Political Quotes

“Madam President, I rise to speak to the amendments that we are considering on the effort to repeal the 1991 and 2002 authorization for the use of military force. As I have previously said, I welcome a broader discussion on the 2001 authorization for the use of military force, but that is not before us today. Following repeal of the 1991 and 2002 AUMF, I hope that we can engage in what will likely be a robust debate about what authorities the administration does need and what the scope, potentially, of a replacement AUMF would be, but as yet we have not had that substantive discussion, and I don't believe it would be wise to repeal the 2001 AUMF without engaging in that debate first, without having a hearing to understand what is the authority the administration needs to continue to protect America. The details matter here. We just finished a hearing at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee with the Secretary of State. He testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the 2001 AUMF is still a vital authority that is being relied on. So we may disagree with how the 2001 AUMF has been maybe stretched by other executive branches and concerned as to how we will continue to use it, but an outright repeal, with nothing to replace it--nothing to replace it--is not a sound response that ensures our military has what it needs to execute missions of defense of U.S. interests.…”