Directing the President Pursuant to Section 5(C) of the War Powers Resolution to Remove United States Armed Forces From Unauthorized Hostilities in the Islamic Republic of Iran

Floor Speech

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Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Mast for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, my Republican friend from Ohio knows I deeply respect him, his service to our country, and his consistency, frankly. That is something that we are not seeing from many of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, and that is to be commended.

We have a different opinion on whether this is legal or not. We all know that the reason we are here is that for nearly half a century, the Iranian regime has terrorized the globe with acts of cowardly violence through its own forces and proxy militias; namely, Hamas, the Houthis, and Hezbollah, whom they have provided military, political, diplomatic, and monetary aid.

They have killed approximately a thousand Americans and maimed thousands of others, both Americans and Arabs, with roadside bombs and other IEDs. We have seen all the videos online with drones and missiles hurtling into malls, hospitals, and hotels. This has to stop.

During his first term, President Trump imposed a maximum pressure campaign in response to President Obama's lack of action regarding Iran, and that crippled Iran's ability to raise revenues from its oil operations and fund their terror network.

How do I know that, Mr. Speaker? Because as a member of the Financial Services Committee where all of those sanctions originated, I worked on those very sanctions.

However, years later, the Biden administration found those moves too far and harsh on Iran and refused to enforce those sanctions. Sanctions are only as good and useful as their willingness to enforce them.

During this period, Iranian crude production topped 3 million barrels a day, greater by more than a factor of seven during the maximum pressure campaign, allowing the Iranian regime to continue to finance its brutality internationally and domestically.

Congress attempted to reverse course by passing legislation to codify the maximum pressure campaign measures. That is why the House of Representatives passed my bill, the No U.S. Financing for Iran Act, by an overwhelming bipartisan majority during the 118th Congress, to cut off the Iranian regime from the U.S. financial system. My friends who voted for that seem to forget.

My colleagues on the other side of the aisle tend to forget that the Iranian regime directed an assassination attempt against the current President of the United States. Whether you like President Trump or not, no sitting President should be allowed to be a target by a foreign country without consequences.

Peace through strength does not mean another open-ended war of the past. Operation Epic Fury is a defensive action using overwhelming force to protect the American people from an imminent and growing threat.

Additionally, it cannot be ignored that Iran was producing conventional drones and ballistic missiles at an alarming rate, until just this past weekend, and to provide a protective layer of defense for its nuclear ambitions and nuclear weapons development.

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Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, the Trump administration has clearly defined the mission, the objective, and the timeline. He has notified and briefed Congress on these operations. Simply put, Iran cannot, under any circumstances, possess the capabilities for having nuclear weapons.

The Biden administration's official policy toward Iran summed up in one word: ``Don't.'' That phrase underpinned one of the most ineffective foreign policy agendas in the 21st century. Give me a break.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote against this resolution, hoping to score political points by tying the President's hands in the face of danger. It is time that we defend our liberty, our freedom, our neighbors, and this great Nation in the face of Iran's systematic terror.

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