[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 67 (Thursday, April 16, 2026)]
[House]
[Pages H2929-H2937]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  DIRECTING THE PRESIDENT, PURSUANT TO SECTION 5(c) OF THE WAR POWERS 
RESOLUTION, TO REMOVE UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES FROM HOSTILITIES WITH 
                                  IRAN

  Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the order of the House of April 
15, 2026, I call up the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 40) 
directing the President, pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers 
Resolution, to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities with 
Iran, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of April 
15, 2026, the concurrent resolution is considered as read.
  The text of the concurrent resolution is as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 40

       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That, pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers 
     Resolution (50 U.S.C. 1544(c)), Congress directs the 
     President to remove United States Armed Forces from 
     hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran, other than 
     those elements of the Armed Forces that may be necessary to 
     defend the United States or an ally or partner of the United 
     States from imminent attack provided that the President 
     complies fully with the requirements of section 5(b) the War 
     Powers Resolution (50 U.S.C. 1544(b)) with respect to any 
     such use of the Armed Forces, unless explicitly authorized by 
     a declaration of war or a specific congressional 
     authorization for use of military force against Iran.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The concurrent resolution shall be debatable 
for 1 hour, equally divided and controlled by the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Mast) and gentleman from New York (Mr. Meeks), or their 
respective designees.
  The gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mast) and the gentleman from New York 
(Mr. Meeks) each will control 30 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida.


                             General Leave

  Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include any extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of my War 
Powers Resolution, and I do so today because the Constitution of the 
United States actually demands it, and so does the conscience of the 
House of Representatives.
  In my view, Donald Trump--and I think that in most of the world's 
view--has dragged the American people into a war of choice--fact--
launched without congressional authorization.
  The President did not discuss or work with any of our allies. There 
was no coherent strategy. This was an open-ended and undefined military 
engagement, and that is exactly what the War Powers Resolution was 
designed to restrain.

                              {time}  1020

  However, we are here today to talk about the authority of Congress, 
whether you agree with the war or not. It is the authority that lies 
within Congress.
  On February 28, the President launched an attack while negotiations 
between Iran and the United States were actively going on. Diplomacy 
was going on. Iran's foreign minister had stated just days before that 
a historic agreement was within reach. There was a path forward that 
did not require a single American servicemember to be put in harm's 
way. Instead of pursuing diplomacy, the President started this war, 
costing the American people billions of dollars, losing 13 American 
lives, and so many other men, women, and children who were not a party 
and who were civilians.
  The President abandoned the diplomatic path, not because diplomacy 
failed, but because it was never truly given a chance. As a result of 
the administration's decisions, the new Iranian regime is more hard-
line. The Strait of Hormuz, which was previously open, is now closed. 
The cost of gas for the American people has skyrocketed, and this 
fragile cease-fire is one threatening civilization tweet away from 
failing.
  What has this war accomplished?
  The administration and Donald Trump himself may be declaring victory, 
but let's look at the contradictory objectives of this administration 
which were used to justify the war.
  First, it was that Iran posed an imminent threat, but no imminent 
threat was ever demonstrated. Then it was about nuclear weapons, but 
the administration itself had declared the nuclear program obliterated. 
Then it was about ballistic missiles. So you see, Mr. Speaker, the 
goalposts keep moving because there was never a clear objective in the 
beginning.
  Meanwhile, as I have stated, the costs keep going up. American 
servicemembers have been killed, and thousands of civilians, including 
hundreds of children, have been killed since the beginning of this war. 
These are not just statistics. These are human beings, and we have a 
moral duty to acknowledge that reality.
  Then there is the impact on gas pumps and grocery stores. This war 
has disrupted global travel and trade, halted flights in and out of the 
Middle East, and led to major shipping reroutes. Leading energy 
analysts warn it could be a long time before prices go down even after 
the war ends and that we are looking at elevated energy costs well into 
the end of 2026.
  The 2-week cease-fire is set to expire on April 22, and thus far, 
neither side has indicated what comes next beyond continued blockage of 
the Strait of Hormuz. We are standing at the edge of a cliff, and 
Congress must act before the President pushes us off. Every day we 
delay, we inch closer to a conflict with no exit ramp.
  This resolution does not leave America defenseless. It preserves the 
President's authority to defend the United States and our allies from 
imminent attack. Actually, it says, plainly and constitutionally, that 
one person does not have the power to take this Nation to war alone.

