Removal of the Use of United States Forces for Hostilities Within or Against Venezuela

Floor Speech

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Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this War Powers Resolution.

Twenty-three years ago, I stood on this same floor as Congress debated an Authorization for Use of Military Force in Iraq.

The Bush administration relied on bad intelligence and outright lies to march America into a disastrous foreign intervention that cost trillions of dollars, took thousands of American lives, and helped destabilize the region for a generation.

Today, I fear we are watching history repeat itself. Once again, a far-right administration is using the same playbook. The justification this administration has provided to Congress and the American people is a joke.

If this were about drugs, why seize an oil tanker and threaten an illegal Navy blockade? If this were about drugs, why would the President pardon a drug-trafficking former President of Honduras?

This is not about drugs. This is about regime change and control of Venezuela's resources.

Nicolas Maduro is a dictator, and you don't have to defend him to recognize a simple truth: Venezuela does not pose an imminent threat, and a war will do nothing to make America safer.

We are sleepwalking into another disastrous foreign war, and Congress must wake up and stop this before it is too late.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

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