afghanistan. The pilot program required by this subsection shall be carried out as part of the educational and cultural exchange programs of the Department of State under the authorities of the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2451 et seq.).

(b) Scope of Pilot Program.--It is the sense of Congress that 20 students should participate in the pilot program required by subsection (a) for each fiscal year during which the pilot program is in effect.

(c) Period of Pilot Program.--The pilot program required by subsection (a) shall be in effect during each of the fiscal years 2008, 2009, and 2010.".

SEC. 108. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

(a) Amendments.--Subsection (a) of section 110 of the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002 (as redesignated) is amended--

(1) by striking "such sums as may be necessary" and inserting "$1,600,000,000"; and

(2) by striking "2005 and 2006" and inserting "2008 through 2010".

(b) Rule of Construction.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall not be construed to affect the availability of funds appropriated pursuant to the authorization of appropriations under section 108 of the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 7518) before the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 109. CLERICAL AMENDMENT.

The table of contents in section 1(b) of the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 7501 note) is amended by striking the items relating to sections 104 through 108 and inserting the following new items:

  • Sec. 104. Certification and phased-in limitation on United States economic and democratic development assistance for Afghanistan
  • Sec. 105. Monitoring and evaluation of assistance
  • Sec. 106. Pilot program to provide scholarships to Afghan students for public policy internships in the United States.
  • Sec. 107. Sense of Congress regarding promoting cooperation in opium producing areas.
  • Sec. 108. Administrative provisions.
  • Sec. 109. Relationship to other authority.
  • Sec. 110. Authorization of appropriations.".

TITLE II--ASSISTANCE FOR A NEW SECURITY FRAMEWORK FOR AFGHANISTAN

Subtitle A--Amendments to the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002

SEC. 201. AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE.

(a) Extension of Drawdown Authority.--Subsection (b) of section 202 of the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 7532) is amended by striking "$550,000,000" and inserting "300,000,000 in any fiscal year".

(b) Sense of Congress.--Such section is further amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

(c) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that assistance provided to eligible foreign countries and international organizations under subsection (a) should promote greater interoperability with and among the military forces of the International Security Assistance Force, the United States, and the Government of Afghanistan.".

SEC. 202. CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.

Subsection (a) of section 205 of the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 7535) is amended by striking "the Committee on International Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate" and inserting "the appropriate congressional committees".

SEC. 203. MATTERS RELATING TO THE INTERNATIONAL SECURITY ASSISTANCE FORCE.

(a) Implementation of Strategy.--Section 206 of the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 7536) is amended--

(1) by striking subsection (c); and

(2) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as subsections (c) and (d), respectively.

(b) Reports on Efforts To Expand International Peacekeeping and Security Operations in Afghanistan.--Subsection (c)(1)(B) of such section (as redesignated) is amended in the first sentence, by striking "Committee on International Relations" and inserting "Committee on Foreign Affairs".

(c) Arms Sales Incentive for Cooperating Nations in Afghanistan.--Such section is further amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

(e) Arms Sales Incentive for Cooperating Nations in Afghanistan.--

(1) In general.--The President is authorized to provide a subsidy of up to five percent of the total acquisition cost of defense articles and defense services sold pursuant to the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.) to a country if--

(A) the country will use such defense articles and defense services in Afghanistan, or

(B) the country will use defense articles and defense services of comparable quality and quantity in Afghanistan, in support of operations in Afghanistan for an extended period of time.

(2) Definitions.--In this subsection--

(A) the term 'defense article' has the meaning given the term in paragraph (3) of section 47 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2794 note); and

(B) the term 'defense service' has the meaning given the term in paragraph (4) of such section.

(3) Authorization of appropriations.--To carry out this subsection, there are authorized to be appropriated to the President $10,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2010.".

SEC. 204. SUNSET.

Section 209 of the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 7538) is amended by striking "2006" and inserting "2010".

Subtitle B--Other Matters

SEC. 211. COUNTER-NARCOTICS ACTIVITIES IN AFGHANISTAN.

(a) Support for Counter-Narcotics Interdiction Operations.--

(1) In general.--The President, acting through the Secretary of Defense, shall direct the United States Armed Forces to continue to support counter-narcotics interdiction operations in Afghanistan, consistent with ongoing operational activities and the Department of Defense's counter-narcotics strategy for Afghanistan.

