[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 186 (Tuesday, November 27, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7122-S7123]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                     Sanders-Lee-Murphy Resolution

  Mr. President, I rise today in support of the Sanders-Lee-Murphy 
resolution to stop the U.S. military's involvement in the Saudi Arabia-
led bombing campaign in Yemen. I am a cosponsor of the resolution, and 
I thank the Senators for their strong leadership on this important 
issue.
  The resolution would direct President Trump to stop our involvement 
in Saudi-led military operations in Yemen unless Congress provides 
specific authorization. It would allow our counterterrorism operations 
against al-Qaida and its affiliates to continue, but it would ensure 
that the United States is not giving the Saudis a blank check.
  For over 3 years, Saudi-led coalition warplanes--refueled and armed 
with missiles by the United States--have been bombing Yemeni territory 
to counter Iranian-backed militias. Thousands of Yemeni civilians have 
been killed as a direct result of this dangerous proxy war between 
Saudi Arabia and Iran, but when I asked the general who leads our 
forces in the Middle East about it earlier this year at an Armed 
Services hearing, he said we weren't even keeping track of where those 
U.S.-armed and U.S.-refueled planes were going, and he couldn't tell me 
what they hit when they got there.
  I am glad the Trump administration has finally come to its senses and 
halted its refueling support to the Saudi-led coalition, but this is 
too little, too late. It is too late to save as many as 85,000 Yemeni 
boys and girls under the age of 5 who have already starved to death, 
and it is too little to save the countless children and families who 
are currently starving as famine spreads throughout Yemen.
  Instead of taking decisive action to address this humanitarian 
crisis, the United States continues to sell weapons and provide other 
support to the Saudi-led coalition. The administration continues to 
cover for Saudi actions, the most recent in a rambling, incoherent, 
shameful statement from the President himself.

[[Page S7123]]

  I know that Iran's actions in Yemen are destabilizing. Iran is making 
the conflict worse, and that is unacceptable. But let's be clear. Saudi 
Arabia is the one receiving American weapons and support. The ugly 
truth is that the United States is complicit in the deaths and 
devastation in Yemen, and we need to hold our partners and our allies 
accountable. We need to end U.S. support for this war, and we need to 
end it now.
  Remember who we are dealing with here. The CIA has reportedly 
confirmed the clear involvement of senior Saudi officials--up to and 
including Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman--in the horrifying brutal 
murder of Saudi journalist and U.S. resident Jamal Khashoggi last 
month. That tells us everything we need to know about this so-called 
ally.
  It is long overdue for Congress to take real action to help put a 
stop to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. I will vote against any 
additional arms sales to the Saudis while the war in Yemen continues.
  I will stand with my colleagues in both parties as they press for 
accountability in Jamal Khashoggi's death.
  I will vote for the Sanders-Lee-Murphy resolution today, and I urge 
my colleagues to do the same.
  The Yemeni people are suffering, but we can do something about it. It 
is time for Congress to grow a backbone and act.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. LEE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.