Political Quotes

“Make no mistake: the authorization in section 1225 of the underlying bill authorizes our U.S. military to go to war with Iran. One of the main reasons why I voted against this bill in committee was specifically because of this provision that authorizes the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State to ``develop and implement a strategy with foreign partners to counter the destabilizing activities of Iran.'' The provision does not define what destabilizing activities they want our troops and taxpayer dollars to counter. It does not define a clear objective or end state for our troops to achieve. In addition, this provision shuts the American people out from this decision entirely by circumventing Congress' constitutional responsibility to declare war and giving unilateral power and unending authorization to counter Iran to this and future administrations without defining in any way, shape, or form what the objective really is. It sidelines Congress and the American people entirely, with the only requirement being that the administration report to Congress after their plan is being implemented and only for the next 4 years, while the authorization for war has no expiration date. It gives after-the-fact license for what is already happening in the Middle East. Since 2015, without express congressional authorization, U.S.…”