Discussion · Senate
Christopher Murphy Democrat
“I want the Senate to pass this resolution to end the war with Iran. Most Americans believe this war is hurting our country. It is driving up gas prices, mortgage rates, and the cost of shipping oil. Our troops are under terrible strain, and our military has not stopped Iran from rebuilding missiles or working on nuclear weapons.”
“Mr. President, I am on the floor today to support yet another resolution to end the war in Iran. Here is the latest poll regarding public support or approval. Eighteen percent of respondents--this latest CNN poll--say that President Trump’s decisions around the war in Iran are helping the United States. Seventy percent of Americans say that his decisions around the Iran war are hurting Americans. That is a stunning number. Basically, it is only the hard-core MAGA supporters that still believe this war is a good idea. Everybody else--Independents, Democrats, independent-thinking Republicans--have all decided that this body needs to vote to end this war. And it is not hard to figure out why. Here is a chart that is familiar to my colleagues. This is the unreal spike in gas and diesel prices that has occurred solely because of this war. If you are in Indiana right now, diesel is $7 a gallon. That is why farms are going bankrupt right now in the Midwest at record rates; the tariffs and the high price of diesel. But for American consumers who are just filling up their tank with gasoline, the same disaster: in California, above $6 a gallon; in many States, above $5 a gallon. And it is just going up and up and up. But Americans also see this has been a national security disaster for the country. It has obviously been an economic nightmare. Mortgage rates are at 7 percent again, by the way, if you hadn’t noticed. That is because of the war, primarily; the tariffs as well. But Americans oppose this war 70 to 18 in the current poll because they know that it is hurting our national security. We have not had a resolution on the floor in a number of weeks. So I just want to talk about four things that have happened in the last few weeks that show how this war is spiraling and spiraling out of control. Every single day, this war becomes more dangerous for the region, more of a disaster for the United States. One of the things that the administration said that was a motivating factor for the war was getting rid of Iran’s missiles. I don’t know how many times we heard Secretary Hegseth tell us that the goal was to destroy Iran’s missiles and missile capacity. And back in April, he claimed that they had functionally destroyed--that is his word-- ``functionally’’ destroyed Iran’s ability to make new missiles. Well, the Wall Street Journal just reported that Iran is producing ballistic missiles again at scale. And we only were able to eliminate around 30 percent of the missiles. They have most of their stockpiles from before the war, and now they are producing missiles. Again, satellite imagery shows that Iran is rebuilding bridges and roads to production sites; they are restoring tunnel entrances; and they are building capacity again. Iran is building missiles again. This is the whole reason we were going into the war--a total failure--to eliminate Iran’s missile capacity. What is the strain on our servicemembers? Well, we just learned this week that eight Navy sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln have attempted suicide. Two of those sailors, as we all know, tried to jump overboard to end their lives. This is a ship that has been without a port call--was without a port call for 286 days. That is abdication of leadership, an abdication of the responsibility to care about our troops’ safety by our Department of Defense leadership. We have sailors and soldiers and airmen that are in crisis right now because we have put them in harm’s way for far longer--for far longer-- than any brave man or woman who has signed up to defend this Nation deserves to be in harm’s way. We have a new war that has broken out. A new war has broken out in the last 2 weeks. This was totally predictable. Everybody said: If you go to war with Iran, the Houthis are not going to stand put. They are going to start firing inside Yemen and at the Saudis, and that is exactly what has happened. Drone strikes from the Houthis have knocked out Saudi Arabia’s bypass pipeline earlier this month. They have seized control of routes along the Red Sea. And, functionally, the Red Sea is now shut down as a means for the Saudis to move oil out of the region. This is part of the reason why gas prices continue to go up. The Strait of Hormuz is partially open again, but at what expense? Prewar, it cost a supertanker $200,000 to move through the strait. Today, it costs--this is a per-day cost. Today, it costs $1 million per day for a supertanker to move through the strait, five times the cost before the war. That alone adds $26 to the cost of each barrel of oil. So, even though we are moving some transit through the Strait of Hormuz, it is at a cost that consumers can’t afford. Finally, there has been satellite imagery in the last few weeks that has shown new construction inside Iran around a complex called Pickaxe Mountain. This is probably their new, most important nuclear site. It looks as if they are digging a very deep bunker--deeper than Fordow--to restart their nuclear research program. As one expert said, the window to strike Pickaxe Mountain has already expired because the regime has dug so far underground that we can now not hit it. So they are restarting the nuclear program. They are restarting their missile production program. We have not eliminated their drone capability. We are leading up to a mass suicide and self-harm crisis amongst our servicemembers. Costs are spiraling out of control for consumers and for farms. A new war is breaking out in the region that threatens the stability of the Middle East and further drives up gas prices. That is why support for this war is at 18 percent in this country. We are supposed to be a democratic body that listens to the will of the people. The people--whether they are Republicans, Independents, or Democrats--are telling us loudly and unequivocally: End this war. And it is not like we can’t. This resolution is a chance for this body to end the war. So we are pleading, once again--it is the tenth time that we have had a resolution like this--for our colleagues to join us. The American public is making it clear: They can’t handle the costs of this war, and they can’t stand for the national security harm it is doing to the United States. I yield the floor.”
