Congresswoman Sara Jacobs Issues Statement on Afghanistan
Today, in response to President Joe Biden’s remarks on Afghanistan, Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (D-CA-53) issued the following statement:
“I continue to support and agree with President Biden’s decision to withdraw from Afghanistan. However, I remain incredibly concerned about the ongoing evacuation process in Kabul and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.
For months, my colleagues and I urged the Biden Administration to develop a whole-of-government evacuation plan. And while I am disappointed in the execution of the withdrawal and committed to assessing the policy failures in Afghanistan, right now, I am focused on getting as many people to safety as possible and responding to the humanitarian needs of people in Afghanistan.
We must guarantee humanitarian parole for vulnerable Afghans, increase the refugee cap and provide assistance to welcome Afghan refugees, ensure legal safeguards and funding for organizations that deliver life-saving humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan, and evacuate as many Americans and vulnerable Afghans as possible before the withdrawal is complete.
The United States has a moral obligation to help the Afghan people. We also owe them, and all those who sacrificed, honesty and humility about the real failures in Afghanistan over the past twenty years. There are many reasons for the challenges we are seeing in Afghanistan today, most of which predate the current President, and they deserve a fulsome policy debate.
I was in middle school when the decision to invade Afghanistan was made and I did not have a say. Now, as a Member of the House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services Committees, I am committed to ensuring we learn the lessons of the last few months, and the past twenty years.”
As a member of the bipartisan Honoring our Promises Working Group, Congresswoman Jacobs offered concrete solutions to assist the Administration in evacuation efforts in Afghanistan over the last several months.
Last week, Congresswoman Jacobs led a bipartisan letter signed by 47 members of Congress expressing concern over the situation in Afghanistan, pressing the White House for answers on a number of issues, and calling upon the Administration “to leverage all available resources to help as many people as possible to safety in the United States.”