[[Page H2930]]

  Just yesterday, we heard more American troops were being sent to the 
Middle East. The Constitution ultimately, again, no matter whether you 
agree with the war or do not agree with the war, Mr. Speaker, the 
Constitution grants the Congress, not the President, the power to 
declare war.
  Don't take my word for it, Mr. Speaker. Even Donald Trump 
acknowledged this saying: As a war, you are supposed to get approval 
from Congress.
  This is not a skirmish. This is not a military operation. This is a 
war.
  Now, we are not the Iranian Parliament, and we should not be 
rubberstamps. We are the Article I branch of government, and we serve 
as a check and balance on Presidential overreach.
  This duty is not optional. Today, this body has a choice. We can 
assert our constitutional authority and demand a return to the only 
path that leads to lasting security, diplomacy, negotiation, 
verification, and deterrence. Or we can surrender that authority and 
let this war grind on without accountability, without strategy, and 
without an end in sight.
  It is oversight, especially on this committee. We should be having 
witnesses before us so that we can understand and talk and move and 
ultimately have a vote on this floor to determine whether or not we are 
going to authorize a war.
  I, for example, believe in diplomacy. I also believe in the 
Constitution, and I choose to defend the principle that war is a last 
resort and not a first option. Others may disagree with me, but we 
should still have a vote here on the House floor.
  The American people are watching. The camera of history is recording.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, whether 
or not they agree with the war or not, let's do our duty and our 
responsibility. If they want to vote to declare a war, then vote that 
way. If they believe, as I do, we should have diplomacy and we should 
not be at war now, then vote that way. We are all Members of the House 
of Representatives. Let's protect this institution. Let's vote ``yes'' 
on this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the speech that he just gave. 
It is probably the most hypocritical speech that anybody could give, 
but I am glad he gave it because the truth is I am well prepared to 
answer for this.
  Let's talk about engagements against Iran and what is going on. This 
is not the first time that this happened. Joe Biden was engaged against 
Iran.
  Why?
  It is because of an imminent threat.
  Let's examine the difference between when Joe Biden was engaged and 
when President Trump was engaged. When Joe Biden engaged, it is because 
the Houthis, a direct arm of Iran, were attacking the United States of 
America's ships and merchant marine vessels and doing what they have 
been doing for decades: picking a fight.
  Mr. Biden launched Operation Prosperity Guardian against Iranian-
backed Houthis. That went on not for 30 days, not for 60 days, not for 
90 days, and not for 6 months. It went on for almost 1 year until 
January of 2025, from November 2023 until January 2025.
  What happened during that period of time?
  How many times did my Democratic colleagues or Republicans offer a 
War Powers resolution to say: Remove all U.S. forces from this fight 
against Iran?
  I have the counter down here. It is zero.
  It wasn't like what happened with President Trump. President Trump is 
defending against an imminent threat.
  What was this imminent threat?
  It wasn't just vessels being shot. It was, very specifically, not 
long before that, three Americans killed at a place called Tower 22: 
Sergeant Rivers, 46 years old, serving in the U.S. Army Reserves; 
Sergeant Sanders, 24 years old, serving in the U.S. Army Reserves, and 
Sergeant Moffett, 23 years old, serving in the U.S. Army Reserves. 
These are real imminent threats. Our bases in Iraq, Syria, and other 
places were being attacked.

