Shuster Delivers First-Hand Account of Security Situation in Afghanistan

Congressman Bill Shuster has just wrapped-up a week long trip to the Middle East as part of a Congressional Delegation to get a first hand assessment of the security situation in Afghanistan its impact on regional allies.

What follows is Shuster’s first-hand report of what he saw in Afghanistan:

“Contrary to reports in the national media, progress is being made in Afghanistan. This improvement is noticeable since my last trip to the region and I believe it is the direct result of President Bush's commitment of additional resources beginning in 2008 and more recently, General McChrystal’s well thought out counterinsurgency strategy and President Obama’s willingness to surge combat troop levels in Afghanistan.

We did not just add over 30,000 troops to the effort in the surge. We also tripled the civilian security force which is critical to achieving stability. The Department of State, USDA, DHS and the FBI have all increased their presence and now have well over 1000 civilian employees in the field helping in stabilization efforts.

Our coalition partners are exceeding recruitment goals for the Afghan Army and Police. The Afghan economy grew a rate of over 20 percent in 2009. I could see and feel the improvements driving through the streets of Kabul. Improvements in infrastructure, roads, sanitation, schools and hospitals are transforming the city. I saw traffic jams and what seemed like thousands of Afghanis in the streets doing everyday business at a rate not seen on my previous tours of the city.

These improvements demonstrate that the strategy put in place by General McChrystal and continued by General Petraeus of protecting citizens and aggressively killing or capturing Talban insurgents is having a positive impact on the security situation in Afghanistan. That being said, significant challenges still remain. Because our troops and the Afghan Army and Police have been aggressively attacking the enemy, we have seen increase in casualties which is unfortunate but predictable. The government of President Karzai is still very fragile. He needs to stamp out corruption or he will lose faith with the Afghan people. I can see that he is fighting, but it is a struggle he must win.

Finally, sanctuaries for the Taliban and al Qaeda in Pakistan remain a significant challenge to the security situation in Afghanistan and the larger region. The devastating flooding that continues to affect large portions of Pakistan has been a set back for the Pakistanis to clamp down on the insurgents.”

Shuster Honors America's Freight Rail System

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Shuster Condemns Federally Funded Abortions in Pennsylvania

NRLC Report Shows Pennsylvania will Receive $160 Million in Health Care Funding for Abortion

On Tuesday, the National Right to Life Committee revealed a troubling discovery; a new $160 million federally funded high risk pool health insurance plan established in Pennsylvania will cover abortion. This makes Pennsylvania the first state to receive federal funds for abortion under the health care reform law.

Congressman Shuster joined members of the pro-life community today to condemn this revelation and further express his opposition to federally funded abortions.

“It is morally wrong to support the destruction of unborn life and it is ethically wrong for the federal government to coerce Americans who oppose abortion to fund the practice through their own tax dollars,” Shuster said. “During the healthcare debate, President Obama said he would not support taxpayer funded abortion, but this week’s announcement proves his words were only lip service to move his liberal agenda forward.”

“It has long been the objective of the left to establish abortion as a federally funded right,” Shuster added. “Yesterday’s discovery by the National Right to Life Committee proves that this White House, with the support of Governor Rendell and pro-abortion pressure groups are committed to subverting the will of the American people and the spirit of the promises made when health care reform became law.”

“It gives the pro-life community reason to pause when the President of the United States lies to his constituents by saying, ‘no federal funds will be used to pay for abortions.’ It shows the worthlessness of his executive order prohibiting tax-payer funding of abortion through his health care program. It is our hope that a new Congress will repeal Obamacare and re-institute the Hyde Amendment,” said Scott Manganella of the pro-life organization Precious Life.

Linda Barr with Pregnancy Ministries of Franklin County added: "As a pro-life pregnancy resource center, we do not consider abortion to be health care. There are supportive services and adoption options available that preserve life rather than destroy it."

Shuster Introduces Bill to Improve Government Reaction & Response Times to Future Oil Spills

Congressman Bill Shuster, a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Natural Resources Committee, has introduced legislation to strengthen the federal government’s ability to quickly respond in the event of future oil spills:

“The American people are rightly angry at their government’s inability to react to the devastation of the Gulf oil spill,” Shuster said. “The fact that the federal government did not have the equipment on hand to immediately combat the spill is inexcusable, as is the lack of a system in place before the spill to solicit clean-up proposals from experts and fast-track the deployment of cutting edge technologies to the Gulf.”

“The federal government should have access to the latest oil fighting technology at all times. The prospect of another massive environmental disaster like the Gulf oil spill requires preparation on behalf of the government and my legislation will help accomplish this.”

Shuster’s “Oil Spill Cleanup Technologies Act of 2010” would require the President, acting through the Secretary of Homeland Security, to quickly solicit and deploy oil and hazardous substance cleanup technologies in preparation of a massive oil spill in United States territorial waters.

In addition, Shuster’s legislation would require the federal government to coordinate with academia, small businesses and others to ensure the best oil spill fighting technologies are available to be implemented quickly and efficiently to react to a spill. Finally, the legislation would require the maintenance of a database so that the government knows what cleanup technologies are available and can deploy them quickly in the case of another spill.

“America is a world leader when it comes to technology and innovation,” Shuster added. “There is no reason we shouldn’t have a concrete plan in place to put those resources to use in the immediate aftermath of a spill like the one off the Gulf Coast.”

“I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass my legislation so America will never have to play catch-up again.”

Shuster at the Somerset America Speaking Out citizen dialogue

Shuster opposes the DISCLOSE ACT

Congressman Bill Shuster released the following statement in strong opposition to the “DISCLOSE Act,” legislation that would significantly undermine the First Amendment to the Constitution by restricting political speech in elections.

“The DISCLOSE Act is an outrageous attempt by Democrats in the House to fix the game in their favor when it comes to political speech. I find their contempt for the Constitution and the First Amendment striking since their legislation specifically exempts the Democrats' largest contributors.

I also find it suspicious that the legislation goes into effect after only 30 days – right in time for the November elections and fast enough to avoid judicial review of the Act’s obvious unconstitutionality. The speed of the Act's enactment is designed to protect the Democrats' donor base in the upcoming election.

America’s Founding Fathers didn’t intend for the First Amendment to only protect the free speech of the Democrat Party’s special interest groups. This legislation sends a chilling message to everyone who opposes President Obama’s agenda: ‘shut up or go to jail.’”