Barbara Lee: “First let me thank the chairman of our Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. Engel, for his kind words of congratulations and…”

“First let me thank the chairman of our Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. Engel, for his kind words of congratulations and also for his persistent and steady leadership on this issue and so many issues. I also want to take a moment to thank Speaker Pelosi; Majority Leader Hoyer; our whip, Mr. Clyburn; and also Congresswoman Jayapal and Congressman Pocan. And I have to give a shout-out to my staff; our legislative director, Emma Mehrabi; my chief of staff, Julie Nickson; all of Team Lee; Mr. Engel's staff; all of our staffs who have come together, who have exhibited such an unwavering dedication and patriotism on this issue. My bipartisan amendment before us today, Madam Speaker, would repeal the 2002 Iraq Authorization for Use of Military Force, AUMF. It is important to note that nearly 75 percent of current Members were not serving when this AUMF was passed in 2002. I have long fought to repeal this. And what we knew then is that the 2003 invasion of Iraq was based on lies told by our own executive branch. Let me remind you now that, in 2002, I stood here and urged us not to rush into war. I offered an amendment to the AUMF that was presented that would have prevented the war by requiring the inspectors to allow verifiable information with regard to the alleged weapons of mass destruction before we took military action. That amendment received 72 votes. But had it passed, it would have exposed the false intelligence that the war was based on.…”