(2) Coordination.--Such operations shall be conducted in coordination with the Government of Afghanistan and in coordination with any support for counter-narcotics interdiction operations provided by the United Kingdom and other appropriate countries.

(3) Types of activities.--Such operations shall include--

(A) intelligence, surveillance, and information sharing;

(B) logistical support, to the extent practicable in light of ongoing operational activities, for interdiction efforts; and

(C) training and equipping the Afghan National Police, consistent with existing law.

(b) Special Counter-Narcotics Interdiction Teams.--The President shall enhance existing civilian special counter- narcotics interdiction teams and, in addition, such counter- narcotics interdiction teams shall, to the extent practicable in light of ongoing operational activities, receive the support described in subsection (a).

(c) Participation of Foreign Counter-Narcotics Law Enforcement Personnel.--Counter-narcotics law enforcement personnel of NATO and other friendly countries may participate in the formation and operation of the counter- narcotics interdiction teams described in subsection (b) or other counter-narcotics operations in Afghanistan that are supported by the United States.

(d) Vetting of Candidates for the Afghan National Police.-- The President shall ensure that assistance for the Afghan National Police include vetting procedures to adequately assess each Afghan National Police candidate's aptitude, professional skills, integrity, and other qualifications that are essential to law enforcement work.

SEC. 212. EXPANSION OF INTERNATIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE SECURITY OF AFGHANISTAN.

(a) Statement of Policy.--It is the policy of the United States that the President shall encourage the Governments of Pakistan and friendly Arab countries to increase reconstruction assistance to, and diplomatic support for, the Government of Afghanistan.

(b) Pakistan and Afghanistan Military Cooperation.--The President shall encourage the Governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan to engage in greater military cooperation to promote greater trust and transparency between them, including greater communication and coordination between their respective military, border security, and counter- narcotic units operating on both sides of the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

(c) Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every six months thereafter until September 30, 2008, the President shall transmit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the implementation of subsections (a) and (b). The report required by this subsection may be included in the report required by section 304 of the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002 (as amended by section 302 of this Act).

(d) Definition.--In this section, the term "appropriate congressional committees" means--

(1) the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives; and

(2) the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.

SEC. 213. TRAINING FOR MILITARY PERSONNEL OF FOREIGN COUNTRIES THAT ARE TO BE DEPLOYED FOR SECURITY OPERATIONS IN AFGHANISTAN.

Chapter 5 of part II of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2347 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

Sec. 550. TRAINING FOR MILITARY PERSONNEL OF FOREIGN COUNTRIES THAT ARE TO BE DEPLOYED FOR SECURITY OPERATIONS IN AFGHANISTAN.

(a) Training Authorized.--The President is authorized to furnish training under this chapter for military personnel of foreign countries that are to be deployed for security operations in Afghanistan, particularly in the areas of special operations, counter-insurgency, border security, counter-terrorism, and counter-narcotics.

(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated to the President $10,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2010. Amounts authorized to be appropriated under this subsection are in addition to amounts otherwise available for such purposes.".

SEC. 214. HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE FOR WAR VICTIMS.

(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the President should be commended for and should continue ongoing programs regarding assistance to innocent Afghan individuals or families of Afghan civilians who have suffered a serious loss during military operations conducted by United States forces.

(b) Report Required.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall transmit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the feasibility of expanding programs of assistance described in subsection (a) to include--

(1) the provision of special additional assistance to families of Afghan civilians who were injured or killed during such operations and who were the primary source of income for such families;

(2) the provision of assistance in excess of $2,500 to families of Afghan civilians described in subsection (a); and

(3) the provision of other payments that might be required as a result of ongoing military operations in Afghanistan.

SEC. 215. SENSE OF CONGRESS CONCERNING UNITED NATIONS MANDATE IN AFGHANISTAN.

It is the sense of Congress that the United Nations Security Council should expand the United Nations mandate in Afghanistan to--

(1) authorize international civilian law enforcement missions in Afghanistan as a part of peace operations of the United Nations in Afghanistan;

(2) authorize the International Security Assistance Force to conduct counter-drug interdiction operations, consistent with ongoing operational activities and as opportunities arise, against the top narcotic traffickers, their operations, and their infrastructure in Afghanistan, with the concurrence of the Government of Afghanistan;

(3) install effective centralized authority within the United Nations Special Representative for Afghanistan such that the international community's political objectives can be prioritized and communicated directly with the Government of Afghanistan; and

(4) extend the authorization of the International Security Assistance Force beyond October 13, 2007.

