Resolution, to Remove United States Armed Forces From Hostilities with Iran

Floor Speech

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Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, if the majority is so confident in its position, I don't know why we wouldn't be debating this in a regular debate around the authorization of use of military force.

Mr. Speaker, we have been in this illegal, unconstitutional war for 81 days. We have spent at least $29 billion of taxpayers' money. While Trump says that we have no money for healthcare or housing, inflation is at a 3-year high. Gas in my home State costs $6 a gallon. Travel costs are up right now in the summer months when American families are hoping to go on vacation.

Iran now more clearly controls the Strait of Hormuz and the flow of oil than ever before. We are in a worse place than we were during Barack Obama's Presidency, when we had the Iran nuclear deal in place, until Donald Trump pulled us out of it.

The reality is that, meanwhile, we have lost 13 U.S. troops. Thousands of Iranian and Lebanese civilians have died. Millions more have been displaced, and there is chaos across the region and across the world.

More Republicans need to step up and vote with us to stop this illegal war and force this President to focus on the needs of the American people right here at home, even though he keeps doubling down on his own comments that he doesn't care about or doesn't think about the financial situation of Americans.

Mr. Speaker, Congress has the sole authority to declare war. I don't understand why my Republican colleagues across the aisle don't want to hold the constitutional powers that are granted to this body in Article I. Why not stand up for the things that the Founders put into the Constitution to assure that there would be a debate, that there would be checks and balances, and that there would be authorization from this body to declare war?

Why not stand up for the people at home who are wondering when on Earth we are going to stand up and fight for their price of groceries to go down and the price of gas to go down? The fact that Americans have had healthcare stripped away from them, this is a clear ``yes'' on this War Powers Resolution.

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