[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 49 (Wednesday, March 18, 2026)]
[House]
[Page H2556]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                HUMAN AND ECONOMIC COSTS OF WAR IN IRAN

  (Mrs. Sykes of Ohio was recognized to address the House for 5 
minutes.)
  Mrs. SYKES. Mr. Speaker, last week, our Nation lost six American 
servicemembers in a tragic aircraft crash over Iraq. They are among the 
13 who have lost their lives to date after Trump waged war in Iran.
  Among them are three Ohioans serving in the Ohio National Guard: 
Captain Seth Koval, Captain Curtis Angst, and Technical Sergeant Tyler 
Simmons. These were brave men who answered the call to serve their 
country.
  Technical Sergeant Tyler Simmons was only 28 years old. He had what 
his family called his dream job in the Air Force. His cousin said that 
he had a million-dollar smile that could light up a room and that he 
loved flying and serving his country.
  Captain Curtis Angst, a graduate of the University of Cincinnati, 
spent a decade serving his country as a pilot.
  Captain Seth Koval, who served nearly 20 years in uniform, had 
dedicated much of his life to flying missions that kept other aircraft 
in the sky and other servicemembers safe.
  These men flew one of the most demanding and dangerous missions in 
the Air Force: refueling other aircraft midair so that they could 
complete their missions and return home safely. Yet, these airmen never 
made it home.
  Each of these men have families, friends, and communities that will 
carry this loss forever. Today, my heart breaks for them.
  To those families and the families of other servicemembers who we 
have lost, please know that the people of Ohio are grieving with you.
  Mr. Speaker, these six Americans are not the only lives that we lost. 
Since President Trump dragged us into this war with Iran, 13 Americans 
have already died. These are 13 families who have received the worst 
knock at the door imaginable, and more than a dozen communities across 
the country are now mourning someone who stepped forward to serve.
  While those families are paying the ultimate price, Americans here at 
home are feeling the consequences of this war in other ways. Gas 
prices, oil prices, and the cost of nearly everything else are 
skyrocketing. Families feel it every time they fill up their tanks, 
during every trip to the grocery store, and with the cost of food at 
the market. Their paychecks are not stretching as far because of the 
President's reckless America last decisions.
  In Ohio's 13th Congressional District, families were already 
struggling with rising transportation costs. Cars, gas, insurance, and 
public transit costs are becoming increasingly expensive.
  According to the House Budget Committee, Ohio families saw 
transportation costs increase by an average of $65 last year alone 
because of Republicans' careless policies.
  President Trump promised that prices would go down on his first day 
in office, but that promise turned out to be a lie. Instead, his 
tariffs, which act like a national sales tax on American families, and 
the Republicans' big, ugly bill are driving up costs and squeezing 
families' budgets even more.

                              {time}  1030

  Mr. Speaker, I refuse to sit back and watch working families in Ohio 
get squeezed like this. That is why I have been pushing for policies 
that actually lower everyday costs and put more money in people's 
pockets.
  I introduced the Lower Your Taxes Act to do such a thing. The bill 
would expand the earned income tax credit and child tax credit so 
working families can keep more of the money that they earn.
  This effort and other commonsense solutions I have proposed, and my 
Democratic colleagues have offered, to lower costs have been blocked or 
opposed by Republicans.
  Mr. Speaker, we cannot forget the real people caught in the middle of 
all of this: families who now have to decide between filling up the gas 
tank and buying groceries, between fixing their car, going to the 
doctor, or paying their rent.
  Americans cannot survive Trump's dangerous actions overseas that are 
taking human and economic tolls. Republicans have ignored warning signs 
and blocked cost-cutting solutions, and they have left working families 
to fend for themselves. That is a failure of leadership.
  We can act to restore affordability, or we can keep letting costs 
spiral while Republicans protect the millionaires and the billionaires. 
I hope that we protect American families because the people we 
represent deserve so much better than what they are getting right now.
  May God bless our troops, and may God bless the United States of 
America.

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