[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 19 (Thursday, February 1, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S350-S351]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ORDER FOR ADJOURNMENT

  Mr. SCHATZ. Mr. President, if there is no further business to come 
before the Senate, I ask that it stand adjourned under the previous 
order following the remarks of Senator Duckworth.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois.


                                  Iran

  Ms. DUCKWORTH. Mr. President, if you listen closely right now, you 
can hear the drums of war gain momentum. I know that sound. It is the 
same sound that led me to deploy to a dusty desert outpost in Iraq 20 
years ago, where I served alongside some of the bravest men and women 
you could ever meet. It is the same sound that, ultimately, led me to 
run for office, a decision I only made after I was shot down in Iraq, 
when I found myself searching for a new mission to serve my Nation.
  I found that mission in giving a voice to every veteran who had 
willingly sacrificed so much answering their Nation's call to serve, 
and I found it in speaking up for the Active-Duty troops still waking 
up in dusty base camps throughout the Middle East, still serving tour 
after tour, bleeding--even dying--thousands of miles away because they 
had sworn an oath to defend a country they loved, no matter what it 
cost them.
  And that sound is why, a few minutes ago, I wheeled myself to this 
desk with the same purpose that took me first to battle, then the 
campaign trail: And that is to help keep America as strong as she can 
be and to try to look out for the troops who never stop looking out for 
the rest of us.
  Today, I am here in this beautiful chamber with privilege all around 
me to beg of my colleagues one simple thing: As tensions in the Middle 
East escalate, please, from this place of safety and comfort, think of 
the sacrifices our servicemembers make every single day. Please, as the 
drums of war grow louder, honor our servicemembers by thinking of what 
we would be asking them to risk if we risk an expanded conflict with 
Iran.
  On Sunday morning, we all woke to the tragic, horrific news that 
three American soldiers were killed in an Iran-backed attack in Jordan. 
I imagine many who saw the news may not have even known that we had 
U.S. servicemembers stationed in Jordan, but I was acutely aware of it. 
In fact,

[[Page S351]]

just 24 hours earlier, I had woken up in Illinois and helped to send 
almost 300 Illinois National guardsmen off to start their mission in 
the CENTCOM area of operation, the exact AO where this attack took 
place.
  And since Sunday, I don't think I have gone a waking hour without 
thinking about the brave servicemembers who lost their lives--SGT 
William Jerome Rivers, SGT Kennedy Ladon Sanders, and SGT Breonna 
Alexsondria Moffett--and each of them was willing to sacrifice the 
unimaginable to keep our Nation safe. They are our heroes.
  During this impossible time, my thoughts are with their families, who 
will never be able to say ``I love you'' in person to them again. And 
my thoughts are with the more than 40 other servicemembers who were 
wounded in the blast, with at least three among them having severe 
enough injuries that they had to be evacuated to Germany.
  It is clear that we must forcefully and swiftly make those 
responsible pay for the devastation they have wrought and send a 
message that these attacks against our servicemembers will not be 
tolerated. But we must do this with clear eyes, a steady hand, and a 
clear, strategic end goal in mind, seeking justice and, ultimately, a 
swift end to these threats to our troops.
  I don't have all the details yet, but based on initial reports, it 
seems that President Biden's planned response will do just that. It 
looks like it will be a well-thought-out, strong rebuttal that aims to 
deter Iran from supporting further attacks on U.S. troops without 
risking boiling tensions even further, because this is a uniquely 
dangerous moment, and the message we send to Iran must make war less 
likely, not more.
  After all, after decades of forever wars in the region, the last 
thing we want is to send those who volunteer to serve our country into 
another endless, senseless conflict. And if we want to adequately honor 
the sacrifices of the three servicemembers killed last week, we must 
remain focused on preventing their brothers and sisters at arms from 
dying in a preventable war on foreign soil.
  Sadly, over the past few days, some of my Republican colleagues have 
been making reckless, irresponsible comments that risk dangerously 
escalating tensions. They have been throwing rocks, chest thumping over 
social media, beating the drums of war, demanding that the President 
ramp up the temperature, that he ``hit Iran now and hit them hard.''
  Look, I ran for Congress so that when those drums of war started 
beating, I would be in a position to make sure that our leaders in 
Washington fully consider the cost of war--not just in dollars and 
cents but in the sacrifices and blood of our troops. So I have come to 
the floor today, as those drums echo louder than they have in years, to 
keep my promise to do our troops justice, to beseech my colleagues to 
let cool heads, common sense, and sound strategy prevail over reckless 
impulses.
  And, if necessary, I will come back to this Chamber day after day 
after day, speaking from this wheelchair that I earned the last time 
Congress rashly sent our sons and daughters into another endless, 
senseless war, ensuring that, this time, we do right by our troops by 
fully, soberly, considering the consequences of these decisions on 
those who serve and their families.
  Listen, I am no dove. After all, I volunteered to fight in a war that 
I deeply disagreed with. So I am certainly not opposed to war when it 
is necessary to defend this great Nation. And I am not opposed to 
striking Iranian assets, if our approach is smart, limited, and 
strategically calibrated to end the spiral of violence that threatens 
our servicemembers.
  But I will also do everything in my power to remind those who, today, 
are so eagerly pushing us down the path to war that there are serious 
repercussions involved for the Americans who would actually be in 
harm's way, even if they may not be filled by politicians here in 
Washington.
  Under both the Federal law known as the War Powers Act and article I 
of the Constitution, only Congress has the solemn responsibility of 
deciding when and how the United States sends its troops into war.
  So if Republicans really want to risk war with Iran, then they owe it 
to our troops to bring an authorization for use of military force to 
the floor. Instead of hiding behind social media accounts and 
television interviews, bring that debate to this Chamber so we can 
actually fulfill our duty and begin the serious business of considering 
the merits and drawbacks of such a conflict.
  So that as we ask them to sacrifice so much, our troops downrange 
would at least know what their mission is, what their goals are, and 
that their leaders in Washington both have their backs and are 
following the Constitution that they are willing to die to protect and 
defend.
  Whenever Republicans are ready--if they are ever ready--I am here to 
participate in that debate. And if their arguments for war are strong 
enough, I owe it to my constituents to consider and vote on the merits 
of them.
  I, myself, would be the first to volunteer, if they could have use of 
a gimpy former Black Hawk pilot, but I will go. I can pack my ruck in 
15 minutes, if needed. But for now, with those drums pounding once 
more, I just want to ask each of my colleagues to take a moment to 
think about the true cost of war for all those servicemembers still at 
risk at dusty desert bases thousands of miles away.
  I personally cannot go a moment without forgetting them.
  I yield the floor.

                          ____________________