                              {time}  1030

  However, before President Trump ever conducted any level of 
operation, Democrats introduced legislation to direct the removal of 
U.S. forces from hostilities with Iran, a war powers introduced before 
anything ever happened.
  Now, if we go back here to President Biden, there were a couple of 
pieces of legislation that took place bipartisanly. One of them I 
brought up many times. It was Republicans and Democrats voting 
overwhelmingly to tell the President, tell the executive branch, 
literally: Use any and all means necessary to destroy Iranian nuclear 
anything. That is what we told the President. That is what we told the 
executive branch. My colleague voted on it. I voted on it.
  It was not war powers, not to say remove all U.S. forces from 
hostilities, not like Democrats have brought up before this began and 
then again bringing it up, stopping before a B-2 bomber struck, not 
again when they introduced it this time, you know, 6/26, 6/27, not on 
1/29, not on 2/18. The list goes on and on again and again and again. 
Today, again, we are doing another war powers.
  What changed? What changed from not one war powers from anybody to 
half a dozen? I guess we are going to do another one next week. 
Politics. Everything that my colleague just talked about, his 
hypocritical remarks about we need to do these things, it is all 
politics.
  My Democratic colleagues are not paying attention to national 
security at all. They refuse to acknowledge the imminent threat that 
Iran has been: them killing our servicemembers, them attacking us in 
place after place. They don't acknowledge it.
  When Joe Biden was responding to merchant marine vessels being 
attacked, it was okay, no war powers needed. It went on for about a 
year. When President Trump responds: War powers, war powers, war 
powers, war powers, every week that they can do it. They tried doing it 
last week, as well. That is the hypocrisy.
  My colleague brought up some of our servicemembers who were killed. I 
take that very seriously. I have seen that beautiful flag behind the 
Speaker draped across caskets far too many times. I take it seriously 
every time. I personally believe that any time that a servicemember is 
killed, they should be lying in state, lying in honor here beneath the 
dome of the U.S. Capitol. I think they earn it more than anybody, 
anybody killed in action in defense of this country. That is my own 
personal belief on that.
  I want to ask my colleague: Do you know the folks? Do you know the 
folks who were killed that you mentioned? Do you know their names? You 
brought up a number. Is that just politics? I know I am supposed to 
address the Chair, but I am happy to yield a little time to my 
colleague.
  Do you know the members of the military that were killed?
  He is sitting there silent, just using it for politics.
  My brothers and sisters in arms are not politics. They are out 
defending the United States of America against the most imminent threat 
that we have faced for decades, a threat that has killed hundreds of 
our servicemembers in the war on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan, that, 
as I already mentioned, killed three of our servicemembers at Tower 22, 
absolutely was shooting at us and our merchant marine fleet, like what 
they had nothing to say about when President Biden was conducting 
attacks against them for over a year, but I am going to tell you who 
they are, since to my Democratic colleagues, they are just a number for 
politics.
  Army Sergeant Declan Coady, 20 years old, from Des Moines, Iowa; Army 
Captain Cody Khork, 35 years old; Army Major Jeffrey O'Brien, 45 years 
old; Army Master Sergeant Noah Tietjens, 45 years old; Army Staff 
Sergeant Benjamin Pennington; Air Force Major John Klinner; Chief 
Warrant Officer Robert Marzan, Army; Air Force Master Sergeant Tyler 
Simmons; Air Force Tech Sergeant Ashley Pruitt; Master Sergeant Nicole 
Amor; Major Savino; Captain Koval, U.S. Air Force; Captain Angst, KC-
135 pilot.
  They are not just numbers. They are not part of an operation that has 
no

