United States Representative Terri Sewell, D-Alabama, released a statement Thursday after voting for House Concurrent Resolution 38, a measure to terminate the use of United States Armed Forces for unauthorized hostilities against Iran.
“Only Congress has the power to declare war,” Sewell said. “President Trump made the decision to send American service members into harm’s way without providing any evidence of a credible imminent threat to the United States, without consulting the people’s representatives in Congress and without a plan to ensure America is not drawn into another prolonged conflict in the Middle East.
“While the regime in Iran has oppressed their people and supported terrorism in the region for decades, the president must still come before Congress and the American people with clear justifications for the use of military force at this scale.
“My constituents continue to suffer from rising prices created by President Trump’s trade wars. They want this administration to take action to address the affordability crisis here at home. They do not want their tax dollars to fund another war in the Middle East.”
House Concurrent Resolution 38 requires the cessation of offensive hostilities. The resolution would not prevent service members from engaging in defensive military actions to protect allies and United States bases in the region, according to Sewell’s office.
Sewell’s office said that months after Trump declared Iran’s nuclear infrastructure had been “completely and totally obliterated,” the administration has not identified an imminent threat that prompted the initiation of war February 28.
“Further, explanations from Trump and his administration continue to shift, sometimes by the hour and minute,” the release states. “Not only did President Trump confirm that the current United States military campaign against Iran would continue for several weeks, he also signaled that he is open to American military boots on the ground in Iran. Americans oppose the war with Iran because of the potential for this conflict to become yet another forever war paid for with taxpayer dollars and in American lives.”
