Official Congressional Record
Madam Speaker, today, I rise against the Trump administration’s reckless, costly, and illegal war in Iran. In just the last 24 hours, President Trump’s deal has collapsed yet again. Tensions have escalated, blockades have been reinstated, and strikes have resumed. President Trump has informed the Nation that we are, once again, at war with Iran, an illegal war that no one asked for, no one wanted, and yet every American is paying the price for. Donald Trump is backing the United States into a corner, and the worst part about it is that he has no plan to get us out. His strategy is to bomb first, think later. He is sacrificing our economy, our security, and our standing in the world, and for what? One in two Americans can’t afford health insurance. Food, housing, and childcare costs are astronomical. Inflation is at a 3-year high and the cost of gas, groceries, and everything in between is going up. President Trump was elected to office on the promise of lowering costs and ending unwinnable wars overseas, and yet here we are. Now, he is demanding that taxpayers pay hundreds of billions of dollars to fund his new endless, costly, illegal war in Iran. The American people deserve so much better from their President. When Donald Trump first got us into this war, he said it would last about 4 to 6 weeks. Well, now it has been 20. Over the last 5 months, the Trump administration has spent more than $100 billion on their illegal war on the other side of the world. Do you know what $100 billion could fund here at home? Childcare for 7 million children, healthcare for 10 million people, food assistance for 45 million Americans. These aren’t just arbitrary numbers. Trump’s actions have real impacts and real costs on real people’s lives. Let’s not forget that this comes as Trump made the single largest cut to healthcare and food assistance in our Nation’s history last year. After millions of Americans have lost their health insurance and families are struggling to feed their children, President Trump is now demanding that taxpayers send hundreds of billions of dollars to fight a foreign war overseas. Of course, now President Trump has literally told us time and time again that he does not care about the American people. Well, he may not care, but the elected officials in this Chamber should. It is literally our job to do what is best for our constituents. We cannot stand by and watch President Trump drag us into yet another mess, especially when it is at the expense of Americans every single time. Let’s just step back for a moment here and ask the question: Why are we even in this war? This administration still can’t give us a good answer. No explanation. No reason. No strategy. No endgame. As an American, as a patriot, as the wife of an Army combat veteran, I am outraged. When you make the decision to send American soldiers into harm’s way, you better have a damn good reason for it and you better know what you are doing. We have neither, and this administration continues to recklessly put our troops’ lives on the line without care or cause. It is shameful. That is why I am joining my colleague and combat veteran Representative Pat Ryan in fighting to end this reckless war and reassert our congressional authority over war-making powers. Madam Speaker, we need to pass the No Funds for Iran War Act and stop any more taxpayer dollars from being used for military action against Iran. Both Chambers of Congress, which are Republican controlled I might add, have passed War Powers Resolutions to end the Iran war but there needs to be more. President Trump thinks he is above the law, but he is not. It is up to the Republican majorities in Congress to stop him. It is their constitutional duty to put the American people, our national security, our economy above a single President’s self-serving war of choice. Madam Speaker, I plead to my Republican colleagues, what is your line? When will you put the American people first and stop this war? We are not powerless. We can end this war. I implore my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to listen to the American people, find their courage, and end this war. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Miller of West Virginia). Members are reminded to refrain from engaging in personalities toward the President.