[[Page H2931]]

plan. They are not part of an operation responding to no imminent 
threat. They are taking it to an enemy that has attacked us month after 
month, year after year, that bipartisanly we have agreed on: Use any 
and all means to destroy them, to destroy their nuclear capabilities. 
We voted on it. The only difference is that my Democratic colleagues 
want to reference a number of servicemembers killed because they just 
see it as politics. They don't have the slightest clue of who they are, 
where they are from, what their ages were, or their respect for the 
Gold Star families that now exist. They are only interested in the 
difference in politics, which is what these charts demonstrate.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. I remind the gentleman to direct his remarks 
to the Chair.
  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, you know, the gentleman is from Florida, so 
he knows oranges. I am from New York, the Big Apple. I know apples. The 
gentleman's argument, clearly, he doesn't know apples from oranges.
  Let me just say this: I never challenged the gentleman's patriotism 
to this country. He better never challenge my patriotism to this 
country. To think that he has a privilege to do that? No. There is no 
one that has more patriotism. I have family members who lost their 
lives for this country. I am here because of my patriotism to this 
country.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Massachusetts 
(Ms. Clark), the esteemed Democratic whip.
  Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, 6 weeks ago, Democrats 
brought a War Powers Resolution to this House floor. We called on 
Republicans to join us and bring this conflict to an end. They refused. 
  Mike Johnson declared with pride that Donald Trump's mission is 
nearly accomplished.
  Well, 6 weeks later, what are Americans seeing? We are seeing gas 
prices out of control, grocery prices going up, and a fertilizer 
shortage that is threatening to drive prices even higher. Americans are 
seeing hundreds of casualties in a war that no one has given them the 
respect to explain.

  However, one thing is clear: Americans are being asked to foot the 
bill with the lives of their sons and daughters. With the $2 billion a 
day that we are spending on this conflict, that could be going to help 
Americans afford to go see a doctor, help feed our seniors and hungry 
veterans, help drive down prices and help Americans who are working 
hard and not making it be able to afford the rising cost of gas and 
housing and groceries that are being driven ever higher by this 
conflict.
  Before this war, we were in a position of strength. Iran was 
weakened. The Strait of Hormuz was in no danger of being closed. 
However, now, Donald Trump and his enablers have marched us into a 
position of far more weakness.
  Our goal now of this conflict is to return to the status quo before 
this conflict, but who is paying the price? Who is paying the price for 
this? It is the American people. Don't take my word for it. President 
Donald Trump told us because of this war: It is not possible for us to 
take care of daycare, Medicaid, Medicare. Imagine that. That is an 
American working family last doctrine.
  Mr. Speaker, today, Republicans have a choice. Are you going to 
continue to enable him and his madness, or are you going to prioritize 
Americans, the working families of this country, and vote ``yes'' for 
this resolution?

