Conflict in Yemen

Floor Speech

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Mr. BROWN of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, today the House is asserting its constitutional responsibility by cutting off U.S. involvement with the Saudi-led coalition in the devastating conflict in Yemen. I thank Representative Khanna for leading on this issue.

This brutal war has caused mass starvation and cut off humanitarian aid from reaching those most in need. The number of casualties has exceeded half a million men, women, and children. We don't know if this legislation will reach the President's desk or whether he will sign it, but with reporting that Saudi coalition members have transferred U.S. weapons to terrorist groups in Yemen, and the Trump administration choosing to ignore a deadline last week to report on whether Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is responsible for the death of journalist Khashoggi, we must keep up the pressure to end U.S. involvement in hostilities in Yemen.

At the end of the day, U.S. participation in this war is illegal, having never been authorized by Congress.

When the United States became involved with the Saudi-led war, this action was not covered by the Authorization for Use of Military Force issued by Congress in the wake of 9/11. The Houthis, against whom the Saudi coalition is engaged, are not affiliated with al-Qaida. But because of the 60-word 2001 AUMF, three Presidents have warped that limited authorization into enabling a global-spanning war, broad enough to cover airstrikes in the Khyber Pass and to boots on the ground in Niger. This AUMF contains no time limits, no geographic constraints, and no need for congressional consent or oversight.

In the last 17 years, the 2001 AUMF has been cited as statutory authority for unclassified military actions in more than 18 countries, and Congress has been left in the dark about many of these operations. Our men and women in uniform have deployed time and again, shouldering a heavy burden while at the same time the public is becoming more removed from the conflicts in which we are engaged.

Today, less than 20 percent of the Members of the 116th Congress were present when this vote was taken in 2001. But after more than a decade of putting more and more war-making power in the hands of the President and greater burden on the shoulders of our troops, Congress must take a stand. We cannot continue to be sidelined from the decisions critical to our national security.

The Constitution is clear. Congress, not the President, has the power to declare war. The President can respond to an imminent threat to the homeland or to U.S. personnel abroad, or if we are attacked, but this is the only situation in which he may dispense with congressional approval, because as current law dictates, once the President initiates hostilities against a new enemy, Congress, not the President, dictates whether hostilities can continue.

It would be wrong for Congress to allow any President solely on his or her own authority and aside from an imminent, clear threat to sustain our involvement in any conflict, especially one so fraught as the conflict in Yemen. The United States cannot enter any conflict in the Middle East, East Asia, or Africa with no clear strategy, no clear objectives, and no authorization from Congress.

The American people need answers, and our troops and their families deserve a public debate over the sacrifices we ask them to make. I understand that for many Members, after close to two decades of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the idea of debating, let alone authorizing, new military action is not going to be popular, even if warranted. But we were not elected to pass the buck or abdicate our constitutional responsibility. We must debate these issues.

Mr. Speaker, as a combat veteran and a Member of Congress, I know it is one of our most important and solemn responsibilities to decide when and how we send Americans into harm's way. We cannot shirk that responsibility because of its gravity. We must embrace the tough decisions our role requires us to carry out.

I hope today is the beginning of our long-overdue debate over the AUMF and the true costs of war on our country and the men and women who fight and die serving it.

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