MEMBER OF CONGRESS

Gregory W. Meeks

Democrat NY 3 statements translated

House of Representatives

Directing the President Pursuant to Section 5(C) of the War Powers Resolution to Remove United States Armed Forces from Hostilities with Iran

2026-07-22

“I want you to vote yes. This war is bad. I want this war to end. I don't like the President. The President is bad. Many people died. The war costs a lot. The President wants more money for war. The people do not want this war. We must end this war. The Constitution says war must end. We must do our job. I want you to vote yes. I want this vote to send a message. We cannot give the President more money for war.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, I say to my colleagues that it has been 144 days of a senseless and a pointless war. The President says he is there to prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapon. In his first term, the President ripped up the JCPOA, as the gentlewoman from Washington has indicated. I was in Congress at that time when the JCPOA was implemented. The United States was not by itself. It was a well-thought-out, diplomatic document that was produced that was clear. It wasn't something that was done by individuals who heretofore only was involved in real estate. It was done with diplomats around the world and even some of our adversaries in Russia and China, the P5+1. I traveled several times to Geneva to have dialogue and conversation with the head of the IAEA, and I, along with some other colleagues, was told that at that particular time, for the first time, they had their eyes on Iran and its nuclear capabilities. They had cameras watching everything. All of the individuals said that Iran was, at the closest, a year to a year and a half, and could not progress because of what we were doing in a collective manner to prevent them from having a nuclear weapon. The IAEA was there until when? The President ripped it up. That is when the cameras and the watching of what was taking place there and the agreement that had been made through a diplomatic channel ended, and Iran pushed us out. That is when we no longer could see what was taking place. Diplomacy was preventing Iran from having a nuclear weapon without the Strait of Hormuz being closed, without the death of the men and women of our military, without the cost of rising prices of food because fertilizer couldn't get through the strait, or the cost of gas. We had allies with us. Are we better off now when we are doing all of this basically by ourselves? Because everyone advised this President of the United States not to do it. Mr. Speaker, with 18 lives of servicemembers, too many Iranian civilians, including more than 100 schoolgirls, and injured countless more, tens of billions of taxpayer dollars spent, and the administration still refuses to give us a full accounting of where that money went. Now, even as they refuse to explain the cost, guess what? They are asking for billions more for a war that they never asked the United States Congress to authorize, a war that the people of the United States of America never asked for. As indicated by the gentlewoman from Washington, 70 percent of Americans are against this war. But you know what, Mr. Speaker, the House and the Senate have spoken. They have already voted in a bipartisan way to end this war. Today, let's vote again, and I believe we will get an even greater margin in this House. Let's not give this President another blank check to wage an illegal war. This is not what the Constitution demands of us. This is not what our constituents expect of us. They expect us to do our jobs. They expect us to abide by the Constitution of the United States of America. They expect us to stand up and tell this President that this illegal war must come to an end once and for all. Vote ``yes'' on this War Powers Resolution, and let the American people know that we will not be altered from doing our job. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

