Tom Udall: “thank you for the recognition, and I very much appreciate Senator Carper talking about the wonderful, young employees…”

“thank you for the recognition, and I very much appreciate Senator Carper talking about the wonderful, young employees whom we have around us and the young people who come here who are dedicated and work, and we have some great ones on the committees. I see Mary Frances back here behind you, and I have Matthew Padilla over here on my right. There are so many great young people that just come to Washington or live in Washington, and they are really dedicated to see that we do a good job. It is wonderful to hear you talk about that young man. I rise to affirm the Congress's constitutional authority to declare war and to support the War Powers Resolution before us. The chilling events of last month bring into stark relief why this resolution is absolutely needed. The President brought us to the very edge of war with Iran by his attack on its top general. We must pass this resolution because, even if the President does not respect the plain words of the Constitution, the Members of this body should. Look at this chart here. Here they are, clear as day: The ``Congress shall have power . . . to declare War.'' The Congress alone has the power to declare war. The President does not. I did not come to this view recently. I held the same view under President Obama's administration. I spoke up against his plans for airstrikes in Syria, and I voted against an authorization for those airstrikes in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.…”