During debate on the Senate floor, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) spoke in support of a war powers resolution requiring Congressional approval to strike Iran.
00:04I rise today in support of Senator Cain's resolution for the simple and compelling reason that it upholds our constitutional duty.
00:13Regardless of what people may think of the military's execution of its mission last weekend,
00:19and our service members performed with courage, with professionalism, with extraordinary precision,
00:28or their views of its effectiveness, and I hope and pray the mission was effective.
00:35Iran is a malevolent regime.
00:37It is the paramount sponsor of terrorism in the world, and it must never be allowed to obtain the bomb.
00:46Regardless of whether you support the President's decision to engage in preemptive strikes in the first place,
00:52regardless of whether or not you support the President generally or you do not,
00:57the Constitution charges the Congress, not the President, with the power to declare war.
01:04Now, there may be a fog of war and a murky uncertainty concerning the battle damage assessment,
01:14but there is no ambiguity here when it comes to the Constitution.
01:18Article 1, Section 8 provides, the Congress shall have the power to declare war.
01:24Not the President, or the President if it's not convenient to the Congress, but the Congress.
01:30And this body, for far too long, has been allergic to the responsibility it has to govern the use of military force.
01:41Not since the very early part of this century has Congress approved any authorization for the use of military force.
01:48Nevertheless, a great deal of military force has been, in fact, used by the United States since then in far-flung places in the world.
02:00In fact, post-World War II, the war power has been utilized by an increasingly strong executive
02:07and an increasingly deferential and fearful legislature.
02:12Now, during the last several weeks, it has been apparent to anyone watching that the conflict in the Middle East
02:20had the potential to draw in the United States of America.
02:24When missiles began striking Tehran and Tel Aviv.
02:28When the President of the United States, with signature bombast,
02:32began to telegraph the possibility that we would enter the fray.
02:36When countless American families were forced to consider whether their children would be the next to bear the burden
02:43and carry the sacrifices of another potentially endless war in the Middle East.
02:50And so, with those families and our service members in mind,
02:55Senator Kaine introduced this resolution to ensure that the President did not risk committing the United States
03:02to yet another open-ended conflict in the region without a debate in Congress
03:07and a decision by Congress as to whether the country should go down that dangerous road.
03:14Now, at that time, many senators, myself included, pushed for an intelligence briefing from the administration.
03:21We had significant questions we needed answered.
03:26Had Iran made the decision to build a bomb?
03:30Had Iran begun the process of building the mechanism of a bomb?
03:34Was there an imminent threat to the United States or our forces?
03:37What were the threats to U.S. personnel and facilities in the region should Iran respond?
03:43How might Iran and its proxies escalate and harm U.S. interests,
03:48not only in the region but here at home and other parts of the world?
03:52How much damage could U.S. military action do to the Iranian nuclear and missile programs
03:59and for how long would it set them back?
04:02And most important, what was the risk that such a bombing campaign could escalate into all-out war?
04:12Days passed. No briefings. Even after last Saturday's strikes, still no briefing.
04:20Not until yesterday did the administration come to Congress to answer the most basic of questions.
04:26And only after suggesting it was reported that they would potentially choke off further information to the Congress.
04:34The Constitution demands otherwise.
04:38The founders split the government's wartime powers just as they divided responsibilities for so many other things.
04:46It is Congress which declares war, which raises an army and a navy, and pays for the financial costs of defense and war.
04:56And keep in mind the need for congressional approval of war-making was not hypothetical to the founders.
05:04The United States had just fought a war against a king and the founders did not want to put the power to start another war in the hands of any single person.
05:14The framers put their thinking on parchment.
05:18And in a letter to Thomas Jefferson in the summer of 1789, James Madison reflected on how they had approached this question of war power,
05:28which was the subject of much debate in Philadelphia at the Constitutional Convention.
05:32He said,
05:34We have already given in one example an effectual check on the dog of war.
05:40By transferring the power of letting him loose from the executive to the legislative body.
05:47From those who are to spend to those who are to pay.
05:53That is because a decision as consequential as entering into war requires informed debate and buy-in from the people's representative and the public.
06:09From us here in the Senate and from our colleagues in the House.
06:13Because we need to weigh the benefits and the risks for our constituents and for the country as a whole.
06:22Because a decision like this one should be insulated from partisan politics and not made with haste or with blinders on.
06:32There are perhaps senators in this body who will say this debate is no longer needed.
06:39The mission is over.
06:41Iran has backed down.
06:42A lasting ceasefire is in place.
06:44The threat has passed.
06:46And I would say to them,
06:48I don't know that to be true.
06:50And neither do you.
06:52And on behalf of all those who could and would pay.
06:57We should not allow this great and solemn power to make war to be usurped any longer.
07:04The only way for us to know whether the United States might be drawn into a broader conflict is if we exercise our authority to prevent it.
07:14Or to determine that the Congress wants to affirmatively provide a president with the authorization to use force.
07:22So I am a yes on this resolution.
07:25And if the Senate votes to bring this resolution before the body, which I hope it will see the wisdom of doing,
07:31I will move an amendment that I have filed with Senators Kim and Cain that I would hope would receive all of our support.
07:39Our amendment makes clear what is implicit in Senators, Senator Cain's resolution already.
07:45And that is that terminating the use of U.S. armed forces against Iran does not affect the ability of the United States to defend itself,
07:54to share intelligence with Israel or our other partner nations,
07:58or to assist them in taking defensive measures to protect themselves from an attack by Iran or its proxies.
08:06Our intent in this amendment is to make it crystal clear that calling up and passing this resolution
08:12would in no way restrict the United States' ability to defend itself or our partners.
08:18And with that question settled, we should be able to turn to the real need for this debate.
08:24Should this Congress continue to abdicate our constitutional duty to an administration
08:30that at every turn has deemed us irrelevant.
08:37An administration that for too long deferred its obligation to brief Congress
08:42and has reportedly threatened to take steps to choke off the amount of information we have and need
08:49to assess the impact and the consequences of unilateral military action.
08:55An administration that openly disdains and threatens a free press,
09:00ignoring the fact that our fourth estate exists to ask questions for the people,
09:06even if those questions are uncomfortable, especially when those questions are uncomfortable,
09:12and shine a light on the places where tyranny and despotism can grow and foster and fester.
09:20Because here's the bottom line. Article 1, Section 8 says the Congress shall have the power to declare war.
09:28And every American should know that Congress is not giving up on its most basic constitutional right to debate
09:35and determine whether U.S. forces undertake further operations, offensive operations,
09:42against the Iranian regime or any other.
09:46This resolution, with my amendment, would give senators confidence that a vote on that question
09:51will in no way put American troops or our allies at increased risk.
09:56And the underlying resolution would give the American people the confidence of knowing
10:01that they will not be dragged into another war without their consent.
10:06There must be a check on the dogs of war.
10:11There must be a voice for those who will pay the costs of going to war.
