[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 14, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S170]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                  Iran

  Madam President, on Iran, the Senate will soon consider Senator 
Kaine's War Powers Resolution, which would prevent further hostilities 
with Iran without congressional approval. It is a crucial vote that 
will correctly assert this body's constitutional authority over matters 
of war and peace, and it is certainly timely.
  The past few weeks have highlighted the President's impulsive, 
erratic, and often reckless foreign policy, the consequences of which 
have made Americans less safe and unnecessarily put our Armed Forces in 
harm's way. From North Korea, to Syria, to Russia, it is impossible to 
say the world is a safer place today than when President Trump took 
office, and it is very possible to say that President Trump, by his 
impulsive, erratic, and ego-driven actions, has made things worse.
  With respect to Iran, the President's recent actions have increased 
the risk of further hostilities in the Middle East. The President 
campaigned on getting the United States out of ``endless wars'' in the 
Middle East, but the President has deployed thousands more U.S. troops 
in the Middle East with hardly an explanation to Congress or to the 
American people.
  I have long been concerned that the President's chaotic, impulsive 
decisionmaking might stumble us into war. With Iran, like with many 
other places around the globe, the President's policy has brought us 
closer to the kind of endless war the President promised we would 
avoid.
  It is past time for Congress to place a check on this President. On 
matters of war and peace, congressional oversight and congressional 
prerogatives are not optional. I urge my colleagues on both sides to 
vote in favor of the Kaine resolution.
  Senator Sanders also has a bill that would deny funding for a war 
with Iran, of which I am a proud cosponsor. The Senate should consider 
that legislation as well. As the situation with Iran continues to 
evolve, the administration must come back and brief Congress on all 
major developments, troop deployments, and long-term strategy in the 
region.