Executive Session

Floor Speech

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Mr. PETERS. Madam President, in the United States, American foreign policy is not determined by just one person. The Constitution makes that clear. Article I grants Congress the power to declare war, not the President.

Consistent with that responsibility, Democrats and Republicans in this body worked together to pass a bipartisan resolution directing the President to end U.S. support for Saudi-led hostilities in Yemen. I am a proud cosponsor of that bill, which passed both Chambers of Congress in recent months.

We made it unmistakably clear that our involvement in Yemen is not authorized by Congress, but the President has chosen to sidestep the bipartisan majority by not signing this bill into law.

In doing so, he is sustaining the crisis through the continuing refueling of Saudi aircraft and other activities.

The American people are not asking the President for this. Taxpayers, certainly, do not want to pay for it.

I serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and I can assure you that supporting Saudi Arabia's operations in Yemen is nowhere-- nowhere--to be found in our national defense strategy.

I urge my colleagues to reject continued support for Saudi Arabia's military actions in Yemen. Congress must do its job and vote to override the President's veto.

We have an opportunity this week to help make the suffering in Yemen come to an end. Let's not forget that 22 million people in Yemen still need humanitarian assistance or protection. More than 8 million people still go hungry every single day. Sixteen million Yemenis still don't have clean water, resulting in pervasive disease outbreaks. Children are still dying every single day. Every 10 minutes, a child under 5 dies in Yemen from a preventable cause, according to the United Nations.

For many people, their survival is a daily challenge and struggle. Their future hangs, literally, by a thread.

In addition to disease, starvation, and displacement, the people of Yemen are subjected to indiscriminate bombings led by Saudi Arabia.

Let me be clear. Bombs will not resolve this conflict. All parties must come together and work toward a peaceful solution that places the dignity of all Yemeni people at the center of those negotiations, and we can help facilitate that. That is what the American people want.

If you go to Michigan, you can meet with some of the Yemeni Americans who just want the same thing that everybody else does--help for those who are suffering and meaningful steps toward peace.

American diplomacy can help to resolve this tragedy, and we must make every effort to do so.

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