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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Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his kind words but, more importantly, for his leadership in bringing us together today and for his great statement and that of our distinguished leader, Mr. Jeffries, that we heard earlier.
Mr. Speaker, I stand here as former leader, but also as one with 30 years of experience in intelligence. I think this is a very important debate for us to have. There are two debates going on here. One is the debate as to the Constitution of the United States. The other is whether Iran should have a nuclear weapon, which everyone agrees they should not, but that doesn't mean the Constitution of the United States should be a casualty of that because the administration wants to take a shortcut to the war.
I rise in mourning for the brave servicemembers who have given their lives in this conflict. I honor their ultimate sacrifice and pray for them, their families, and all who were injured in this so far.
I had some veterans in my office, Mr. Speaker, earlier today on two different occasions, and they talked about the fact that having six people killed so early at the beginning of a conflict, an initiation of hostilities is unacceptable. What is our plan? What do we have in mind for them?
Again, everyone agrees Iran should not have a nuclear weapon. To that end, that is why I am so proud about what President Obama did with this. He was masterful in diplomacy and in forging an agreement that verifiably prevented Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
I have this book of statements from our colleagues who told the President: We need to see the substance of the agreement. We need to see the validation and proof of it all. We need the communication to the American people.
The President respected the Congress and came and gave reasons, and this was for an agreement. This President won't even come and give us the data for an action of war.
Let's be clear. This is not a debate about the merits of the war. That is another debate. It is a debate of the Constitution of the United States.
The beauty of the Constitution, central to it, is the separation of powers.
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Ms. PELOSI. The separation of powers, Article I, and in that Article I is very importantly the power of the Congress to declare war.
Again, let us be serious about our oath of office to protect and defend the Constitution as we protect and defend the people of our country. That is our responsibility. That is what we will do.
I urge my colleagues to vote in support of the Constitution and then go on to the debate of whether we should go into Iran or how we go into Iran. I think there will be some mixed views on that, but that is a different subject.
I urge my colleagues to honor your oath of office, honor the vision of our Founders, and honor the sacrifice of our men and women in uniform who have gotten us here today.
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