Exactly two years ago, 13 devastated families stood on the tarmac at Dover Air Force Base to welcome their loved ones home in flag-draped caskets, after the terrorist bombing at the Abbey Gate in Kabul, Afghanistan ended their lives entirely too soon.  In a roundtable with members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee today, many of these families shared powerful testimony about their sons and daughters, and continued to call out the Biden Administration’s lack of transparency. 

For those 13 Gold Star families, there’s nothing that can be done to bring their sons and daughters back.  But as we heard today, the bare minimum that can be done - from their perspective - is to ensure that there is accountability, that lessons are learned, and that nothing like this ever happens again.  

The Biden Administration has refused to learn any lessons.  And from disrespecting these families by refusing to say their names out loud, to continued stonewalling of Congressional oversight, it’s clear that this Administration is not interested in doing so.  

But we are not going to let them off the hook, and we’re going to ensure that America remembers the sacrifices of those 13 heroes.  We’re going to continue to stand with these families and fight with them to get the answers they deserve regarding the circumstances surrounding their children’s murders.  It’s a matter of ensuring our nation’s military is prepared for any future conflict, and it’s a matter of right versus wrong.