“I am asking the Senate to take up this resolution to pull U.S. troops out of fighting with Iran.”

“Mr. President, pursuant to 50 U.S.C. 1546(a) and in accordance with section 601(b) of the International Security Assistance and Arms Export Control Act, I move to discharge the Committee on Foreign Relations from further consideration of S.J. Res. 181.”

“I want the Senate to pass this resolution to end the war with Iran. Congress did not authorize it. It costs billions of dollars, drives up gas prices at home, and has already killed 18 American service members.”

“Mr. President, I rise in support of my legislation to end President Trump’s unauthorized, illegal war with Iran. This war will go down in history as one of the greatest strategic failures in modern American history. It was launched without a clear plan, executed without a coherent strategy, and has become a costly, self-inflicted disaster for the American people. Every justification that we were given for this conflict has proven hollow. We were told that Iran’s nuclear program would be eliminated. Instead, Iran still holds nuclear material, and its leaders may be more determined than ever to build a weapon. We were told that the Iranian regime would crumble; instead, it now holds new leverage of the world’s energy supply in the Strait of Hormuz. We were told this President would bring peace and lower prices; instead, he has given us war, pain, and higher prices. New York families are struggling to afford groceries and keep up with the rent, and what is President Trump doing? Pouring billions of tax dollars into an open-ended war in Iran. This reckless war is driving up monthly bills and making everyday life harder for working families. This administration demands billions for wars abroad, then claims we can’t afford to improve our schools or repair our roads or lower the cost of healthcare for millions of Americans. President Trump has made it clear that he doesn’t factor in how Americans are doing financially, but the families I represent feel it every single day. Every time they fill the gas tank and watch the numbers climb, New Yorkers are being forced to pay a premium for this President’s instability. According to data from the Joint Economic Committee, the average family has to pay an additional $432 on gas alone since this war began. Statewide, that is an extra $2 billion at the pump. Let me repeat that. That is an extra $2 billion at the pump. Nationwide, Americans have paid $60 billion more on gas. Every time I go home, I hear from constituents about their concerns: the cost of healthcare, the cost of gas, the cost to keep lights on, and put food on the table. Those are the conversations happening in kitchens across America. That is what we should be focused on here in Washington, not dropping bombs around the world. And let us not forget there is a human cost to this war that no dollar figure could ever capture. Our servicemembers did not volunteer to be pawns in a chaotic, unauthorized war with no plan and no end in sight. Eighteen American heroes have already paid the ultimate sacrifice. Eighteen families have been shattered. Just last week, New York lost one of our own: SGT Angel Rampersad of Queens. Sergeant Rampersad was a true patriot who begged her mother to let her enlist the moment she was old enough. She served this country courageously and honorably for more than 6 years before she was killed in an Iranian attack in Jordan. Our servicemembers take one of the most dangerous jobs there is. In return, we owe them a sacred obligation. We do not send them into harm’s way without a clear mission, defined objectives, and the support of the American people. The President’s war with Iran is a betrayal of that obligation. New Yorkers and all Americans deserve more. They deserve better. So I ask my colleagues: How many more servicemembers will we lose? How many more billions of dollars must families pay at the pump? How many more empty promises must be made from an out-of-control administration before this body finally acts? Under the Constitution, we have the power to end this war today. Let’s use it. I urge my colleagues to vote yes on this resolution. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Lummis). The clerk will call the roll. The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.”

• Little substance
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  Speech on a bill

  Signal 42 of 100

  Much of this statement went to praise, blame, greetings, routine procedure or general stories rather than reasons, requests or specific points.

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“I want the Senate to pass this resolution to end the war with Iran and bring American troops home. Most Americans do not want this war to continue. Republican senators should listen to the public instead of backing the President.”

“Mr. President, I will be brief. Nearly half a year into Trump’s ruinous war with Iran, the conflict is widening instead of winding down. More countries get dragged into the mix, more fronts open up, and more Americans get killed and injured. The American people have made it clear: No one wants this war to go on. A new poll, this morning, found only a fifth--a fifth--of the American people, including less than half of the Republicans, want the war to continue. Are our Senate Republicans listening? The country is clamoring for you to end this war and to bring our troops home--something you can do right now by voting for Senator Gillibrand’s War Powers Resolution. Is Trump so intimidating, so untouchable that Republicans will keep siding with him instead of the 80 percent of Americans calling for the fighting to end? The biggest thing standing between our troops and home is a Republican Party that is too afraid to cross the President. Congress can break this vicious cycle of escalation Trump started in Iran, and this War Powers Resolution is how we do it. I urge--I plead--with my Republican colleagues to listen to the American people. Vote to end this war. We are going to keep forcing Republicans to vote until you do. I yield the floor.”