Gregory W. Meeks

Mr. Speaker, Thanks · 8 wordsI thank the gentleman from Massachusetts for yielding.Thanks Mr. Speaker, Procedure · 13 wordsI rise today in strong support of Representative Moulton’s Iran War Powers Resolution.Procedure Claims · 68 wordsWe are 7 months into a war of choice that President Trump said would only last 4 to 6 weeks.¹ American families have paid over $100 billion more for gasoline and diesel, roughly $800 more per household, ²while gas averages more than $4 a gallon and diesel is near $6.³ This resolution closely follows my resolution, H. Con. Res. 86, which passed both the House and the Senate.⁴ Reasoning · 25 wordsThat resolution made clear what the Constitution makes clear: Congress, not the President, has the power to decide when the United States goes to war. Claims · 82 wordsThis Congress has not authorized a war with Iran, ⁵and yet this administration has kept our troops in harm’s way, without a declaration of war, without an authorization from Congress, and without any plan for how to win or end the war. Congress has already acted. H. Con. Res. 86 passed both Chambers, directing the President to remove U.S. Forces from hostilities with Iran, ⁶and in July, the House again passed H.⁷ Con. Res. 89 with the same message, a simple message: Positioning · 3 wordsEnd this war.Positioning Reasoning · 8 wordsIt is important that we do so again. Claims · 17 wordsI have also introduced a binding resolution demanding Speaker Johnson take legal action to defend congressional authority.⁸ Reasoning · 16 wordsWhen Congress’ constitutional authority is challenged, this institution has an obligation to defend its own prerogatives. Claims · 59 wordsThe administration hasn’t just continued to wage this illegal war in direct violation of the Constitution, it has done so while Americans bear the costs: 19 fallen servicemembers and more than 750 servicemembers wounded, extended troop deployments, ⁹and billions of dollars in additional spending. The President’s mismanagement of this war has hurt America’s ability to prepare for future threats. Positioning · 38 wordsI ask this body a simple question: Are Americans better off now than before this war started? Are we safer? Are we more secure? Has this war produced any of the results the administration promised the American people?Positioning Claims · 70 wordsThe administration has yet to demonstrate that 7 months of war have produced a lasting strategic resolution to the threats posed by Iran. The Strait of Hormuz remains a source of enormous risk to global energy markets, and Iran’s nuclear and missile capabilities, despite what the administration claims, clearly remain.Unearned certainty One only needs to ask our Gulf partners who continue to bear the brunt of Iran’s missile and drone attacks. Positioning · 7 wordsThis war has been a strategic failure.Positioning Claims · 32 wordsWhat is left are depleted weapons stockpiles and a tab of more than $100 billion that taxpayers will have to cover, ¹⁰while families continue to pay more for gas, groceries, and electricity. Procedure · 4 wordsLet me be clear: ProcedurePositioning · 7 wordsThis should not be a partisan question.Positioning Reasoning · 55 wordsIt is a constitutional one. It is a vote about whether Congress still believes that the power to decide when this Nation goes to war belongs to the Congress, as the Constitution provides. Our servicemembers deserve clear objectives. Their families deserve accountability, and the American people deserve a Congress willing to exercise its constitutional authority. Claims · 37 wordsLet me remind this body that the House Foreign Affairs Committee has still not held a single public hearing with an administration official on this war, the committee charged with matters of war and peace, zero hearings.¹¹ Positioning · 24 wordsOur constituents did not send us here to be a rubber stamp for any administration. We cannot bomb our way out of this war.Positioning Reasoning · 11 wordsWe need dialogue and diplomacy with our allies and adversaries alike. Positioning · 17 wordsWe need real diplomats at the table, not real estate developers who are in over their heads.Positioning The ask · 37 wordsWe, this body, need to hold this administration accountable. I ask my colleagues to uphold the oath that we all took. Join us and make clear, once again, that this President cannot wage war without our consent. Claims · 19 wordsThe American people have made it abundantly clear they do not want and they do not support this war.Unearned certainty The ask · 9 wordsWe should stand with them and not Donald Trump.