TITLE III--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

SEC. 301. DONOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO AFGHANISTAN AND REPORTS.

Subsection (c)(1) of section 303 of the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 7553) is amended--

(1) in the first sentence, by striking "the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on International Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives" and inserting "the appropriate congressional committees"; and

(2) in the second sentence, by striking "December 31, 2004" and inserting "December 31, 2010".

SEC. 302. REPORT ON PROGRESS TOWARD SECURITY AND STABILITY IN AFGHANISTAN.

(a) In General.--Title III of the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 7551 et seq.) is amended by striking section 304 and inserting the following new section:

Sec. 304. REPORT ON PROGRESS TOWARD SECURITY AND STABILITY IN AFGHANISTAN.

(a) Report Required.--Not later than December 1, 2007, and every six months thereafter until September 30, 2010, the President shall transmit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on a comprehensive set of performance indicators and measures for progress toward security and stability in Afghanistan.

(b) Matters To Be Included.--The report required by subsection (a) shall include the following:

(1) With respect to stability and security in Afghanistan, the following:

(A) Key measures of political stability, including the important political objectives that must be achieved over the next year to ensure that all segments of Afghan society become committed to the elected government in Kabul.

(B) The primary indicators of a stable security environment in Afghanistan, such as the following:

(i) The number of engagements per day by each of the following:

(I) The Afghan forces, United States forces, and other Coalition forces.

(II) ISAF.

(ii) The numbers of trained Afghan security forces, including the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police.

(iii) The trends relating to numbers and types of ethnic and religious-based hostile encounters.

(C) An assessment of the estimated strength of the insurgency in Afghanistan and the extent to which it is composed of non-Afghan fighters, including whether insurgents are obtaining weapons and other military material from outside of Afghanistan and whether the insurgents are based in or use the territory of countries other than Afghanistan.

(D) A description of the extent to which warlords in Afghanistan exercise effective control over personnel, natural resources, infrastructure, villages and towns, and material that should be under the direct sovereign control of the Government of Afghanistan, including--

(i) an identification of each warlord and the extent and means of control that the warlord exercises over personnel, natural resources, infrastructure, villages and towns, and material that should be under the direct sovereign control of the Government of Afghanistan; and

(ii) a description of actions undertaken by the Governments of the United States, Afghanistan, and countries participating in ISAF, individually or collectively, in the previous year to diminish and ultimately eliminate control by each warlord identified under clause (i) over the Afghan resources described in clause (i), and a description of actions that will be undertaken in the coming year.

(E) A description of all militias, tribal forces, and terrorist and insurgent groups operating in Afghanistan, including the number, size, equipment strength, military effectiveness, sources of support, legal status, and efforts to disarm or reintegrate such militias, tribal forces, and terrorist and insurgent groups.

(F) Efforts by ISAF to establish a unified command, unified rules of engagement, information detailing the specific restrictions placed by each country participating in ISAF, or any successor coalition force, on the military activities of its national military personnel within Afghanistan, an assessment of the impact of such restrictions on ISAF's effectiveness, and an assessment of the capabilities of ISAF forces, including any equipment and logistics shortages.

(2) With respect to the training and performance of security forces in Afghanistan, the following:

(A) The training provided to Afghan military and other Ministry of Defense forces and the equipment used by such forces.

(B) Key criteria for assessing the capabilities and readiness of the Afghan National Army and other Ministry of Defense forces, including capability and readiness levels, including recruiting, training, and equipping such forces.

(C) The operational readiness status of the Afghan National Army, including the type, number, size, and organizational structure of Afghan battalions that are--

(i) capable of conducting operations independently;

(ii) capable of conducting operations with the support of United States or Coalition forces or ISAF; or

(iii) not ready to conduct operations.

(D) The rates of recruitment, retention, and absenteeism in the Afghan National Army and the extent to which insurgents have infiltrated such forces.

(E) The training provided to Afghan National Police and other Ministry of Interior forces and the equipment used by such forces.

(F) Key criteria for assessing the capabilities and readiness of the Afghan National Police and other Ministry of Interior forces, including capability and readiness levels, including recruiting, training, and equipping such forces, including--

(i) the number of police recruits that have received classroom or field instruction and the duration of such instruction;

(ii) the number of experienced veteran police officers who have received classroom and field instruction and the duration of such instruction;

(iii) a description of any vetting that police candidates receive, the number of candidates vetted, the number of candidates derived from other entry procedures, and the success rates of those groups of candidates;

(iv) the number of Afghan National Police forces that have received field training by international police trainers and the duration of such training; and

(v) attrition rates and measures of absenteeism and infiltration by insurgents.

