Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the rule we are considering and to speak to the necessity of Congress repealing the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force against Iraq. Repealing the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force is a good first step towards Congress reasserting its constitutional authority over when and if the United States goes to war. This country has been in a state of perpetual war for almost 20 years. We now have members of the Armed Forces deployed overseas who are the children of soldiers who were sent to war under the 2002 AUMF. Under Article I of the Constitution, Congress has the sole authority to decide whether to allow the President to take the country into a prolonged war. Before this Nation sends our children, our servicemembers into harm's way, Members of Congress have the duty to consider and approve or disapprove such use of force. Americans have the right to hold us accountable for those decisions. Repealing the 2002 AUMF does not impede the President's ability to use military force without congressional approval in the event of a sudden threat or imminent attack, but we cannot continue to operate under a system where U.S. Presidents can place American troops in harm's way with no checks or balances. That is unacceptable. Congress' failure to repeal or replace the 2001 and 2002 AUMFs for two decades has done lasting damage to the constitutional separation of powers between Congress and President.…”