On the recordMay 18, 2017
I thank the gentlewoman from California for the leadership and also this opportunity. I could not agree more with where we are and why we are on the floor tonight. If you believe in the Constitution, which the majority of us do because we raise our hands when we are sworn in, then we need to do our constitutional responsibility. What has been said tonight by my colleagues and will be ended by the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) in just a few minutes is the fact that we do not do our constitutional duty or responsibility. The 2001 AUMF to talk about going after Osama bin Laden after 9/11, meaning Afghanistan, made sense. The AUMF in 2002 should have never passed this House. I regret that I voted for it because Iraq was an unnecessary war. But that is history now. What we are talking about is learning from history and dealing with the present and the future. Therefore, there is no reason that the leadership of the House, Mr. Ryan, will not permit the committees of jurisdiction to bring forward a new AUMF. It could be a blanket AUMF or it could mean Syria or maybe Afghanistan. I have joined with colleagues on the other side, including the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee), to put in H.R. 1666 that says, after 16 years, there needs to be a debate on the future involvement of the American people and the military into Afghanistan.…
