On the recordFebruary 13, 2019
I thank the gentleman from Massachusetts and the gentleman from California for their leadership on this matter. They have discussed this over the months, and I have been pleased to join them in this effort. Madam Speaker, U.S. bombs are bombing school buses of 40 children. U.S. bombs are bombing those in Yemen who are innocent citizens. The violence through bombing has been facilitated with U.S. resources. This is a demand that is without parallel of its necessity. The question is whether we are engaged without the authorization of the United States Congress, whether we have declared war against Yemen. If the answer is no, then this resolution is appropriate. Yemen is the poorest or one of the poorest countries in the world. This resolution clearly says that we should stop the hostilities against the Houthi forces. More importantly, we should stop being used by the Saudi forces. By the way, having gone to Yemen, I know that at least a decade ago, Saudi closed its doors to the Yemen young men, who could find no work in Yemen because of its poverty, to go into Saudi to work there. Without that opportunity, all we ceded was poverty and violence. Now, because of the conflict, we have been bombing Yemen citizens for many years. This is a constructive resolution. It does not violate the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force. It is one that says that we must take our forces and impact out of Yemen.…
