Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. In closing, let me say this. Everyone who knows me knows that I hold Iran guilty to many nefarious things that are happening in that region. This is not really about Iran. Iran is providing dangerous weapons to the Houthis, and the Houthis have starved the Yemeni people, killed civilians, and diverted assistance. I am not here to defend the Houthis. The Saudis do have legitimate concerns about the Houthis, and the Houthis are not my vision of good and righteous. Quite the opposite. But this resolution doesn't empower Iran. Quite the opposite. The longer the conflict goes on, and the longer the United States supports it, the better off Iran is. We are really doing two things here. We are saying to the administration--and I, frankly, would say this, given my experience over the past two decades--to any administration. There is no blank check for war. We have abrogated our responsibility in the years that I have been here--and I am as guilty as anyone--by allowing administration after administration after administration to conduct wars that this body should have voted on. Only Congress can declare war. And if we ignore what is happening with the civilian population in this war with the Houthis, then we do so at our own peril. We then say that, because Saudi Arabia does have legitimate concerns--and they do--we are giving them a blank check to do whatever they want. {time} 1015 No blank checks anymore.…”