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Floor Speech
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Mr. RISCH. Mr. President, today, I come to the floor, once again, after numerous--and I have lost count of how many of these the Democrats have tried--to set the legal record on the war powers straight and in plain terms.
The first thing we need to do is look at what the Democrats are trying to do here. They want to pass this resolution, which states in relevant part:
Congress hereby directs the President to remove the United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against Iran.
So what they are asking and telling the President to do is to remove the U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities within or against Iran. Those hostilities do not exist today and have not existed for some time.
So let's look at what has actually happened from a factual basis.
On February 28, the President exercised his constitutional duty to protect American interests--not his right but his duty that he took an oath to do to protect Americans and America's interests. Not only was the military action he took legally permissible under article II of the Constitution, but it was the President's duty to act.
Presidents across both parties, over many, many years--indeed, many of my Democratic colleagues--have consistently maintained that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon, and with good reason. Iran is a country that is run by radical Shia clerics, whose slogan is, literally, ``Death to America.'' This regime has sponsored terrorism and has kidnapped and killed thousands of American citizens since it commenced this war against the United States 47 years ago.
We all remember when it happened. They took possession of our Embassy in Iran, kidnapped the employees we had there, and held them for 400- plus days. All the action we have taken since then has been defensive. They have continued offensive actions against us and, as I said, over the years, have killed thousands of U.S. citizens.
The actions taken on February 28 comport with longstanding legal precedent, over many decades, from the Presidents of both political parties. The military operations we are talking about were not and are not--nor are they even close to--operations that took place in Vietnam, Afghanistan, or Iraq, nor will they ever be. My friends on the other side of the aisle have tried to put the two together and compare this to those actions. They are not.
Under the War Powers Resolution, the President is supposed to notify Congress within 48 hours after introducing U.S. Armed Forces into hostilities. He did that on March 2, as required, fully consistent with the law.
Now, my colleagues on the other side of the Chamber keep saying that, somehow, the administration is not in compliance with a 60-day clock.
Let me highlight this point: The President's notification to this body on May 1--within that 60-day period--was crystal clear: The operations that began on February 28 had been terminated. The hostilities ended with the April 7 cease-fire. They are over--full stop.
Now, that doesn't say they won't start again. But that operation is over and ended, and we were so notified. Indeed, President Trump's May 1 letter fully informed Congress as to the status of this matter. The War Powers Resolution does not require such reporting. Nonetheless, the President gave it.
In short, this is much more information than previous Presidents have provided to Congress.
For the reasons that I have just stated, I intend to vote against this resolution, and I urge my colleagues to do likewise.
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