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Floor Speech
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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, we are here today to ensure the Senate fulfills its constitutional duties regarding the sole power to involve our Nation in war. An important briefing will take place tomorrow and, perhaps, a vote on this very issue.
Article I, section 8 of the U.S. Constitution clearly states that the power to declare war is an explicit power of Congress. Three words: to declare war. Congress overwhelmingly reaffirmed this constitutional provision when it passed the War Powers Act in 1973 over the veto of President Nixon.
Under the War Powers Act, the President has the authority to approve military attacks as a response to an imminent threat or with the express authorization of Congress. Neither of these were the case with President Trump's decision to bomb Iran over the weekend. The Iranian regime sponsors terrorism; wants to destroy Israel and undermine U.S. interests; oppress its own people; and is interested in owning a nuclear weapon. But those are not justifications to ignore the Constitution. If the United States is to start a war with Iran over these or any other issue, the Constitution itself requires it must be with the consent of Congress.
Let me also add that we had an effective agreement that contained Iran's nuclear program--I remember it well under President Obama--that is, until President Trump, in his first term, abruptly withdrew the United States from this agreement, adding to the more volatile situation which we face today.
That is why I support the Senator from Virginia Tim Kaine's War Powers Resolution. It requires a prompt debate and vote prior to using additional U.S. military force against Iran. This Senate should not allow the country to be led into another Middle Eastern war without its consent.
When I reflect on the time that I have served in the Senate, one of the most memorable votes was on the question of the invasion of Iraq. If the Presiding Officer will recall that debate, the argument was being made by the White House that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and that we had to preemptively start a war with that country to stop those weapons from being used against us or our allies. We know what happened. There was a vote on the floor of the Senate. It was about 11 o'clock or 12 o'clock at night. There were 23 of us who voted against the invasion of Iraq--one Republican and 22 Democrats. I believe it was the best vote I ever cast as a Senator. There were no weapons of mass destruction. We were invading a country under a false premise. We were going to wage a war there and, unfortunately, did at the expense of American lives for a long period of time.
This Senate should not be led into another war in the Middle East without the consent of the American people through Congress. Our Founders knew this point: One should never send our sons and daughters into war without the consent of the American people--an argument I have made regardless of who the President has been of either party.
We have already ceded too much congressional power on so many different subjects. I am almost speechless, which is something for a Senator. We are at a point where Congress continues to give away its power and its authority. I don't know how to explain it. I don't know why people would go through the awful challenge of running for office to serve in the U.S. Senate while each and every President tries to take away our authority to appropriate funds, for example; to make critical decisions. And so many of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are willing to give that away to their favorite President. Well, when you give away that authority, the next President may not be your favorite, but he will have the authority that you ceded and gave away to your favorite President. We have already ceded too much in appropriations and key items. Let's not do that when it comes to war.
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