Support for the Lee of California House Amendment to Senate Amendment to H.R. 550--To Repeal the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002

Floor Speech

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Mr. HECK. Madam Speaker, authorizing military force is the most sobering responsibility Congress has.

Washington's 10th District includes Joint Base Lewis-McChord, where over 40,000 servicemembers are stationed. I am very aware that every decision I make can affect their lives and the lives of their families. I take that responsibility very seriously.

In 2001, Congress passed an Authorization for the Use of Military Force only three days after the September 11th attacks. Because the country was still trying to determine exactly how we had been attacked, that AUMF was written broadly. In the time since, the 2001 AUMF has been used dozens of times to justify military action.

Subsequently, Congress passed another AUMF in 2002, which authorized military action in Iraq. President Trump cited the 2002 AUMF as justification for his decision to kill Qassem Soleimani in early January, more than 17 years after the AUMF's passage.

I have advocated for the end of the 2002 AUMF since 2014, during my first term in Congress. But it was only when I joined the House Intelligence Committee last Congress that I fully appreciated the scope and scale of our missions around the world.

I would have joined my colleagues in voting to repeal the 2002 AUMF, and I was proud to cosponsor the underlying resolution. I strongly believe that Congress must reassert its role in decisions of when to use military force. The 2002 AUMF has been used to justify military action that had not been contemplated by Congress. By repealing it, Congress will bring grave decisions about war and military action closer to the people whose lives will be altered by them. I am glad the House voted for such an outcome.

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