Mr. President, I am on the floor today to support yet another resolution to end the war in Iran. Here is the latest poll regarding public support or approval. Eighteen percent of respondents--this latest CNN poll--say that President Trump’s decisions around the war in Iran are helping the United States. Seventy percent of Americans say that his decisions around the Iran war are hurting Americans. That is a stunning number. Basically, it is only the hard-core MAGA supporters that still believe this war is a good idea. Everybody else--Independents, Democrats, independent-thinking Republicans--have all decided that this body needs to vote to end this war. And it is not hard to figure out why. Here is a chart that is familiar to my colleagues. This is the unreal spike in gas and diesel prices that has occurred solely because of this war. If you are in Indiana right now, diesel is $7 a gallon. That is why farms are going bankrupt right now in the Midwest at record rates; the tariffs and the high price of diesel. But for American consumers who are just filling up their tank with gasoline, the same disaster: in California, above $6 a gallon; in many States, above $5 a gallon. And it is just going up and up and up. But Americans also see this has been a national security disaster for the country. It has obviously been an economic nightmare. Mortgage rates are at 7 percent again, by the way, if you hadn’t noticed. That is because of the war, primarily; the tariffs as well. But Americans oppose this war 70 to 18 in the current poll because they know that it is hurting our national security. We have not had a resolution on the floor in a number of weeks. So I just want to talk about four things that have happened in the last few weeks that show how this war is spiraling and spiraling out of control. Every single day, this war becomes more dangerous for the region, more of a disaster for the United States. One of the things that the administration said that was a motivating factor for the war was getting rid of Iran’s missiles. I don’t know how many times we heard Secretary Hegseth tell us that the goal was to destroy Iran’s missiles and missile capacity. And back in April, he claimed that they had functionally destroyed--that is his word-- ``functionally’’ destroyed Iran’s ability to make new missiles. Well, the Wall Street Journal just reported that Iran is producing ballistic missiles again at scale. And we only were able to eliminate around 30 percent of the missiles. They have most of their stockpiles from before the war, and now they are producing missiles. Again, satellite imagery shows that Iran is rebuilding bridges and roads to production sites; they are restoring tunnel entrances; and they are building capacity again. Iran is building missiles again. This is the whole reason we were going into the war--a total failure--to eliminate Iran’s missile capacity. What is the strain on our servicemembers? Well, we just learned this week that eight Navy sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln have attempted suicide. Two of those sailors, as we all know, tried to jump overboard to end their lives. This is a ship that has been without a port call--was without a port call for 286 days. That is abdication of leadership, an abdication of the responsibility to care about our troops’ safety by our Department of Defense leadership. We have sailors and soldiers and airmen that are in crisis right now because we have put them in harm’s way for far longer--for far longer-- than any brave man or woman who has signed up to defend this Nation deserves to be in harm’s way. We have a new war that has broken out. A new war has broken out in the last 2 weeks. This was totally predictable. Everybody said: If you go to war with Iran, the Houthis are not going to stand put. They are going to start firing inside Yemen and at the Saudis, and that is exactly what has happened. Drone strikes from the Houthis have knocked out Saudi Arabia’s bypass pipeline earlier this month. They have seized control of routes along the Red Sea. And, functionally, the Red Sea is now shut down as a means for the Saudis to move oil out of the region. This is part of the reason why gas prices continue to go up. The Strait of Hormuz is partially open again, but at what expense? Prewar, it cost a supertanker $200,000 to move through the strait. Today, it costs--this is a per-day cost. Today, it costs $1 million per day for a supertanker to move through the strait, five times the cost before the war. That alone adds $26 to the cost of each barrel of oil. So, even though we are moving some transit through the Strait of Hormuz, it is at a cost that consumers can’t afford. Finally, there has been satellite imagery in the last few weeks that has shown new construction inside Iran around a complex called Pickaxe Mountain. This is probably their new, most important nuclear site. It looks as if they are digging a very deep bunker--deeper than Fordow--to restart their nuclear research program. As one expert said, the window to strike Pickaxe Mountain has already expired because the regime has dug so far underground that we can now not hit it. So they are restarting the nuclear program. They are restarting their missile production program. We have not eliminated their drone capability. We are leading up to a mass suicide and self-harm crisis amongst our servicemembers. Costs are spiraling out of control for consumers and for farms. A new war is breaking out in the region that threatens the stability of the Middle East and further drives up gas prices. That is why support for this war is at 18 percent in this country. We are supposed to be a democratic body that listens to the will of the people. The people--whether they are Republicans, Independents, or Democrats--are telling us loudly and unequivocally: End this war. And it is not like we can’t. This resolution is a chance for this body to end the war. So we are pleading, once again--it is the tenth time that we have had a resolution like this--for our colleagues to join us. The American public is making it clear: They can’t handle the costs of this war, and they can’t stand for the national security harm it is doing to the United States. I yield the floor.