                              {time}  1040

  Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I would remind the House that the gentlewoman who just 
spoke was the one who said, to directly quote her, Americans are 
``leverage.'' I guess that is how they look at our servicemembers, as 
well, unfortunately. I don't guess. I assess. I assess, as I spoke 
about already and reaffirm my remarks, they use our servicemembers as 
leverage, as politics, and it is disgusting.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Self), chairman of the Europe Subcommittee.
  Mr. SELF. Mr. Speaker, I will address a couple of things that my 
esteemed colleague across the aisle talked about. Gas prices, do you 
want to go back to the gas prices under Joe Biden? I think not.
  As long as we are talking about 13 dead servicemembers, I want to 
remind you of how often our colleagues across the aisle refuse to talk 
about the 13 servicemembers who died in the most disastrous, the most 
despicable operation in U.S. military history at Abbey Gate. They 
refuse to talk about and refuse to recognize the 13 dead then.
  As long as we are talking about this operation, we tend to forget 
that President Obama attacked Libya for 7 months, with no authorization 
from Congress--7 months, with no authorization from Congress.
  I have a question for my colleagues across the aisle: Why do you hate 
U.S. success so much? How can you do that? How can you hate the success 
that we have had strategically in the last couple of months?
  We now control the Venezuelan oil, much of which went to China. We 
now have cut off the Strait of Hormuz, where much of the oil that went 
through the Strait of Hormuz went to China. We have done it with no 
boots on the ground.
  There are three priorities of the regime in Iran. One is regime 
survival. Two is their nuclear program. Three used to be--although it 
is no longer, because they don't have any proxies left to speak of.
  We have taken out their proxies. We have destroyed much of their 
nuclear program. If we can get the 60 percent uranium, get it under our 
control, it would be very beneficial, but they no longer have the 
machines or the people to enrich it to 90 percent, which is weapon-
grade uranium.
  You asked what we have accomplished in this war. We have neutered 
Iran, which has been at war with us for 47 years. What have we 
accomplished? We have accomplished quite a bit.
  I ask my colleagues, again, how can you hate U.S. success so much? I 
have been deployed on three continents with the United States Army, and 
I will tell you the support of the American people is what sustained 
you when you are deployed overseas.
  I implore my colleagues across the aisle to support our troops who 
are in harm's way.
  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, it is our job to determine when our troops should go, 
and that is what this is about. We all support our troops, but it is 
our determination in Congress when we should send them, not a king.
  I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Castro), the 
ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs' Western Hemisphere 
Subcommittee.
  Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the President promised the American 
people no more foreign wars. Then, he dragged the Nation into war with 
Iran. He has threatened genocide against Iran by calling for the death 
of a civilization.
  This war has caused record inflation, soaring energy prices, and the 
death of countless civilians, including scores of schoolgirls. 
Americans didn't endorse any of this.
  The so-called imminent threat that was used to justify the war was 
manufactured. In fact, Iran does not possess any nuclear weapons. They 
don't have a single ballistic missile capable of reaching the mainland 
United States of America.
  This was all a lie. That lie has cost 13 American servicemembers 
their lives, and hundreds more have been wounded.
  As we speak, President Trump is sending thousands more servicemembers 
into the region.
  What was this war for? The President keeps changing his answer. How 
much will it cost? He refuses to say. When will it end? No answer.
  Has he sent a single official to testify to Congress to explain his 
decision to go to war? No.
  A vote against this resolution is a vote to sideline Congress in the 
most consequential decision a government can make, whether to go to 
war.
  When we go home, in each of our hometowns, we are confronted with 
questions about higher grocery bills and why. The answer is this war.
  I will tell people that I did not vote for this war. I will tell them 
that I don't support the war. I will tell them

[[Page H2932]]

that I voted to stop the war. I will tell them that I do not want 
another generation of American men and women from San Antonio or 
anywhere else in this country in uniform fighting 20-year, trillion-
dollar wars in the Middle East. When you go home, what will you tell 
your people?
  The resolution before us is a chance to show the American people that 
this body functions, that it works, that we will not stand aside while 
a President wages an unauthorized war.
  Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I will remind my colleague who just spoke that Iran, as 
of yet, does not have a missile that can reach the United States of 
America that we know about, but they have reached out and affirmatively 
killed Americans. I just gave a list. Prior to this conflict ever 
beginning, Sergeant Moffett, Sergeant Sanders, and Sergeant Rivers were 
killed, killed in action.

  Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. 
Fine).
  Mr. FINE. Mr. Speaker, for 47 years, there has been a war involving 
Iran. It has been a war against the United States. It started 47 years 
ago with: ``Death to America.'' When they chanted it, they meant it. It 
started in 1979, when they took our hostages. In 1983, when Iran killed 
241 Americans, including 220 marines, Iran recognized they were at war 
with us. In 1996, at Khobar Towers, Iran, in their war for death to 
America, killed 19 more Americans. From 2003 to 2011, Iran, thinking 
they were at war with America, killed over 600 of our soldiers who were 
in Iraq. On October 7, 2023, Iran, realizing death to America, war with 
America, killed 46 Americans who were living in Israel.
  Iran has not just been at war with us. They have been at war with 
their own people. We can hear tears for the schoolchildren who died, 
but we do not hear the tears for the 35,000 Iranians that we know of 
who they killed in January. We don't hear the cries for the Iranian 
people because of their war with their own people that has kept the 
internet off in their country for months now.
  We will hear that we should just have more diplomacy. The 47 years of 
diplomacy are not enough. Make no mistake, Iran uses diplomacy as a 
weapon to create cover for their nuclear program.
  We have to understand what is at stake today as President Trump makes 
extraordinary steps. For 47 years, as Iran has declared war with us, 
they have tried to build a nuclear weapon. They have enough material to 
build a couple.
  While we do not believe that they could deliver that nuclear weapon 
to the United States today, that is their single-minded purpose. Their 
goal was to create a military infrastructure that created a shield so 
that they could develop those nuclear weapons and develop that missile.