(G) The estimated total number of Afghan National Army battalions needed for the Army to perform duties now being undertaken by United States, NATO, or Coalition forces, including securing the borders of Afghanistan and providing adequate levels of law and order throughout Afghanistan.

(H) The effectiveness of the Afghan military and police officer cadres and the chain of command.

(I) The number of United States and Coalition trainers, advisors, and mentors needed to support the Afghan security and associated ministries.

(J) An assessment, in a classified annex if necessary, of United States military requirements, including planned force rotations, through the end of calendar year 2008.

(3) With respect to the economic and political stability of Afghanistan, the following:

(A) An estimate of the annual budget for the Government of Afghanistan for the Afghan fiscal year, including the costs of operating and maintaining the Afghan security forces.

(B) An estimate of the amount of Afghan Government revenue and the amount of international assistance for budget support for the Afghan Government.

(C) An estimate of the amount of funds pledged by all major donors for the calendar year and the amounts committed, obligated, and expended during the reporting period.

(D) An assessment of United States reconstruction assistance programs in Afghanistan, including--

(i) a description of existing efforts to improve the monitoring and evaluation of the reconstruction assistance programs, including from the design of such programs through implementation and eventual transfer to the Government of Afghanistan;

(ii) a description, by project, of ongoing and future reconstruction assistance programs and the amount of funding obligated and expended to carry out such programs, including programs in the security, rule of law, counter-narcotics, power, rural development, education, health, and governance and anti-corruption sectors;

(iii) an analysis of completed reconstruction assistance programs, on a project basis, and a determination of the impact of and the benefits yielded from such programs on Afghanistan and its people;

(iv) a description of ongoing efforts that have improved the employment situation in Afghanistan, including efforts that have created job opportunities and increased private sector development; and

(v) a description of the progress made in implementing all of the elements of the Interim Afghanistan National Development Strategy, including--

(I) the Afghanistan National Solidarity Program; and

(II) the Afghanistan Compact, including a description of the goals and objectives in the Afghanistan Compact that have been achieved.

(E) Key indicators of economic and political development activity that should be considered the most important for determining the prospects of stability in Afghanistan, including--

(i) unemployment levels;

(ii) agricultural production;

(iii) construction of roads, irrigation, and other basic infrastructure;

(iv) education rates, particularly of girls;

(v) electricity rates;

(vi) hunger and poverty levels;

(vii) illiteracy rates;

(viii) maternal and infant mortality rates;

(ix) appropriate measures for the protection of human rights;

(x) appropriate measures for the protection of political and religious freedom and freedom of association;

(xi) access of women to political and civil society participation; and

(xii) appropriate measure for the protection of freedom of the press.

(4) With respect to opium production and counter- narcotics activities in Afghanistan, the following:

(A) An estimate of the number of hectares and amount of poppy production for the current year, including by province.

(B) The number of hectares and the amount of poppy destroyed by eradication.

(C) The number of counter-narcotics raids against drug labs, storage facilities, and caches, including the number of narcotics confiscated.

(D) The number of raids against narcotics traffickers and the number of traffickers arrested, prosecuted, convicted, sentenced, and extradited, including high-value targets.

(E) The number of Afghan counter-narcotics forces, including the Afghan National Counter-Narcotics Police, trained and equipped, the attrition rate of such forces, and the number of such forces available for counter-narcotics operations, including an assessment of the number of operations such forces conducted, the outcomes of such operations, and any additional resource needs of such forces.

(F) The number and type of alternative livelihood programs, a description of where such programs have been conducted, and an assessment of the number of hectares planted with poppy in the year following such programs.

(G) The amount and type of NATO and United States assistance provided to Afghan counter-narcotic teams in conducting raids and investigations, including close-air support and helicopter lift, and the number and type of requests for assistance by United States or Afghan counter- narcotics teams.

