Manchin: ‘It’s Wrong’ to Invest in Reliable Electricity for Afghanistan When West Virginians are Still Without Power
In Senate floor speech, Manchin reiterates that it’s time to rebuild America, not Afghanistan
Manchin highlights newly announced $94 million project to make Afghanistan’s grid more reliable while Americans suffer at home
**Audio, Video Available**
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) blasted a new project to provide reliable electricity to Afghanistan while tens of thousands of his constituents are still without power and water nearly two weeks after a major storm.
“I rise this morning to address a situation that is very hard for me to believe and makes no sense to the people of my great state of West Virginia,” Senator Manchin said. “I know there are other needs around the world, but seeing firsthand how vulnerable our system is, I was so surprised and disappointed to hear yesterday that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is making a massive investment in power infrastructure in another country, by awarding a $94 million dollar contract to provide reliable power in Afghanistan.
“So I thought: ‘How could I explain this back?’ We’re providing reliable power to the Afghans when nearly 200,000 West Virginians spent a week without electricity, lost all their food, and suffered in nearly 100 degree heat? When our country is losing tens and hundreds of billions of dollars because of power outages?”
After taking his second trip to Afghanistan to evaluate the U.S. commitment there, Senator Manchin announced last year that he believes it’s time to stop spending hundreds of billions rebuilding that country and instead use that money to rebuild America.
“I cannot count the number of times I have come to the floor of this Senate chamber to say it’s time to rebuild America, not Afghanistan,” Senator Manchin said this morning. “But in all my time in the Senate, I have not seen a starker example of misplaced priorities. It’s wrong to invest in reliable power for the Afghan people when tens of thousands of West Virginians have been without power for nearly two weeks because our infrastructure is so vulnerable.”
The Corps announced earlier this week that it has awarded $93.6 million to improve electrical transmission from the Kajaki Dam power station throughout the Helmand Province, to include burying transmission lines and providing back-up generators. U.S. taxpayers already funded the Kajaki Dam Power House in the 1970s, but the facility has not been maintained.
“This facility wasn’t maintained in the 70s, in the 80s, in the 90s or in the 2000s – what makes us think that it will be maintained now?” Senator Manchin said. “I can’t say it enough: if you build a bridge in West Virginia, we won’t blow it up. If you build a school, we won’t burn it down. In fact, we will be very appreciative. And if you help us invest in a more reliable electric system, we will use that power to make this country stronger, to power this nation’s economy, and to provide good-paying jobs.”
Senator Manchin encouraged his colleagues to join him in coming together to rebuild America, not Afghanistan.
“I would feel the same if this were any other state in our country. This might have been a ‘once in a lifetime’ storm, one where millions of people lost power no matter how well we prepared, but the fact that tens of thousands of West Virginians are still without power and water is a sign that we must do better as a country,” Senator Manchin said. “This could happen to any state – whether it’s a storm, an earthquake, tornadoes, fires, floods or a hurricane – and I would hope that my colleagues in the Senate share my feelings. We can’t help others if we don’t keep our country strong, and we’re beginning to neglect our very real needs here at home.”
Full text of Senator Manchin’s remarks as prepared for delivery are below. Later today, his remarks will be posted to his YouTube page and broadcast quality video will be made available.
I rise this morning to address a situation that is very hard for me to believe and makes no sense to the people of my great state of West Virginia.
For nearly two weeks, hundreds of thousands of West Virginians have been deprived of basic necessities like water and electricity because of massive storms. At the peak of the outage, FEMA estimates that 688,000 West Virginians didn’t have power. That’s a third of our state. And hundreds of thousands of people had to throw away all the food from their refrigerators and freezers.
Our National Guard and first responders did a superb job of keeping people safe, but this country learned just how vulnerable and inadequate our infrastructure is – and how much we depend on it. Up and down the East Coast, our electric grid was crippled by the storm – because there is no backup plan that would keep the vital necessities of life running during these horrific storms.
The fact is, we have to invest in our nation’s infrastructure. Power outages cost this country between $79 and $164 billion a year. That’s because on top of powering our hospitals, nursing homes and schools, reliable energy underpins our economy and keeps Americans at work.
I know there are other needs around the world, but seeing firsthand how vulnerable our system is, I was so surprised and disappointed to hear yesterday that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is making a massive investment in power infrastructure in another country, by awarding a $94 million dollar contract to provide reliable power in Afghanistan.
So I thought: How could I explain this back home? We’re providing reliable power to the Afghans when nearly 200,000 West Virginians spent an entire week without electricity, lost all their food, and suffered through nearly 100 degree heat? When our country is losing tens and hundreds of billions of dollars because of power outages?
