Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of both the amendments to H.R. 550 under consideration today. I thank the Speaker for her courage in bringing these bills to the floor, and I thank the sponsors, my friends, Barbara Lee and Ro Khanna for their leadership. It is long past time for the 2002 AUMF to be repealed. This vaguely worded authorization of force against Iraq, which was obtained under false pretenses by the George W. Bush administration, has long posed a problem for proper congressional oversight, though at various points in time, both parties have shied away from taking action to rectify this. But now we have no choice but to act, as the Trump administration argues that the 2002 AUMF which justifies war against Saddam Hussein's Iraq apparently applies to members of the Iranian Government, even though the word ``Iran'' appears nowhere in the text. As Congress, we must assert our constitutional oversight authority in matters of war. Permitting this and future administrations to rely on an open-ended authorization of force without proper oversight, is nothing less than an abrogation of our duty. I urge each of my colleagues to support this amendment and final passage of the bill. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Jackson Lee). The time of the gentleman has expired.”