[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 107 (Tuesday, June 25, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H5090]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         WAR IN THE MIDDLE EAST

  (Mr. HIMES asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HIMES. Madam Speaker, I am not in the habit of praising the 
President from this perch, but I do want to say that I am very pleased 
that we are not in yet another shooting war in the Middle East today.
  I think we came very, very close, and I appreciate that the President 
had the courage to stand down some raids that, undoubtedly, would have 
led to a response and led to another war in the Middle East.
  I know he does that at the risk of being criticized for potentially 
damaging American credibility, but we are not in a war today. That is 
an argument for history.
  What is not an argument for history is that any aggression, any 
military action against Iran, must be approved by the Congress of the 
United States. It is clear in the Constitution that a decision to go to 
war must be made in this building.
  I urge my friends on both sides of the aisle to reflect on the reason 
for that. If we are going to sacrifice blood and treasure, the 
Representatives of the people must make that decision, not one 
individual at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue.
  Now is the time for us to consider whether another Middle Eastern war 
makes sense for the people of the United States of America.

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