View on ourcommons.ca ↗

“I don't like that we're fighting Iran. The Constitution says Congress should decide when we go to war. The President should ask us first. But he didn't. I'm sad our soldiers died. One was from my district. I want to honor him. I don't think we should be fighting Iran. The President should listen to us. He is not a king. He can't just do whatever he wants. This war is bad. It doesn't help anything. It just makes gas prices go up. We should talk to Iran instead of fighting them. If you think we should keep fighting, then make the President come here and ask us. He has to follow the Constitution. I want my Republican friends to agree with me.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the hardest part of this job for me for all the time that I have been in Congress, all the bills that we have to vote on-- when I put my hand up and swore that I would abide by and protect the Constitution of the United States of America, that Constitution also says that Congress determines when we send our women and men into war. I have had to vote on that several times previously in this Congress. It is a responsibility that is tough, to make that determination of when our men and women are sent to war. Presidents, based upon that Constitution, should come to this body and make their case, and then we have the awesome responsibility of making the determination of whether or not they should or should not. Those have been the toughest votes for me to have and for me to make as a Member of the United States Congress. Unfortunately, in this instance, we didn't have a voice. My heart goes out to the 18 members of the United States armed services who lost their lives. To them, their families, they are patriots, just as Mr. Mast doing his service and Mr. Crow and Mr. Moulton. I thank them for their service because if this Congress says, Go to war, they put their lives on the line. I wish I had the opportunity to talk to all 18 families who lost loved ones in this war. Unfortunately, I can't do all 18. One of the three that lost their life over the last weekend, Sergeant Angel Rampersad, is from my district, my constituent, in Ozone Park, New York, who was killed on July 17 in Jordan. I am going to visit that family when I get back to New York on Friday. My office has already reached out to them. I am going to have a flag flown on top of the Capitol. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of Representative Jayapal's Iran War Powers Resolution because I believe that the President needs to come to us so that we can make that decision and take on that responsibility, as the Constitution says. Let me be clear: This body has already spoken. The War Powers Resolution passed with bipartisan support in the House and in the Senate. The Trump administration was required to end its hostilities against Iran. It has not. A dual-Chamber concurrent resolution has never been struck down by the courts, certainly not in the war powers context. Any claim otherwise is simply wrong. I will also be introducing legislation that would require the Speaker to bring suit against the administration to force it to abide by Congress' vote on the War Powers Resolution. We are here today because the administration broke the law. Three more U.S. servicemembers have made the ultimate sacrifice for an illegal, unauthorized war that the American people don't want. This administration has never sought an Authorization for Use of Military Force from Congress, and most Republicans in this Chamber continue to enable it. As I have said before on this floor, this war has achieved none of our core objectives, and more bombings will not change the reality that is on the ground. With respect to Iran's nuclear program, its hard-line regime, its closure of the Strait of Hormuz, or any of its malign practices, none of that has changed. Addressing those threats requires diplomacy, not more war. Diplomacy must be led by seasoned diplomats and nonproliferation experts, not real estate developers. We need our European allies, our Gulf partners, and, yes, our adversaries back at the table because just bombing without strategy, Mr. Speaker, is not a foreign policy. It is a tantrum. It is a tantrum by a President who cannot clean up the mess that he has made. Let us make no mistake: The President's tantrum is why gas prices are back over $4 a gallon, and they will keep climbing now that the Houthis have threatened their own blockade of the Red Sea. That tantrum is why American troops are under fire. It is why our munitions stockpiles are being drained, and it is why we are teetering on the edge of the forever war we warned this would be. To my Republican colleagues, this war is indefensible. Deep down, many of them really know it. I say: Let's just simply uphold the oath that we took when we took this office, uphold the Constitution of the United States. Stand with us, and let's make clear once again that this President is not a king. He is not a dictator. He is the President of the United States. But there are two bodies called the House of Representatives and the Senate that are equal to the executive branch. He cannot go around this. It is in violation of the Constitution, and he cannot wage war without our consent. If Republicans still believe this war should continue, then I say, fine. Vote in support of this measure and demand the administration come to this Congress and demand that he tells us what his plan is, how it is going to end, and how much money it is going to cost the American people. Also he should follow the Constitution as the law requires. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

View on ourcommons.ca ↗

House of Representatives

National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2027

2026-07-15

“I don't like this bill. It cuts funding by 20 percent. That locks in Trump's cuts. Trump fired people. Trump cut programs. Now we have Ebola. We have screwworm. This bill damages national security. It cuts funding for the United Nations. That helps China and Russia. It cuts funding for an ally. That makes no sense. The bill cuts funding for many programs. That undercuts American leadership. We need to invest in diplomacy and development. That prevents wars. I want more funding. I urge a no vote.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Chair, I rise today in opposition to the fiscal year 2027 appropriations bill for the State Department and foreign operations. Last year, the Trump administration illegally dismantled USAID and fired over 1,300 State Department employees. It rescinded $13 billion for critical humanitarian and development programs, and now House Republicans want to approve legislation that amounts to a 20 percent cut from 2025 enacted levels, locking in those dangerous Trump cuts. It isn't penny-wise, and it certainly is pound-foolish. Case in point: When the administration cut funding for global health, it ended key disease outbreak surveillance and prevention programs. Now we have the second largest Ebola outbreak on record and are scrambling to protect U.S. livestock from the New World screwworm. Our Republican colleagues have also made in order many amendments that would further damage our national security interests. Prohibiting funding for the United Nations means abdicating U.S. leadership to competitors like China and Russia. Prohibiting funding for an ally like Jordan makes zero sense amidst the fallout of President Trump's war of choice with Iran and the devastating humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Cutting off funding for the National Endowment for Democracy, The Asia Foundation, East-West Center, Peace Corps, Millennium Challenge Corporation, Asian Development Fund, and African Development Bank Group further undercuts American leadership and democracy around the world. Sustained investment in our diplomatic and development institutions is essential if you want to prevent wars instead of paying for them. Mr. Chairman, this bill does not deliver, and I urge a ``no'' vote.

View on ourcommons.ca ↗