[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 123 (Tuesday, July 18, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H3666-H3668]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RELATING TO A NATIONAL EMERGENCY DECLARED BY THE PRESIDENT ON MAY 22, 
                                  2003

  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the order of 
the House of July 13, 2023, I call up the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 
71) relating to a national emergency declared by the President on May 
22, 2003, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the joint resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of July 
13, 2023, the joint resolution is considered read.
  The text of the joint resolution is as follows:

                              H.J. Res. 71

       Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
     United States of America in Congress assembled, That, 
     pursuant to section 202 of the National Emergencies Act (50 
     U.S.C. 1622), the national emergency declared by the finding 
     of the President on May 22, 2003, in Executive Order 13303 is 
     hereby terminated.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The joint resolution shall be debatable for 
30 minutes equally divided among and controlled by Representative 
McCaul of Texas, Representative Meeks of New York, and Representative 
Crane of Arizona, or their respective designees.
  The gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson), the gentleman from 
Minnesota (Mr. Phillips), and the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Crane) 
each will control 10 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from South Carolina.


                             General Leave

  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent 
that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their 
remarks and to include extraneous material on the measure under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from South Carolina?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  I rise in opposition to the resolution. The Iraq national emergency 
we are discussing today is the basis for sanctions against Iranian and 
Iran-backed terrorists who killed Americans and partner forces in Iraq, 
as well as supporters of al-Qaida. If we overturn this national 
emergency, these sanctions will automatically and immediately 
disappear.
  This is especially and personally important to me. I am really 
grateful because my oldest son, Alan, served as field artillery in the 
Army in Iraq, and my second oldest son, Addison, was a Navy doctor 
serving in Iraq. They worked for the liberation of the people of Iraq.
  Between 2003 and 2011, Iran-backed militias killed over 600 American 
soldiers serving in Iraq. Since 2018, sanctions issued pursuant to this 
authority have blocked over $80 million from reaching more than 200 
dangerous entities and individuals, including Iran-backed militias, 
their affiliates, and their supporters.
  If we remove these sanctions, that money will help arm the very same 
people responsible for murdering our troops. Our wounded and fallen 
soldiers deserve better. Our Gold Star families deserve better. They 
deserve thoughtful policies that carefully respond to dangerous threats 
and yield accountability. They do not deserve arbitrary decisions to 
recklessly overturn sanctions authorities.
  As we stand here today, Americans in the region are still on the 
front lines of Iran's dangerous and murderous aggression. Iran-backed 
militias are responsible for dozens of attacks against U.S. forces in 
the region in the past few years.

[[Page H3667]]

  Examples of individuals who would have sanctions on them removed if 
this resolution passed are Abu Mustafa al-Sheibani and Abu Dura, IRGC-
backed militia leaders who have launched attacks on the United States 
and British forces in Iraq. It would also remove sanctions on Misha'an 
al-Juburi, a Syrian who, according to the Department of Treasury, 
worked with al-Qaida in Iraq's jihadist umbrella organization, the 
Mujahidin Shura Council, to fund Sunni extremist operations to kill 
Americans.
  Terrorist supporters should not have access to the U.S. financial 
system, and Americans should not be able to do business with these 
people who plan to kill Americans.
  There is a dangerous message being sent to our enemies if we 
terminate sanctions programs while those under sanctions openly attack 
Americans.
  President Donald Trump agreed. His administration stood against 
Iranian-backed terrorists threatening Americans and renewed the Iraq 
national emergency on four separate occasions.
  I urge the Biden administration to engage with Congress in a more 
open and forthcoming dialogue about its use of these emergency economic 
powers, and I urge my colleagues to stand up with our troops, with 
military families, and with Gold Star families to oppose this reckless 
resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PHILLIPS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.J. Res. 71.
  As a Gold Star son who lost his father in the Vietnam war, I 
understand firsthand the human cost of war. I also know my colleague 
from Arizona (Mr. Crane) knows that cost, as well, as a veteran of our 
armed services, and I honor that.
  That is why, since I came to Congress, I have worked in a bipartisan 
fashion to repeal and replace the 2001 AUMF and have consistently 
supported the repeal of the 2002 Iraq war AUMF, as well. I wish we had 
been able to get that legislation through the Senate last Congress, but 
I remain hopeful that we can do so this year.
  All of this is to say that I do not have a hawkish position on Iraq, 
but sanctions and military force are not the same thing. Again, 
sanctions and military force are not the same thing. Terminating the 
national emergency with respect to Iraq would trigger the immediate 
release of currently sanctioned assets of persons who the U.S. 
Government has determined are a threat to Iraq's stability and reform 
efforts, including terrorists and others who have committed acts of 
terrible violence.
  This is not an exaggeration. Numerous Shia militia fighters and ISIS 
terrorists are sanctioned under the Iraq program. The Iraq executive 
order is reviewed every year. Perhaps it is not a surprise that the 
Bush administration renewed it annually, and also the Obama 
administration, even though President Obama formally ended the Iraq war 
in 2011 and ran for President in part based on his opposition to it.
  The Trump administration also renewed the EO every year. Despite 
President Biden professing his full support of repealing the 2002 AUMF, 
the Biden administration also has sought to continue the Iraq sanctions 
program.
  As Members can see from successive renewals and the ongoing situation 
in Iraq, these sanctions target groups and individuals that continue to 
operate against U.S. interests in Iraq and the region and are closely 
monitored on an ongoing basis.