(H) An assessment of Afghan efforts to extradite suspects to the United States and other countries, including--

(i) a list of the persons whose extradition has been requested from Afghanistan, indicating--

(I) those individuals who have been surrendered to the custody of United States authorities;

(II) those individuals who have been detained by the authorities and who are being processed for extradition;

(III) those individuals who have been detained by the authorities and who are not yet being processed for extradition; and

(IV) those individuals who are at large;

(ii) a determination of whether Afghan Government officials and entities receiving assistance from the United States are making good-faith efforts to ensure the prompt extradition of each of the persons sought by United States authorities; and

(iii) an analysis of any legal obstacles in the laws of Afghanistan regarding prompt extradition of persons sought by United States authorities and the steps taken by authorities of the United States and the authorities of Afghanistan to overcome such obstacles.

(c) Update of Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the transmission of each report required by subsection (a), the President shall transmit to the appropriate congressional committees an update of the report, to the extent necessary.

(d) Form.--The report required by subsection (a) shall be transmitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex, if necessary.

(e) Definition.--In this section, the term 'appropriate congressional committees' means--

(1) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Appropriations, and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives; and

(2) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Appropriations, and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Senate.".

(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 1(b) of the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 7501 note) is amended by striking the item relating to section 304 and inserting the following new item:

Sec. 304. Report on progress toward security and stability in Afghanistan.".

SEC. 303. COMPREHENSIVE INTERAGENCY STRATEGY FOR LONG-TERM SECURITY AND STABILITY IN AFGHANISTAN.

(a) In General.--Section 305 of the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 7555) is amended--

(1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking "submit such strategy" and all that follows and inserting "submit such strategy to the appropriate congressional committees.";

(2) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (c); and

(3) by inserting after subsection (a) the following new subsection:

(b) Comprehensive Interagency Strategy.--

(1) In general.--The President shall formulate a comprehensive interagency strategy for long-term security and stability in Afghanistan which, in addition to the specific and measurable goals specified in subsection (a)(2), shall be composed of the elements specified in paragraph (2).

(2) Elements.--The comprehensive interagency strategy required by paragraph (1) shall contain the following elements:

(A) Reinvigorated reconstruction activities and provincial reconstruction teams.--A comprehensive interagency reconstruction strategy for Afghanistan, including objectives for the strategy, a plan to implement the objectives of the strategy, and a long-term budget to carry out the strategy. The strategy shall--

(i) include a plan to implement all of the elements of the Interim Afghanistan National Development Strategy, including the Afghanistan National Solidarity Program, and the Afghanistan Compact, including a description of the goals and objectives that have yet to be achieved, and the impediments in achieving such goals and objectives;

(ii) include a mechanism for tracking and oversight of the reconstruction funding provided by countries participating in ISAF and other donor countries, international organizations, and international financial entities, including a description of the progress by such parties in fulfilling their pledges of financial, technical, and other assistance;

(iii) include a mechanism for tracking and increasing oversight of the reconstruction programs implemented by the provincial reconstruction teams, including the amount of reconstruction funding spent by such teams, the purpose of such funding, and the evaluation of the success of such programs;

(iv) provide for a mechanism to enhance coordination between the Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development and other relevant departments and agencies of the United States Government in carrying out reconstruction programs, by--

(I) coordinating existing and future efforts in the reconstruction programs carried out by the Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development with the reconstruction programs carried out by other relevant departments and agencies of the United States Government; and

(II) coordinating existing and future efforts needed to achieve enhanced coordination between the Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development and other relevant departments and agencies of the United States Government in the design and implementation of reconstruction programs;

(v) include a plan to enhance monitoring, evaluation, and oversight of reconstruction programs to ensure the effective impact of such programs on Afghanistan and its people;

(vi) provide a plan to identify and implement critical reconstruction programs, by project, including in the areas of security, rule of law, counter-narcotics, power, rural development, education, health, and governance and anti- corruption, that will improve the security and economic stability of Afghanistan, and the amount of funding needed to implement such programs;

(vii) include actions to significantly increase contributions from countries participating in ISAF and from other international partners for reconstruction programs, including in the areas of security, rule of law, counternarcotics, power, rural development, education, health, and governance and anti-corruption sectors;

(viii) provide a plan to improve the employment situation in Afghanistan, including a plan to increase job creation opportunities and enhance private sector development in Afghanistan;

(ix) include actions to ensure enhancement of the capacity of the Government of Afghanistan, on all levels, to respond to the needs of its people;

(x) include actions to enhance the design and implementation of programs carried out by the Government of Afghanistan, on all levels, including efforts to increase funding and implementation of reconstruction programs carried out by the National Solidarity Program;

(xi) include a plan to increase significantly the number of Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs), particularly in the southern and eastern regions of Afghanistan by December 31, 2009, including a review of the operation of and lessons learned from existing PRTs prior to the preparation of the strategy;

(xii) clarify a single chain of command and operations plans for PRTs, including their relationship with ISAF;

(xiii) increase staffing, particularly staffing of civilian specialists, and increase staff training for PRTs;

(xiv) incorporate measures to improve the effectiveness of PRTs in providing reconstruction and development assistance and in promoting security and stability in their areas of operations, including coordination between PRT civilian elements and ISAF reconstruction goals; and

(xv) include efforts to ensure that a significant amount of the material, financial, and personnel support for the increase in the number of PRTs is provided by foreign sources.

