Political Quotes

“I thank Congressman McGovern for his moral leadership. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this rule that will deny Members of Congress an up-or-down vote about whether the United States should be complicit in the war in Yemen. Let's be very clear. This is unprecedented in American history. Never has the Speaker of the House and the majority denied a Member of Congress a vote on matters of war and peace. This is basically rendering ineffectual the War Powers Act. The War Powers Act was passed in a bipartisan fashion after Vietnam because our Nation said never again are we going to make the mistake of Vietnam. We are going to make sure that, if a Member of Congress calls for a vote, Members of Congress have the Article I, Section 8 responsibility to vote on matters of war and peace. What the majority is saying is that if the President of the United States and the Speaker believe we should be in war, then we should be in war, and it doesn't matter what Members of Congress think. That is what they are doing with this rule. Now, they are arguing that we are not complicit in the hostilities of Yemen to invoke the War Powers Act. But you can read every article written on this in the international press or the national press, and it starts with a simple line: the U.S.-backed Saudi coalition efforts in bombing. Of course we are complicit. Do you think people in Yemen don't think we are complicit?…”