[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 4 (Wednesday, January 8, 2020)]
[House]
[Page H15]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  AIRSTRIKE AGAINST GENERAL SOLEIMANI

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Kansas (Mr. Marshall) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. Speaker, in response to a successful, precise 
United States airstrike against Iranian terrorist General Soleimani, a 
strike that was carefully thought out, that was vetted, that was 
carefully planned by our President, the Secretary of State, White House 
leadership, and the Pentagon, my Democrat colleagues are threatening to 
force a vote to restrict our President's ability to exercise his 
constitutional powers as Commander in Chief and, thus, place more 
American lives at risk.
  Listen, I don't want a war. The President doesn't want a war. Many, 
many Kansans I have talked to, they don't want any more American lives 
lost in an endless war in the Middle East. But what Kansans do want is 
a President who draws a red line and actually means it, that if you 
harm an American or any American interests, we will respond swiftly, 
decisively, and, yes, disproportionately.
  For Kansans, it is pure and simple common sense that the American 
President protect our country, protect our people from imminent threats 
posed by those who seek to do us harm. If you are a known terrorist who 
has brutality murdered hundreds of American soldiers and is actively 
planning to kill more Americans, our leaders, our President has the 
authority to quickly stop that threat by any means necessary. This 
power is a core executive function of the Commander in Chief under 
Article II of the Constitution.
  This resolution that may be offered by Democrats today--and I say 
``may.'' It sounds like now they are back-walking it, that they have 
probably done some type of a polling or some type of a study group that 
says this is not going to poll very well. But they have been 
threatening to offer a resolution that would undermine the President's 
ability to swiftly respond to Iran and its proxies' acts of aggression 
against our Nation and our interests. In other words, it would 
undermine the President's ability to protect our homeland and protect 
the American people.
  By eliminating Soleimani, President Trump took decisive action to 
protect Americans and to rid the world of an evil terrorist who was 
actively planning more death and destruction. The President was doing 
his job to deescalate a very tense situation, to save American lives, 
and was damn right to do so. We are all safer today.


      Speaker Pelosi's Refusal to Transmit Articles of Impeachment

  Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. Speaker, after the unprecedented impeachment witch 
hunt conducted in the Chamber this past year, Speaker Pelosi has still 
not transmitted the sham Articles of Impeachment to the Senate. This 
would seem to fly in the face of common sense, the Constitution, and 
precedent.
  It is not just Republicans who have been saying how ridiculous this 
is. Speaker Pelosi's refusal to transmit the articles is now coming 
under scrutiny from her own fellow Democrats in the Senate. One Senator 
said, ``She should send the articles over''; another, ``Let us do what 
we have to do over here''; and, finally, a third Democratic Senator, 
``I'm hoping they will come over here soon. I think most people are 
ready to get this moving on.''
  The only thing that Speaker Pelosi's 3-week charade has done is show 
the public the weakness of Democrats' case and show, indeed, he has not 
been given a safe political process and it is all for theater.
  Please, Ms. Pelosi, please, Speaker Pelosi, allow the Senate to get 
on with the people's work: to pass USMCA, to lower healthcare costs, 
and to improve our infrastructure.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to address their 
remarks to the Chair.

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