  We do not want terrorists to access funds to kill civilians and 
destabilize Iraq or the region, let alone target Americans overseas. It 
is important for our national security for these sanctions to remain in 
place, and I strongly urge Members of this body on both sides of the 
aisle to forcefully and in a bipartisan manner oppose this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise in support of my bill today, which would terminate the 2003 
national emergency for Iraq. This legislation serves as a much-needed 
check on the Biden administration and forces Congress to do its job.
  The National Emergencies Act was passed in 1976 and was originally 
enacted in response to Presidents FDR and Truman keeping the country in 
a perpetual state of emergency as part of their daily governance.
  Specifically, section 202 requires Congress to vote on any resolution 
terminating each national emergency every 6 months: ``Not later than 6 
months after a national emergency is declared, and not later than the 
end of each 6-month period thereafter that such emergency continues, 
each House of Congress shall meet to consider a vote on a joint 
resolution to determine whether that emergency shall be terminated.''
  In other words, the bill requires Congress to rein in emergency 
declarations. However, despite this requirement, Congress has never 
reviewed the national emergency related to Iraq. This is recklessly 
endangering our Republic, our system of checks and balances, and due 
process, and it undermines we the people.
  The extended national emergency declaration related to Iraq provides 
the President with broad statutory powers only meant for times of 
actual emergency, including the power to draft Americans without 
consent into Active Duty.
  Mr. Speaker, my colleagues on the House Foreign Affairs Committee are 
tasked with reviewing dozens of extended national emergency 
declarations as required by law every 6 months.

                              {time}  1515

  It is long past time for Congress to do its job and terminate 
outdated declarations.
  I have personally been deployed to Iraq three times as a Navy SEAL. I 
am not naive.
  U.S. military overthrew Saddam Hussein's regime within 3 weeks of 
being there, and we killed Saddam Hussein in 2006. We formally declared 
the end of the Iraq war an December 15, 2011. We should not leave this 
national declaration for Iraq in place as a green light for the Biden 
administration to fuel forever wars.
  Mr. Speaker, since President Biden has been in office, he is now 
participating in a new proxy war with Russia in Ukraine and allowed an 
invasion at our southern border. Spending concerns, constitutional 
concerns, and concerns regarding the lives of our soldiers are easily 
and often overlooked by this administration.
  Two-thirds of veterans and majorities of military families and the 
public support full withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, and a vast 
majority of the general public, 80 percent, believe our military 
engagement around the world should be reduced or stay about the same 
size. Only 6 percent believe we should be more engaged.
  The U.S. has many vital national interests--securing our borders, 
addressing the crisis of readiness within our military, and achieving 
energy security and independence. Becoming further entangled in forever 
wars is not one of them.
  Just like the Ukraine-Russia war, Americans see no end in sight and 
no clear strategy to resolve forever wars. This is a clear dereliction 
of duty, and Congress must act.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this 
resolution, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of 
my time and the right to close.
  Mr. PHILLIPS. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. PHILLIPS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume 
for the purpose of closing.
  Mr. Speaker, my argument is very simple: We cannot and we must not 
allow terrorists to obtain assets that could help them perpetuate 
attacks against their government, against civilians, or against 
Americans.
  I strongly oppose H.J. Res. 71, and I urge all my colleagues on both 
sides of the aisle to do the same.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance 
of my time.
  Again, I am grateful for the bipartisan effort with Ranking Member 
Dean Phillips of Minnesota.
  The immediate lifting of sanctions on terrorists who actively 
threaten

[[Page H3668]]

America is unconscionable. These national emergency economic 
authorities are scoped solely to economic sanctions authorities and are 
effective in preventing terrorists from accessing the financial 
networks they need to carry out atrocities against Americans and our 
allies.
  American veterans of service in Iraq should be appreciated for their 
success in liberating the people of Iraq from a murderous dictator who 
was appropriately executed. This is a message toward criminal Putin 
that his invasion of Ukraine, totally unprovoked, will result in 
justice for his conduct of mass murder.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose this resolution, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired.
  Pursuant to order of the House of July 13th, 2023, the previous 
question is ordered.
  The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the joint 
resolution.
  The joint resolution was ordered to be engrossed and read a third 
time, and was read the third time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on passage of the joint 
resolution.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the noes appeared to have it.
  Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this question will be postponed.

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