On the recordFebruary 13, 2019
I appreciate the gentleman for yielding. Madam Chair, this resolution is misguided, and let me take a few moments to illustrate some of the reasons. Number 1, as the ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. McCaul, has described, this is a misuse of the War Powers Resolution. It conflates two different sections. It has definitional problems. I am not going to repeat all the arguments he has used. My point is that, if we use that powerful law, it should be clear, direct, and applicable. To misuse it in this way actually weakens the authority of Congress, the exact opposite of what the chairman of the committee was talking about. Secondly, the message coming from this resolution is, Iran, you can do whatever you want to. Now, it is clear we do not have troops in the fight against the Houthis. We do, however, want other countries to join in trying to constrain Iran's aggression in various parts of the world. But with this resolution, we are saying, Okay, you are on your own. We are not going to assist you in any way. And that message reverberates throughout the Middle East. It will have lasting consequences. Third, if anything, this resolution will make our military more cautious when targeting ISIS and al-Qaida. Now there is a section in here that says, Well, it doesn't really apply when you are going against terrorists. But Yemen is a messy place. You have individuals commingled in the same location.…