                              {time}  1050

  My colleagues on the other side of the aisle might be fine learning 
that they have that nuclear weapon and they have that missile when one 
lands right here in the United States of America. Thank God President 
Trump and the rest of us do not.
  This resolution is a terrible idea. We should stand with our 
President. We should stand with our troops. We must end the 47-year war 
that Iran has had with the United States.
  Mr. Speaker, I am grateful that President Trump is doing that right 
now. Vote ``no'' on this.
  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Connecticut (Mr. Himes), the ranking member of the Intelligence 
Committee.
  Mr. HIMES. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman and ranking member for 
this important debate.
  Mr. Speaker, I have been listening carefully to my Republican 
colleagues, and they will get no argument from me on the notion that we 
have been at war with Iran for decades. They will get no argument at 
all.
  As Mr. Mast keeps saying, this is a bad and evil regime. Yes, we have 
been at war, but at no point in those decades have we been so obviously 
losing that war in any strategic sense.
  The Iranian Navy is at the bottom of the ocean. We have broken a 
bunch of their missile launchers, and I guess the nuclear material is a 
little more buried than it was when we obliterated it 9 months ago, but 
let's look at the balance here.
  Let's set aside the constitutional issues that the majority has been 
quite happy to set aside now for a month and a half and let's talk 
about the regime change which occurred. We changed the regime to a 
younger, much more vicious regime that is now in power in Iran. We also 
demonstrated that Iran can sustain the most brutal military attack that 
we have to offer and that regime can still survive.
  We have shown the regime--and this is the key point--that they have a 
weapon more powerful than any of ours, which is they control the energy 
markets on the globe right now.
  As we speak, each and every one of our constituents is paying about 
$1.25 more per gallon of gasoline than they did before this ill-advised 
war.
  By the way, we have broken the alliance with Israel. Joe Kent, the 
former National Counterterrorism Director, is running around saying 
that we are in this war because of Israel. Now, I wasn't in the Oval 
Office, but that is not a good thing for that alliance. We have spent 
billions of dollars for what? Most importantly, there are 13 dead 
Americans, precious lives given for something where the mission is 
unclear.
  We should support our troops, but our troops deserve a strategy. They 
deserve a sense of mission. They deserve to know that the people's 
House debated their life or their death.
  Yes, this is a terrible regime, and, yes, we are at war, but you are 
in the process of losing it. Now is the time for Congress to finally 
reassert its constitutional authority and give a sense of mission and 
give a sense of meaning to those young men and women who were deployed.
  Mr. Speaker, vote for H. Con. Res. 40 so we can finally do our duty.
  Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, my colleague should probably stick around for this.
  They might be the most vicious regime, but they don't have the teeth 
that they had before. As he pointed out, we sunk their Navy. We have 
destroyed their Air Force, their drone manufacturing facilities, their 
caches of weapons, their mobile launching platforms, and their fixed 
launching platforms.
  We are, as we speak, in the midst of a cease-fire. In the midst of a 
cease-fire, my colleagues--the words I want to use would probably be 
taken down, but let's just say, in an ill-advised way--want to say, 
remove all U.S. Forces in the midst of this cease-fire that we are in. 
That is crazy.
  They talk about wanting diplomacy, but they don't. This goes back to 
what I opened up with. It is all pure politics for my colleagues.
  You have Joe Biden. He is launching attacks against these Iranian 
forces for almost a year, not one War Power Resolution. President 
Trump, half a dozen of them, and we will do another one next week.
  They want to talk about servicemembers, but they can't tell you who 
they are because it is just a number to them.
  They want to put more support into supporting Ukraine in a conflict 
where no American has been killed yet. Mind you, I have no love for 
Russia whatsoever, but when it comes to Iran who has been killing 
Americans, nothing. Crickets. It is pure politics.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from South 
Carolina (Mr. Wilson).
  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the 
leadership of Chairman Brian Mast and agree with his assessments.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition of the proposed resolution. 
Appeasement leads to larger war as we learned in 1939.
  President Donald Trump has courageously taken decisive action against 
the regime in Tehran, eliminating Khamenei, the architect of decades of 
terror, mass murder, repression, and aggression against the United 
States, Iranian patriots, and our Gulf allies.
  The removal of this murderous dictator marks a pivotal moment in 
history. It is going to be so beneficial for stability, peace, and 
prosperity for our Gulf allies of Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Oman, 
and Yemen, which we cherish their friendship. Additionally, Lebanon, 
Syria, and Iraq will be fully

