[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 121 (Wednesday, July 18, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H6476]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       NO MORE PRESIDENTIAL WARS

  (Ms. GABBARD asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Ms. GABBARD. Mr. Speaker, Article I, section 8 of the Constitution 
gives Congress the exclusive authority to declare war, but the last 
time Congress officially declared war was December 8, 1941, the day the 
U.S. entered World War II. Ever since, Congress has failed to uphold 
their constitutional responsibility and has instead ceded power to the 
President.
  So we remain in a state of perpetual war, led by Presidents in both 
parties, at great cost to the American people, with no declaration of 
war by Congress and no input from the American people.
  The direct and indirect costs of these Presidential wars are 
astounding. They take a toll on our troops, our veterans, and on the 
American people.
  Since 9/11 alone, we have spent trillions of dollars on regime-change 
wars and nation building, while people in our community suffer and 
struggle because of a lack of resources here at home--not to mention 
the cost borne by our troops, those who pay the ultimate price as well 
as those who come home with wounds that are both visible and invisible.
  The American people deserve accountability. Mr. Walter Jones and I 
have introduced bipartisan H. Res. 922 to make sure that Congress 
fulfills its constitutional role, ends Presidential wars, and has 
robust debate before making a decision to send our troops into battle.

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