JAYAPAL STATEMENT APPLAUDING HISTORIC VOTES TO PREVENT CATASTROPHIC WAR & REASSERT CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT OF MILITARY ACTION
[WASHINGTON, DC] – Today on the House Floor, U.S Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), spoke in favor of two CPC-endorsed bills to prevent funding for an unauthorized war in Iran and to repeal the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) against Iraq.
“The Trump Administration claims that this outdated authorization justifies future strikes against Iran. That’s outrageous. And, as a result of the assassination of General Solemani and Iran’s retaliation, we now have 50 American soldiers tragically injured,” said Jayapal. “During debate on this very authorization in 2002, Representative Barbara Lee said, ‘It does not take leadership to go drop bombs and go to war. It takes real leadership to negotiate and to develop peaceful resolutions to our security needs.’ I could not agree more. 17 years ago, I spoke at a rally of 50,000 people in Seattle who believed the evidence was not there to go to war in Iraq. Today, we know we were right. We must learn from that: Let’s repeal this outdated authorization and ensure Congress has real oversight and debate before we go to war. Let’s show leadership and stop these endless wars.”
Jayapal, along with fellow CPC Co-Chair Mark Pocan (WI-02), CPC First Vice Chair Congressman Ro Khanna (CA-17) and CPC Chair Emeritus Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-13) also released the following joint-statement applauding the passage of the two bills.
“For far too long, Congress has abdicated its constitutional responsibility to debate and vote on matters of war and peace. Over the last seventeen years, the Iraq AUMF has been a blank check for any President to continue this war in perpetuity — without any oversight from Congress. The Congressional Progressive Caucus has long objected to this long outdated authorization and the lack of appropriate and necessary involvement of Congress,” said the lawmakers. ““President Trump’s reckless decision to assassinate General Soleimani — conducted without the knowledge or approval of Congress — made it clear that we cannot afford to wait to reassert our constitutional responsibility over war making. That’s why, shortly after these strikes, we called on House leadership to act swiftly to bring both the Khanna and Lee bills for a vote on the House Floor. These bills are essential to preventing a catastrophic and completely avoidable war with Iran. If we’ve learned anything over the past two decades, it’s that wars are much easier to start than they are to end. With today’s vote, the House has recognized that there is no military solution to our conflicts in the Middle East – only de-escalation and diplomacy can lead to peace.”
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