(B) Counter-narcotics strategy.--A comprehensive interagency counter-narcotics strategy for Afghanistan, including objectives for the strategy, a plan to implement the objectives of the strategy, and a long-term budget to carry out the strategy. The strategy shall--

(i) address the five pillars that comprise Afghanistan's counter-narcotics strategy and implementation plan: public information, rural development (alternative livelihoods), elimination and eradication activities, interdiction, and law enforcement and justice reform;

(ii) identify the roles and responsibilities of relevant departments and agencies of the United States Government with respect to the activities described in clause (i);

(iii) include the strategic direction of current and planned activities of the United States relating to counter- narcotics efforts in Afghanistan, and shall specifically include a description of steps that have been conducted and planned to--

(I) improve coordination with all relevant departments and agencies of the United States Government;

(II) strengthen significantly the Afghanistan National Counter-Narcotics Police;

(III) build the capacity of the Afghan Government to assume greater responsibility for counter-narcotics related- activities;

(IV) strengthen anti-corruption measures that target narcotics producers and traffickers and the individuals influenced by them;

(V) improve counter-narcotics intelligence capabilities;

(VI) strengthen narcotics-related interdiction activities;

(VII) strengthen the capacity of the judicial sector to investigate, prosecute, and penalize narcotics producers and traffickers and government officials benefitting from narcotics-related activities;

(VIII) effectively address any problems with eradication strategies; and

(IX) significantly increase the focus on creating alternative livelihoods for the Afghan people;

(iv) include current and planned actions to involve and coordinate with the United Kingdom and other appropriate international partners in supporting counter-narcotics efforts in Afghanistan.

(C) Sustainability of the afghanistan national security forces.--A comprehensive interagency strategy for building and sustaining the Afghanistan National Security Forces (ANSF), including objectives for the strategy, a plan to implement the objectives of the strategy, and a long-term budget to carry out the strategy. The strategy shall--

(i) include a mechanism for tracking funding, including obligations and expenditures, as well as equipment, training, and services provided for the ANSF by the United States, countries participating in the International Security Assistance Force, and other international partners;

(ii) include actions to build and sustain effective Afghan security institutions with fully-capable leadership and staff, including--

(I) a reformed Ministry of Interior, a fully-established Ministry of Defense, and logistics, intelligence, medical, and recruiting units (ANSF-sustaining institutions);

(II) fully-trained, equipped, and capable ANSF in sufficient numbers;

(III) strong ANSF-readiness assessment tools and metrics;

(IV) a strong core of senior-level ANSF officers;

(V) strong ANSF command, control, and communication between central ANSF headquarters and regions, provinces, and districts;

(VI) a robust mentoring and advising program for the ANSF;

(VII) a strong professional military training and education program for all junior, mid-level, and senior ANSF personnel;

(VIII) effective merit-based salary, rank, promotion, and incentive structures for the ANSF;

(IX) an established code of professional standards for the ANSF;

(X) a mechanism for incorporating lessons learned and best practices into ANSF operations;

(XI) An ANSF personnel accountability system with effective internal discipline procedures and mechanisms;

(XII) a system for addressing ANSF personnel complaints; and

(XIII) a strong record-keeping and accountability system to track ANSF equipment and personnel issues, and other ANSF oversight mechanisms; and

(iii) provide for coordination between all relevant departments and agencies of the United States Government, as well as ISAF countries and other international partners, including on--

(I) funding;

(II) reform and establishment of ANSF-sustaining institutions; and

(III) efforts to ensure that progress on sustaining the ANSF is reinforced with progress in other pillars of the Afghan security sector, particularly progress on building an effective judiciary, curbing production and trafficking of illicit narcotics, and demobilizing, disarming, and reintegrating militia fighters.

