mr. mcgovern: mr. chairman, i yield myself the remaining time. mr. chairman, everyone acknowledges that there is no military solution in afghanistan, only a political solution. but we are putting billions of dollars into building up our military presence without a clear vision of how to bring our troops home, an exit strategy for lack of a better term. every military mission has a beginning, a middle, a time of transition and an end, but i have yet to see that vision articulated in any document, speech or briefing. we are not asking for an immediate withdrawal. we are not talking about cutting or running or restreeting, just a plan. if there is no military solution for afghanistan, then please, just tell us how we will know when our military contribution to the political solution has ended. requiring an outline for how our military operations ought to proceed in afghanistan so that congress can effectively wave the level of investment, both human and financial, is called doing our job. something this b

mr. mcgovern. and thank all of the co-sponsors for making sure we at least have an opportunity to say no more blank checks. the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. -- the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentleman from california. mr. mckeon: i yield at this time to the gentlelady from florida, the hamm on the foreign affairs committee, ms. ros-lehtinen, two minutes. the chair: the gentlewoman is recognized for two minutes. ms. ros-lehtinen: i thank the chairman and thank you so much, the gentleman from california. i rise in strong opposition to the amendment on afghanistan offered by the gentleman from massachusetts, my friend, mr. mcgovern. in late march of this year, the president announced his comprehensive outline for afghanistan and pakistan. highlighting the threat to critical u.s. security interests that would arise should al qaeda and the taliban reclaim or establish safe havens in those countries. the president clearly outlined our goals. to disrupt, to dismantle, and to defeat al

mr. mcgovern, for introducing this amendment. thank you on behalf of the american people and our troops. the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. mckeon: mr. chairman, i yield now to the chairman of the armed services committee, the gentleman from missouri, chairman skelton, two minutes. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. skelton: mr. chairman, i respectfully disagree with this amendment, and i respectfully oppose it. this amendment sends exactly the wrong message, focusing on an exit strategy which may well reinforce a perception among the afghans that we are not committed to protecting them from the taliban and al qaeda. mr. chairman, we have a new commander on the ground. we've added tens of thousands of jobs. we're adding hundreds of civilian experts. we should not undermine those efforts. commanders make a difference. as you know, we have general mcchrystal, who has replaced general mckernan in afghanistan. history shows that new commanders make a big difference. let's give general mcchrystal

mr. mcgovern: thank you. and i thank the gentlelady from california for yielding to me. madam speaker, i stand here today in support of this rule and in support of the underlying legislation. i want to thank speaker pelosi, leader hoyer, ed markey for crafting and sheprding -- shepherding through this legislation. this would reduce the greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, reduce global warming and will spur the creation of millions of clean energy jobs in the united states. specifically, i'd like to thank the chairman for including funding for domestic and international adaptation in clean technology transfer. while i supported greater adaptation for funding, this represents a necessary first step in u.s. commitment. by dedicating a portion of the allowances to international adaptation financing, we can ensure that those poorest of countries who have already been and will continue to be disproportionately impacted by climate change will receive crucial funding to help them save their farm lands, sources of water and oftentimes their homes. as the co-chair of the congressi

mr. mcgovern for bringing this to the attention of the american people and the congress. we need to have an end point to the strategy in afghanistan. the marines in my district will tell you that our military is tired and worn out. they will keep going back and forth and back and forth because they love this nation. we've got to be realistic about breaking the military, we've got north korea over here threaten, we've got the chinese, we don't know what they might do, we need to have a plan for victory in afghanistan, we cannot do what the bush administration did and keep going on and on. as i close, as i do every night on this floor, i have signed 8,000 families and extended families who have lost loved ones in iraq. i ask god to bless the men and women in uniforms and i ask god to bless the families of the men and women in uniform and i ask three time, god please, god please, god please continue to bless america. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from ohio rise? ms. kaptur: madam speaker, by direction of m

mr. mcgovern. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. mcgovern: madam speaker, i'm proud to stand here in support of this rule and the underlying legislation. this interior appropriations bill is a bill that respects our environment. i'd especially like to thank chairman dicks for his leadership and i'd also like to thank him for my amendment to increase funding for the atlanta assistance stateside assistance program. the state assistance program is one of the most successful federal-state-local partnership programs in the history of the department of the interior. the lwbc program assists communities in creating new public parks, preserving open spaces and creating jobs. the states, cities, counties, and towns that apply for and accept funding from the lwcf state assistance grant program agree to match the federal investment on a dollar for dollar basis and often match significantly more than the federal share. since its inception, it has provided fund for over 41,000 state and local projects in 91% of all u.s. counties. there's not a co

mr. mcgovern -- the don't know what to say -- >> it is a fair question.it is our absolute intent that this be the last assistance provided these 2 companies. we have spent a lot of time to assure ourselves that this is the last visit. never say never in this world, but the basis of our analysis has been that this is a 1-shot affair. we are going to do this and construct an orderly exit and it will be back to your business as usual. >> what if it doesn't work out as you anticipate? will you then recommend more money just to keep it going? to keep a few people employed? >> it is hard to speculate about a hypothetical. >> that could be more than a hypothetical. >> i believe it is a hypothetical because we have a conservative plan. what we call stress test, we look at cases where the recovery is slower than most economists believe it will be, the company is not capable of executing its turnaround. we have looked hard at this question and it is our belief, are confident belief, that this will be the last trip. >> what i'd been conflict of interest, the federal

mr. mcgovern. there is tremendous demand for more parkland and recreation alpha silt development. it is more and more vital to get people and especially kids out in nature and outdoors doing active recreation. this amendment increases the save america treasure's program by $1 million and provide funding for sharing cost preservation projects and i urge adoption of the amendment and reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from idaho. mr. simpson: claim time in opposition. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. simpson: it saddens me that we are here with this manager's america amendment. traditionally, manager's amendments have been noncontroversial when they have been offered and approved by both sides. that's not the case with this amendment. what this amendment -- and my opposition to this amendment is not because of the substance of the amendment and the provisions but it's how it got here. there were a number of amendments that were proposed last night in the rules committee. almost all of t