Directing the Removal of United States Armed Forces From Hostilities Within or Against Venezuela That Have Not Been Authorized By Congress--

Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I want to thank Senator Kaine for S.J. Res.

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, we are here debating a central Constitution precept, and I am glad. Throughout my career in the House and Senate, I have tried to be consistent on this issue and respect the Constitution and its wisdom.

I am going to say six words I very rarely, if ever, have said in my entire career in Congress: I agree with Senator Rand Paul. I believe what he has said on the floor today is in fact the way I feel about what this section of the Constitution means.

In one of the previous debates with the War Powers Resolution, War Powers Act being debated on the floor, Senator Kaine reminded us of that historic moment when the Founding Fathers decided to write this Constitution, which we have all sworn to uphold and defend. And leading that Constitutional Convention, of course, was the greatest general then and still in the history of the United States: George Washington.

Despite the fact that he was in the room and leading the conversation about what Constitution would govern this country, article I, section 8 put in a provision that basically said, when it comes to a future war, even if you are President, General Washington, that Congress would have the power to decide whether we go to war. Senator Kaine made that point in an earlier debate, and I thought it was well worth repeating.

Let me say a word about Venezuela. In 2018, I had the opportunity to visit Venezuela--a once prosperous, albeit imperfect democracy, suffering terrible economic and political decline under the disgraceful and failed leadership of Nicolas Maduro.

I told then-President Maduro that if he rigged any upcoming elections, Venezuelans would be even more isolated and endure further unnecessary suffering. He went ahead with a sham election anyway, leading to even more cruelty and the exodus of literally millions of Venezuelans, some to the United States.

Last July, Venezuela held another Presidential election, during which the regime, the Maduro regime, arbitrarily blocked opposition candidates from the ballot and tried to undermine the preelectoral process. Nonetheless, more than 10 million Venezuelans showed up to vote, and results meticulously documented by credible election monitors showed a sweeping victory for opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez. Maduro and his criminal enablers again refused to respect the rules and shamelessly refused to swear in legitimately chosen President Gonzalez.

So let me make it clear: Nicolas Maduro is an illegitimate leader guilty of turning Venezuela into a failed state, one that has caused terrible suffering and misery for the people who live there. This is not the question at hand. As I have long said, it is long overdue that the result of last year's elections be respected in Venezuela.

But let me be clear on a position I have also held for a long time regardless of who has been in the White House. Only Congress, under the Constitution, has the power to declare war. Article I, section 8 is clear on this issue--and for good reason. Only the people's elected representatives should have the awesome power to send our sons and daughters into armed conflict.

I remember thinking about this in personal terms during the era of the Vietnam war when I was a college student, thinking about the fact that there had not been any formal declaration of war in Vietnam, and yet over 40,000 of my brothers and sisters gave their lives in that conflict.

Our Founding Fathers were wise in this regard and well aware of human history in which Kings and unelected leaders sent their people into war for personal gain without any public consent.

Congress overwhelmingly reaffirmed this key constitutional provision when it passed the War Powers Act in 1973 over the veto of then- President Richard Nixon.

Under the law, the President has the authority to approve military attacks as a response to an imminent threat or with the expressed authorization of Congress. I do not believe these conditions have been met in this situation.

We in Congress have already ceded too much of our constitutional authority on appropriations and other key items to the President. This body must not do so regarding matters of war.

I think about the idea of a war breaking out between the United States and Venezuela. Certainly picking off unarmed boats in the ocean is an easy task for our great military. But let's keep in mind that we live in a world where there is asymmetric power. What am I talking about? Take a look at what the drones--many of them pretty cheap pieces of equipment--have wrought in countries like Ukraine in the midst of their war. What would turn out to be a mass of force by the United States sent down in the Caribbean--there is sure to be a show of force, maybe subject to attack even by Venezuela, poorly armed country that it is.

So I would say that if we are thinking clearly about this, we would think long and hard before we engaged in any conflict with Venezuela. That is what article I, section 8 is about. The American people, before being asked to give any sons and daughters and risk their lives in a war, have to have a voice in the process, and they do that through Members of Congress and through our Constitution. That is what Senator Kaine of Virginia reminds us of today. That is why I will support S.J. Res. 90.

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