Washington, DC -- Representative Gregory W. Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, today delivered the following remarks on the floor during debate on House Concurrent Resolution 38, a bipartisan War Powers Resolution introduced by Representatives Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY) to prohibit the Trump administration's hostilities against Iran.
"In Donald Trump’s own words, in Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s own words… The United States is at war with Iran.
"Did Congress authorize that war, as the Constitution requires? No.
"Was there any imminent threat requiring this use of force? The administration has presented none. In fact, the word imminent does not appear once in the administration's own War Powers notification.
"Did the Trump administration even bother making the case to the American people or to Congress? Just eight days ago, during the State of the Union, the most visible platform a president has, he could have laid out the rationale for military action. Instead, Iran, was just a footnote in a record-long speech.
"This is a war of choice, launched by this administration without authorization, without clearly stated objectives or a defined endgame, and without explaining how they intend to keep Americans safe.
"The chaos unleashed will not be borne by the president’s family. It will be borne by our men and women in uniform who will face retaliation from Iran and its proxy networks. It will be borne by innocent civilians at heightened risk of attacks from Iran’s aligned terrorist cells. It will be borne by American families paying more for groceries, for electricity, and for gasoline. All for Trump’s war of choice.
"Americans woke up Saturday to news that the United States is again at war in the Middle East. They don’t know for how long, because the president has not articulated a clearly defined endgame. Military action without a defined strategy invites escalation, mission creep, and failure. We should have learned this lesson already from Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam.
"As Benjamin Franklin said, 'when you fail to plan, you plan to fail.'
"This War Powers Resolution is simple. This is not a vote on authorization for use of military force. This simply demands that President Trump come to Congress as the Constitution demands, to seek authorization for what he himself has described as a war.
"The War Powers Resolution does not prevent the United States from defending itself. It does not stop the president from responding to an imminent attack. It does not limit us from protecting our troops.
"I’ve served in Congress for nearly three decades. I’ve been in this chamber as this body has done its most sacred and serious work: deliberating whether to send American service members into harm’s way.
"I was here for the vote after 9/11 to go into Afghanistan, a heavy decision but one I believed was necessary for our national security.
"I was here for the invasion of Iraq. The Bush administration did come to Congress to provide intelligence -- some real and some deeply flawed -- and made their case. I ultimately voted against that war of choice and historic failure, but at least the Bush administration followed the Constitution.
"And year after year, I have watched Congress gradually relinquish its authority on matters of war to the Executive branch. We’ve allowed overly broad Authorizations for Use of Military Force to remain on the book. We have permitted presidents of both parties to commit forces without a vote. This war with Iran is the most extreme example of that abdication.
"The framers rejected the idea of a king. That is why they granted Congress the power to declare war. It is long past time to reclaim that authority; President Trump is not a king, and if he believes that war with Iran is in our national interest, then he must come to Congress and make that case.
"I would oppose his war of choice, but each Member here must make clear with their vote where they stand and own that decision.
"The president has initiated hostilities without a clear mission, without a coherent strategy, and without a defined endgame. This open-ended, undefined military engagement is precisely what the War Powers Resolution was designed to restrain. We are not the Iranian Parliament; we are not a rubber stamp. We are a co-equal branch of government, and our duty is not optional, it was written in the Constitution. The framers gave Congress this authority because they believed no single person should have the power to take this nation to war alone. Today we either defend that principle or we surrender it. I choose to defend it."
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