On the recordJanuary 30, 2020
As a senior member of the Homeland Security Committee and a cosponsor, I rise in strong support of RCP 116-49, the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 550, the No War With Iran Act, introduced by the gentlewoman from California, Congresswoman Barbara Lee. I thank my Out of Iraq colleague, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, for sponsoring this legislation which repeals P.L. 107-43, the broad, unrestrained, and outdated 2002 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) against Iraq, which was passed and signed into law on October 16, 2002, nearly twenty years ago. Congress never intended for the 2002 AUMF to have such broad and extended reach. Over the last 18 years, we have seen 3 Presidents use this legislation as a blank check to engage in serious military action. The 2002 AUMF is an outdated piece of legislation and repealing it will not affect any current military operations. The 2002 AUMF's only function is to provide the President with cover to claim Congress has already authorized him to attack Iranian officials, which is false. Moreover, the 2002 AUMF is unnecessary because in the administration's own view, everything the 2002 AUMF covers is already fully covered under the 2001 9/11 AUMF, except for attacks against Iran. Congress passed the 2002 AUMF to address the perceived threat posed by the regime of Saddam Hussein and the AUMF permitted the President to use the Armed Forces as ``necessary and appropriate'' to ``defend U.S.…