(3) Report.--

(A) In general.--Not later than December 1, 2007, the President shall transmit to the appropriate congressional committees an update of the report required by subsection (c) for 2007 that contains the comprehensive interagency strategy required by paragraph (1).

(B) Form.--The report required by subparagraph (A) shall be transmitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex, if necessary.".

(b) Monitoring.--Subsection (c) of such section (as redesignated) is amended to read as follows:

(c) Updates of Strategy.--

(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the submission of the strategy required by subsection (b)(3), and every 90 days thereafter through September 30, 2010, the President shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees an update of the strategy required by subsection (a) and the strategy required by subsection (b), as necessary.

(2) Definition.--In this subsection, the term 'appropriate congressional committees' includes the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate.".

SEC. 304. SPECIAL ENVOY FOR AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN COOPERATION.

(a) Statement of Policy.--Congress declares that it is strongly in the national interest of the United States that Afghanistan and Pakistan work together to address common challenges hampering the stability, security, and development of their region and to enhance their cooperation.

(b) Establishment.--The President is authorized to appoint a special envoy to promote closer cooperation between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

(c) Appointment.--The special envoy--

(1) shall be appointed with the advice and consent of the Senate and shall have the rank of Ambassador-at-Large; and

(2) may be appointed from among individuals who are officials of the Department of State.

(d) Duties.--

(1) In general.--The primary responsibility of the special envoy shall be to coordinate United States policy on issues relating to bilateral relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

(2) Advisory role.--The special envoy shall advise the President and the Secretary of State, as appropriate, and, in coordination with the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Affairs, shall make recommendations regarding effective strategies and tactics to achieve United States policy objectives to--

(A) stem cross-border terror activities;

(B) provide assistance to Afghan refugees who repatriate from Pakistan;

(C) bolster people-to-people ties and economic cooperation between Afghanistan and Pakistan, including bilateral trade relations; and

(D) offer comprehensive efforts to support effective counter-narcotics strategies in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

SEC. 305. TRANSIT THROUGH PAKISTAN OF SHIPMENTS BY INDIA IN SUPPORT OF RECONSTRUCTION EFFORTS IN AFGHANISTAN.

(a) Statement of Policy.--It shall be the policy of the United States to use all appropriate means to encourage Pakistan to permit shipments by India of equipment and material to Afghanistan in support of Indian reconstruction and development projects in Afghanistan to be transported across the territory of Pakistan and to remove any obstacles to such transportation.

(b) Report.--

(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter until January 1, 2010, the President shall transmit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on actions by Pakistan to permit or impede transit of shipments described in subsection (a). The report required by this subsection may be included in the report required by section 304 of the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002 (as amended by section 302 of this Act).

(2) Sunset.--The requirement to transmit the report under paragraph (1) shall cease to apply if the President determines and transmits to the appropriate congressional committees a determination that India no longer needs to make shipments to Afghanistan for the purposes described in subsection (a).

SEC. 306. REAUTHORIZATION OF RADIO FREE AFGHANISTAN.

(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:

(1) Since January 30, 2002, RFE/RL, Incorporated (formerly known as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) has provided 12 hours of daily surrogate broadcasting services through Radio Free Afghanistan in Dari and Pashto languages to the people of Afghanistan.

(2) Radio Free Afghanistan is the leading broadcaster in Afghanistan with an audience of nearly 60 percent of the adult population.

(3) It is in the national interest to continue Radio Free Afghanistan's surrogate broadcasts to Afghanistan in order to provide accurate news and information, help give voice to ordinary Afghans, and provide programs on the fundamentals of democracy.

(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--For each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2010, such sums as may be necessary are authorized to be appropriated to the Broadcasting Board of Governors for grants to support 12 hours of daily surrogate broadcasting services through Radio Free Afghanistan in Dari and Pashto languages to the people of Afghanistan.

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June 6, 2007
House
Members' Short Comments
H.R. 2446 Consideration
H.R. 2446 Consideration
H.R. 2446 Cont.
Rep Lantos
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Rep Poe
Rep Smith (WA)
Rep Pence
Rep Woolsey
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Rep Maloney (NY)
Rep McCotter
Rep Jackson-Lee (TX)
Rep Courtney
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Rep Barton (TX)
Text of H.R. 2466
H.R. 2446: Amendments
H.R. 2446:Roll Call Votes
Tyranny Uglier than War
King (IA): Iraq History
Iraq Bipartisanship
30 Something Working Group
Senate
Senators' short Comments