[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 5 (Thursday, January 9, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S100-S101]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                  Iran

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, yesterday the Senate received a 
classified briefing for all Senators from the Trump administration on 
the recent military operation that killed Iranian General Soleimani. 
Nearly the entire Senate attended, but only 15 Senators were able to 
ask questions before the administration decided they had to go. As many 
as 82 Senators were left hanging in the balance without a chance to 
answer their questions. It was a sight like none I have ever seen in my 
time in the Senate.
  This is a crucial issue: war and peace. These were five of the 
leading people involved in the decision making, past, present and 
future. If they couldn't stay to answer questions in a classified 
briefing, that is the ultimate disrespect to the Senate.
  I have to tell you, it was not just Democrats who were upset and not 
just on the Republican side. Senator Paul and Senator Lee were upset. 
Four or five Senators came over to me, in that room, when I made the 
request that they come back, and said: Please count me in on that.
  As Secretary Pompeo was practically running out the door, I asked the 
White House representative if they would come back and finish the 
briefing. Pompeo said no, on his behalf, but the White House 
representative assured me the group would be back in short order.
  I said: Within a week.
  In the room, in the SCIF, he said they will definitely come back.
  This morning, the White House told me they would explore coming back. 
They are already backing off, as usual. This is imperative. We are 
asking, in as polite a way as we can right now, Democrats and 
Republicans, that these five leaders--the head of DNI, the head of the 
CIA, the head of the Joint Chiefs, Secretary of Defense, and the 
Secretary of State--come before us within a week and answer the 
questions of the 82 Senators who were on the list and wanted to ask 
questions but couldn't.
  The scene at yesterday's briefing was unacceptable, as Members of 
both sides of the aisle have attested. Eighty-two Senators--chairs, 
ranking members, appropriators, authorized--were snubbed by this 
administration on a matter of war and peace. They must return.
  Again, this administration's thwarting of the exquisite balance the 
Founding Fathers put in place between the Congress and Presidency is 
something that would make the Founding Fathers turn over in their 
graves and strikes at the core of what America is all about.
  Why is it important we have this briefing? Because the danger of war 
is still very real. There seems to be a sense that Iran's missile 
strikes on U.S. installations in Iraq, which resulted in no U.S. or 
coalition casualties, was a signal that our hostilities between our two 
countries are deescalating. If that is true, it would certainly be a 
good thing, but we all know Iran has many different ways of causing 
trouble in the Middle East. Over

[[Page S101]]

the last decade, Iranian proxies have exported terror, fomented civil 
strife throughout the region. We know they may seek to strike the 
United States in many new ways, like through cyber attacks. 
Undoubtedly, there is still a danger Iran will retaliate for the death 
of General Soleimani in other ways, not only in the next days, where it 
is possible they could, but in the next weeks and months.
  In a speech yesterday, the Iran Supreme Leader said the Iranian 
missile strike was just ``one slap.'' ``Such military actions,'' he 
continued, ``are not enough as far as the importance of retaliation is 
concerned.'' We have good reason to worry that Iran will do more, 
particularly, given the fact that they are a regime that has many hard-
liners who hate the United States and will try to do us as much damage 
as they can. For other reasons as well, the risk of confrontation with 
Iran has grown more acute, some of it because of President Trump's 
actions.
  At the President's order, we now have at least 15,000 additional U.S. 
forces in the Middle East--more forces than we had at the beginning of 
last summer--15,000 more. The Iranian public, which only weeks ago was 
protesting its own political leaders, has rallied behind the regime and 
is directing its entire ire at the United States. Iran has also 
announced that it will no longer abide by any restraints on its nuclear 
program that were imposed by the JCPOA, signaling its possible intent 
to pursue a nuclear weapon.
  For all these reasons--that clearly Iran is still a great danger and 
the risk of war still looms--we need Senator Kaine's War Powers 
Resolution more than ever.
  The President has made several erratic and impulsive decisions when 
it comes to foreign policy that have made Americans less safe, put even 
more American forces in harm's way. More American troops are now headed 
to the Middle East. We are not reducing our troop load; we are 
increasing it.
  Iran is no longer constrained by limits on its nuclear program. We 
find ourselves even more isolated from allies and partners around the 
world who are shaken by the recklessness and inconsistency of the 
administration's foreign policy. The Trump administration cannot even 
complete a congressional briefing. Congress, unequivocally, must hold 
the President accountable and assert our authority over matters of war 
and peace. That is what Senator Kaine's resolution would do.
  We will have a debate on the floor in the Senate. I urge my 
colleagues to support the Kaine resolution. There are many different 
ways we can make sure we don't go into a war recklessly and without 
check.
  Senator Sanders today is introducing legislation, of which I am a 
cosponsor, that will hold back funding for such a war. We Democrats 
will continue to pursue ways to assert our constitutional authority and 
make sure that before the administration takes any actions--because so 
many of their actions tend to be reckless and impulsive--they have to 
get the OK of Congress.