{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://nolan.house.gov//media-center/in-the-news/ifalls-journal-nolan-sticks-to-his-guns", "IFalls Journal: Nolan sticks to his guns", "2014-12-12", "2014", "2014-12", "Democrat", "House", "MN", "Rick Nolan", "N000127", "nolan.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "It\u2019s easy to call for change when running for election to an office.\nIt\u2019s not so easy after the election to get those changes included in bills that could change the way America does business.\nKudos to U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan for sticking to his guns. He\u2019s sought to end what he\u2019s termed \u201cnation-building abroad\u201d and to instead use America\u2019s resources to reduce the deficit and create jobs at home. That theme was fundamental to his 2012 campaign the first time we interviewed him as he attempted to return to Congress. It\u2019s been a recurring theme throughout his first term and this year\u2019s reelection campaign.\nLast week, two amendments authored by Nolan that will move toward achieving that theme were included in the bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act approved by the House.\nOne amendment stops any new money for major reconstruction in Afghanistan. Nolan has maintained Afghanistan construction projects have been a waste of taxpayer dollars. The U.S. has since 2002 spent more than $100 billion on projects there, with no accounting for where $60 billion of that money has gone, according to Nolan.\nUnder his amendment, none of the $66 billion in the defense bill\u2019s overseas contingency fund will be approved for Afghan military reconstruction. He notes money slated for nation-building abroad would fully fund the state of Minnesota for two years.\nThe other amendment requires certification of any new U.S. construction project in Afghanistan in excess of $1 million to be supervised by U.S. personnel with procedures in place to prevent fraud and abuse.\nNolan said this amendment assures the U.S. will not build anything in Afghanistan the U.S. can\u2019t inspect, audit and protect.\nIn supporting his contention, Nolan has pointed to a Washington Post report that tells of U.S. funds used to pay about 50,000 Iraqi soldiers who don\u2019t exist. Their salaries, according to the report, are collected by corrupt Iraqi Army leaders.\nHe also points to the increased Taliban activity in Afghanistan, the No. 1 \u201cnarco-state nation in the world,\u201d where about $725 million in construction projects fall outside U.S. inspection zones. Providing money for well-intended projects in a corrupt state that produces more heroin than the rest of the world combined is a prescription for fraud, according to Nolan.\nNolan deserves credit for never wavering from his beliefs and working hard to make the changes he believes will benefit America.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://nolan.house.gov//media-center/in-the-news/ifalls-journal-nolan-sticks-to-his-guns"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8235438726842403, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}