William M. ``Mac'' Thornberry: “Here is a summary of the situation. On an issue of serious interest and concern to Members on both sides of the aisle…”

“Here is a summary of the situation. On an issue of serious interest and concern to Members on both sides of the aisle, the current House leadership has brought to the floor the most extreme proposals, with limited debate, and absolutely no opportunity for any other idea to be considered. They are so afraid of losing a motion to recommit that they have overturned 100 years of precedent and practice in this House by even denying a motion to recommit. And thus, they have taken a serious, complex subject and turned it into a messaging bill that will do nothing except encourage our adversaries. I would suggest it is a sad day for the House and for the country. Now, specifically on this amendment, if this amendment were seriously implemented--and by the way, I think no administration of either party would seriously implement this language--but if it were, it is far more restrictive than the War Powers Act. It says Congress has to approve anything ahead of time, or we have to already wait for the attack to have occurred, and then the President to designate a national emergency. No other time could a President use force against Iran. So, for example, we could not have carried out the attack against Soleimani. Even if we had perfect intelligence that he was about to kill large numbers of Americans, we would have to wait until they died first.…”