Political Quotes

“I thank my good friend Eliot Engel from New York, the distinguished ranking member of the full committee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and I thank my friend Ed Royce, the chairman of the full committee. They are both distinguished men, and I echo their sentiments. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in reluctant opposition to the measure offered by my friend from my home State of Massachusetts, Mr. McGovern, whose sincerity can never be questioned in this body. I understand the purpose underlying this legislation, and I identify with the frustration that it expresses as, I think, do all of us. Proponents of the measure want Congress to debate and vote on the use of military force in Iraq and Syria, and so do I. Proponents of this measure believe that Congress has failed to perform its constitutional duty by not taking up the Authorization for Use of Military Force against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, and so do I. In fact, I believe the failure to debate an AUMF against ISIL is a continuation of a sad but 60-year pattern of Congress' abrogating one of its most fundamental constitutional roles and responsibilities. For an institution that constantly laments its subjugation at the hands of the executive branch, the retreat from its constitutional responsibility on this matter, frankly, is jaw-dropping.…”