Housing for the 21st Century Act

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. PETERS. Mr. President, on Saturday morning, the United States military started conducting airstrikes on Iran, dragging America into yet another war in the Middle East. Since President Trump's reckless decision to escalate this conflict, at least six Americans have been killed in service to their country, and many more have been injured. And President Trump himself has said:

There will likely be more before it ends.

And then he also said:

Well, that's the way it is.

Well, my heart goes out to their families and loved ones, and I will be forever grateful for their service and for their sacrifice.

It has been days since this attack, but President Trump has yet--has yet--to make it clear to Congress--and, more importantly, to the American people--what exactly our objectives are. What does victory look like? What he does say seems to change daily, if not more frequently.

The American people have a right to know the facts and a right to know the truth.

And our Constitution leaves no room for doubt that Congress--not the President--has the sole power to declare war. And that check is in place for a very important reason: Our Founders did not want to place the immense power over whether or not to go to war in the hands of just one individual.

They argued, if the President alone could make such a decision unilaterally, it would be the equivalent of granting the President the power granted to a King. We all know our history. The United States had just defeated a King in the Revolutionary War, and our Founders were in the process of creating a constitutional Republic, not a monarchy.

Talking to my constituents in Michigan, and certainly as evidenced by numerous polls that have come out recently, President Trump has decided to start a war that Americans clearly do not want. The American people instead want us focused on issues that will improve their lives here at home.

When I hear from Michiganders, they tell me they want lower prices; they want safer streets; they want more attention to their challenges here at home. But if Americans are going to send their sons and daughters into harm's way across the world, they certainly deserve to know what the President's end goal is and what is the exit strategy.

Now, make no mistake, Iran is a brutal authoritarian regime, and I have long said that we must ensure that Iran never ever produces a nuclear weapon, but unless we face an imminent threat, the President cannot--he cannot--unilaterally drag us into war.

Our country knows too well that war in the Middle East comes at a very high cost to our servicemembers and to their families, and it is also an incredibly expensive endeavor for our taxpayers.

In September 2021--20 years after the United States invaded Afghanistan--Brown University released a comprehensive report that outlined the staggering cost of the War on Terror. It found that those military engagements added approximately $8 trillion to our national debt. We are still grappling with the cost of all of those wars, and now the President is starting a new one, all without properly consulting the American people.

But let me be clear: This is not about partisan politics. This is not about that at all. It is about fundamental constitutional obligations. In fact, in 2013, Democrats made the Obama administration come to Congress with a plan for its involvement in Syria. It was Senate Democrats who forced a vote to authorize the use of military force by a Democratic President. They did it because it was required by the Constitution. It was not a party issue. But, unfortunately, my Republican colleagues seem to be content to simply act as a rubberstamp for President Trump and not require a vote as required in the U.S. Constitution.

During my time as a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve, I served in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, places where, right now, our servicemembers are at a heightened risk because of this operation--and my thoughts and prayers are with these brave servicemembers and the nearly 40,000 U.S. troops serving within range of Iranian missiles--and a situation on the ground that is changing rapidly.

What comes next is critical for U.S. servicemembers, the American people, and the entire world. That is why, today, the Senate will vote on a resolution that would assert Congress' power over the President to declare a war, as outlined in the Constitution, and put forward by our Founders.

It would not prevent us in any way from defending ourselves against an attack, but it would ensure that President Trump cannot escalate this war with Iran without congressional approval--and, more importantly, the approval of the American people.

The American people deserve answers and our servicemembers deserve real leadership and that is why I will be voting yes on the resolution before us here today. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting it because it is past time for this administration to show the American people a real plan. It is past time for Congress to start acting like a coequal branch of government.

We need to exercise the checks and balances that our Constitution expects from us. And that means every Member of this Chamber right here, right now, needs to go on the record to say whether they want to be passive, ignore their obligation to the Constitution, and allow the President to continue this war without a clean, clear plan for the American people or--or--do they want to require the President to be fully transparent and accountable to the American people and, importantly, preserve the integrity of our beloved constitutional Republic?

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source