Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, as it stands today, the 113th Congress will go down in history as the Congress of abandoned authority. With little exception, this Congress has failed to address the issues the American people sent us here to take on: tax reform, immigration, transportation infrastructure, climate change. This Congress has shown little progress, and in so doing, we have ceded more and more of our power as a legislature to the executive. Nowhere has our abandoned authority inflicted greater harm on Congress as an institution than our abdication of leadership in the fight against ISIS. The Constitution gives Congress, and Congress alone, the power to declare war. But while unilateral Executive action on every other issue has been met with partisan attacks, this Congress seems content with allowing the President to call the shots on military engagement with ISIS. Mr. Speaker, this abandoned authority must end. Before the end of the 113th Congress, we must restore our constitutional authority over the Nation's war powers. We must commit to a full, open, and honest debate on an authorization for use of military force in the fight against ISIS. Our brave men and women are risking their lives, and we are afraid to even risk a vote. It is time for Congress to put some skin in the game. It is time for Congress to outline in clear terms the legal authority under which the U.S. will wage this war and, in so doing, future conflicts. The fact of the matter is that right now the U.S.…”