The Senate voted down Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul’s bill to end the war in Afghanistan on Wednesday.
The senator’s bill, which was an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), would have also given bonuses to veterans who served during the War On Terror. The amendment was based on Paul’s American Forces Going Home After Noble (AFGHAN) Service Act, which he originally introduced in 2019.
The Senate voted 60-33 to kill the bill, Paul said Wednesday on Twitter. (RELATED: Report: US Government Chronically Lied About Trillion Dollar War In Afghanistan)
“Today I introduced a bipartisan amendment to the NDAA to end America’s longest war and provide bonuses to those who’ve deployed,” he wrote. “Unfortunately a bipartisan majority eventually voted 60-33 to kill it. Thank you to those who support ending this war.”
Today I introduced a bipartisan amendment to the NDAA to end America’s longest war and provide bonuses to those who’ve deployed. Unfortunately a bipartisan majority eventually voted 60-33 to kill it. Thank you to those who support ending this war. https://t.co/03rsByZqOr pic.twitter.com/J9gmq2evy8
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) July 1, 2020
“It’s time to bring our soldiers home,” Paul told the Senate in his speech Wednesday. Although he originally supported the war, Paul noted that most people who attacked us on 9/11 have been captured or killed.
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“The cycle shows no sign of ending. The war shows no sign of ending. It is not sustainable to keep fighting in Afghanistan generation, after generation,” he said.
“This NDAA, this defense authorization that we’re debating here in the Senate, even has a sense of the Senate in it, opposing a ‘precipitous’ withdrawal from Afghanistan,” he added. “We’ve been there for 20 years. How can we characterize withdrawal after 20 years, after we defeated the enemy, as ‘precipitous’?”
“It’s crazy,” Paul continued. “The American people say, ‘come home,’ and this is your chance. Many people have said we should end the war. Today you get to vote.”