As of 6 p.m. yesterday, more than 30,000 West Virginians were still without power – 12 days after the storm hit.
I cannot count the number of times I have come to the floor of this Senate chamber to say it’s time to start rebuilding America, not Afghanistan.
But in all my time in the Senate, I have not seen a starker example of misplaced priorities. It’s wrong to invest in reliable power for the Afghan people when tens of thousands of West Virginians have been without power for nearly two weeks because our infrastructure is so vulnerable.
In fact, in our state, too many people still don’t even have reliable water. In McDowell County in our southern coalfields, FEMA expects that it will be another two to three weeks before water service is restored to the customers of the Northfork Public Service District. Let me repeat that: another two to three weeks without water. That will be a full month after the storm without one of life’s basic necessities.
Something is truly out of balance. It’s been almost two weeks since a storm of unprecedented strength hit our state. How can I look the people of my great state of West Virginia in the eye when our infrastructure is so poor that they don’t have reliable power or water but still tell them that we’re investing in transmission lines to provide reliable power to Afghanistan?
It just doesn’t make sense.
According to the Congressional Research Service, American taxpayers have already spent more than $89 billion dollars on infrastructure projects in Afghanistan, including the costs of reconstruction assistance, diplomatic security, and activities by non-Department of Defense agencies. This is in addition to the $551 billion dollars we’ve spent on military operations.
And that doesn’t even begin to address Iraq, where we’ve spent at least $5 billion on electrical systems and $61 billion dollars total on infrastructure projects, according to the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction.
And still – when you take a closer look at the project that was announced yesterday, the facts are even more disturbing.
The Army Times reported that the Corps awarded $93.6 million to improve electrical transmission from the Kajaki Dam power station throughout the Helmand Province, to include burying transmission lines – which we don’t even do in America – and providing back-up generators. But, believe it or not, the people of the United States already paid to build the Kajaki Dam Power House in the 1970s. I’ll quote from the article:
“Because the entire electrical system has largely been neglected due to decades of war, Afghan and U.S. agencies are partnering to increase power generation and distribution to solve the severe lack of electricity in the region.”
This facility wasn’t maintained in the 70s, in the 80s, in the 90s or in the 2000s – what makes us think that it will be maintained now?
And this is only one small piece of an even more costly contract to bring electricity to southern Afghanistan. The $93.6 million dollar contract is the first of six integrated components collectively called the Kandahar Helmand Power Project, a U.S.A.I.D. initiative to expand the electrical distribution system of two provinces in Southern Afghanistan with a combined estimated population of 1.7 million – just short of the population of my home state of 1.8 million people.
It’s one thing to help other countries with loans that will help them get back on their feet so they can repay their debts. It’s another thing entirely to pour billions of taxpayer dollars into another country for a decade with no chance of any repayments to this country and the taxpayers of the United States of America.
I can’t say it enough: if you build a bridge in West Virginia, we won’t blow it up. If you build a school, we won’t burn it down. In fact, we will be very appreciative. And if you help us invest in a more reliable electric system, we will use that power to make this country stronger, to power this nation’s economy, and to provide good-paying jobs.
Not only that, the scope of the problem with electricity infrastructure in West Virginia is tremendous. According to the National Energy Technology Laboratory, power outages in West Virginia take four times longer to fix than the national average.
If we modernize our grid to make it more flexible and reliable, we can make a return on investment of up to $6 for every dollar we invest, according to studies from both the Electric Power Research Institute and the National Energy Technology Laboratory. Instead of investing that money in Afghanistan, doesn’t it just make sense to invest it here at home?
M. President, I would feel the same if this were any other state in our country. This might have been a “once in a lifetime” storm, one where millions of people lost power no matter how well we prepared, but the fact that tens of thousands of West Virginians are still without power and water is a sign that we must do better as a country. This could happen to any state – whether it’s a storm, an earthquake, tornadoes, fires, floods or a hurricane – and I would hope that my colleagues in the Senate share my feelings. We can’t help others if we don’t keep our country strong, and we’re beginning to neglect our very real needs here at home.
As West Virginians, I’m proud to say that we’re strong people. We’re able to pick ourselves up faster than most and we go to the aid of our friends and neighbors who need it most. But when you go to a filling station, and the signs say “cash only” but people don’t have any cash because the power is out and the banks are closed – we have a problem. But I know we can fix it together because we’re Americans.
That’s why it’s time to rebuild America and our infrastructure, not Afghanistan. Let’s make our country strong again.
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