Cord Byrd: “I commend and offer my wholehearted support for the resolution that Senator Durbin has submitted. His resolution, which…”

“I commend and offer my wholehearted support for the resolution that Senator Durbin has submitted. His resolution, which I am proud to cosponsor, is a simple, clear statement of a fundamental constitutional principle; namely, that the Congress and only the Congress has the power to declare war. As this resolution states: Any offensive military action taken by the United States against Iran must be explicitly approved by Congress before such action may be initiated. The President is the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. But the President of the United States, although Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, is not a dictator. The President is not an emperor. He is President, who, like all Presidents, takes an oath of fealty to the Constitution of the United States. It is the American people--the American people--who pay the price of war in blood and in treasure. And it is the American people, through their representatives in Congress--that means us--who must give their approval--the approval of the American people--for such a momentous decision. That is the system that George Washington recognized when he presented his resignation to the Continental Congress. That is the system that the wise Framers of the Constitution created when they drafted our most basic and sacred document. That is the system that every Senator takes an oath to defend. Today is a fitting day to discuss the issue of Iran.…”