Adam B. Schiff

Mr. President, Claims · 77 wordsever since the USS Abraham Lincoln was commissioned in the waning days of the Cold War, it has been known for many things.¹ After a volcano erupted in the Philippines in 1991, the Lincoln led the largest peacetime evacuation of United States military personnel and their families.² A baby was even born on board during the evacuation and named Abraham Lincoln.³ In 1993, the Lincoln became the first carrier in the Pacific fleet to integrate female aviators.⁴ Procedure · 2 wordsBut today, ProcedureClaims · 175 wordsas a result of the President’s war with Iran, the Lincoln has achieved another distinction, one it neither sought nor wished to claim. And that is for more than 300 days, over 5,000 sailors and marines aboard the Lincoln were at sea, without visits to their family or their loved ones, without visits to friends apart from fellow servicemembers.⁵ In fact, the Lincoln set a modern-day record for consecutive days at sea without a port visit and a record away from its home port of San Diego.⁶ And even now, just recently, after stopping in Thailand for its first regular port call in nearly 9 months, hull rusted, paint peeling, the Lincoln and its crew were still a long way from home.⁷ As the President’s senseless war has dragged on, it has taken a heavier toll on the lives and well-being of our servicemembers and their families, many of whom are in California. So how does the Commander in Chief respond when asked last month if carriers like the Lincoln had been deployed too long? Procedure · 9 wordsDonald Trump said, and this is a direct quote: ProcedureClaims · 190 wordsNot nearly long enough?⁸ It was long enough that our sailors had been working 12- to 16-hour shifts, at times facing the danger of enemy missiles. It was long enough that they were forced to ration food and water, shortages that have reportedly caused severe weight loss and health impacts. It was long enough that crew members have had severe mental health crises, which created significant distress for their families as well to the point where some servicemembers sought to jump off the carrier into the sea. It was long enough that servicemembers had to deal with black mold that drips, as one servicemember described ``onto your face, shoulders, arms, or head while standing in line for a meal or even walking out of the shower.’’ Doug, a constituent from California, wrote a letter to me expressing his deep concerns over his son’s service on the Lincoln. His son had to be medically evacuated from the ship after suffering a collapsed lung, which Doug believes was connected to malnutrition and overexertion. During that time his family spent thousands of dollars sending him food, but only about half of it arrived. Procedure · 3 wordsDoug went on: ProcedureClaims · 70 wordsWhat he told me as a father and veteran turns my stomach and must be brought to light. Another constituent of mine, Annabelle from San Diego, shared her story about her husband attempting to jump overboard from the Lincoln during his deployment. ``He is scared’’ she said. ``He thinks he will get a dishonorable discharge.’’ And just because he was burned out, his 13-year career was ruined just like that. Positioning · 19 wordsThat is not fair. That is not right. That is not what he should be worrying about right now.Positioning Claims · 213 wordsBut this is what Annabelle and her three kids are now living with. Shelby, a high schooler whose mom is deployed on the Lincoln, spoke about how hard it is to start her senior year without her mom. She asked ``Will she be back before homecoming? my birthday? Christmas?’’ I have no idea, and that is all that I think about. This week, we learned from the Acting Secretary of the Navy that eight U.S. Navy personnel assigned to the Lincoln’s carrier strike group attempted suicide during the prolonged time at sea.⁹ The Navy also confirmed that one sailor went overboard from the ship this summer, ¹⁰while another attempted to go overboard. After months of denials, the Defense Department confirmed what has been reported for months, ¹¹and that is deteriorating mental health aboard the Lincoln and multiple attempts by sailors to jump overboard. These are just some of the alarming, dangerous, and shameful conditions our sailors and marines have endured aboard the Lincoln and also what our families are going through while Pete Hegseth posts workout videos and Donald Trump renames lakes and pores over blueprints for the gilded ballroom. For Donald Trump and his billionaire cronies, events in black tie; for our servicemembers aboard the Lincoln, showers and meals with black mold. Positioning · 11 wordsCould there be a clearer encapsulation of this administration’s misplaced priorities?Positioning Claims · 162 wordsSo the American people were told that the war would be over very soon. That was March 9--10 days after the war started.¹² Now the United States is more than 6 months into this disastrous war.¹³ Months of negotiations to end the conflict have failed, but the President promises us that the war will soon come to an end after the election. And what have we achieved in this war that has cost the lives of 19 U.S. servicemembers?¹⁴ Prices at the pump and grocery checkout have skyrocketed. Diesel prices, fertilizer prices are crushing farmers while resultant food prices are crushing the rest of America. Utility and medical bills are out of control. Everyone but the President and his buddies are painfully aware that we are experiencing an affordability crisis in America while the President says ``not long enough.’’ In the closing days of the Mexican-American War, our 16th President, whose name the Lincoln proudly carries, was a freshman here in Congress.<sup>15</sup> Procedure · 6 wordsHe wrote to his law partner: ProcedureReasoning · 51 wordsLincoln wrote-- Lincoln wrote-- We need to take Lincoln’s words to heart. This Congress is not a royal court to do the bidding and bow and scrape before an all-powerful sovereign. We are a coequal branch of government, and 250 years into this experiment in self-governance, we should show Lincoln’s resolve. Positioning · 19 wordsWill we continue to place the President where Kings have stood, or will we say at long last, ``enough’’?Positioning Claims · 17 wordsWill we make it clear that this war, illegal from the start, has gone on too long? Positioning · 16 wordsWill we insist on the removal and return of our troops? I pray that we will, PositioningThe ask · 7 wordsand I urge support on this resolution.