[[Page H2933]]

liberated of Iranian interference. President Trump is correct again of 
giving Syria a chance.
  Iran has been at war with America and Western civilization for 47 
years. President Donald Trump has sent a clear message that those who 
threaten the United States and our partners will be ultimately 
held accountable.

  I am particularly grateful that four of my sons have served in the 
Middle East to defeat terrorism overseas and to protect American 
families at home. Recent events have exposed the dangers by Tehran. As 
Special Envoy Steve Witkoff learned of the Iranian capability to build 
nine bombs, President Trump courageously acted to prevent ``death to 
America, death to Israel,'' with their ballistic missile range into 
central Europe and India. President Trump has unified our allies from 
Turkiye to the Arab Gulf States to Saudi Arabia.
  As the Iranian people look forward to the future, we can recognize 
their aspirations for freedom and dignity have been crushed with the 
murders of 35,000 patriots this year. The United States stands with the 
Iranian people, not with the tyrants who murder them.
  Today, we honor the courage of our American troops, reaffirm our 
commitment to allies, and recognize President Trump's leadership in 
confronting one of the most dangerous regimes in the modern era. 
America remains vigilant, resolute, and committed to defending freedom 
wherever it is threatened, weakening war criminal Putin as Ukrainians 
are courageously achieving victory.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose this resolution.
  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Jacobs), the ranking member of the House Foreign 
Affairs Africa Subcommittee.
  Ms. JACOBS. Mr. Speaker, this isn't just politics for me.
  Two weeks ago, thousands of San Diego military families got 48-hour 
deployment notices. That means they need to be ready to drop everything 
to deploy to the Middle East, get their affairs in order, pack, and say 
good-bye to their families for a few months or maybe a year.
  Don't get me wrong, this is what our servicemembers and their 
families signed up for, and they are not complaining.
  It is our job in Congress, and my job as a Representative of the 
country's biggest military community, to make sure that we have 
explored all the contingency plans, exhausted all diplomatic and 
nonmilitary options, and figured out the objectives, the strategy, and 
the exit plan before we have asked them to.
  We have done none of that. While I will push for oversight and 
transparency about how we got here, our focus now should be on how we 
end this war.
  Instead, President Trump is escalating. The San Diego-based carrier, 
the USS Lincoln, is already in the region. San Diego's USS Boxer and 
the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit will be arriving soon, and we are 
expecting another San Diego-based carrier, the USS Roosevelt, to deploy 
any day now.
  When they get there, they will be prime targets for retaliation and 
charged with the difficult task of enforcing Donald Trump's cockamamie 
blockade of Iran's ports and partial blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, 
which will put a lot of strain on an already fragile cease-fire.
  Donald Trump is getting our country further entrenched in another 
forever war in the Middle East, and the longer we stay, the harder and 
more expensive it will be to get out.
  Yes, we should support our troops. That means doing our jobs and 
asking these questions before they are asked to sacrifice their lives. 
That is why Congress needs to do our job or else we will keep paying 
the cost in terms of lives lost and taxpayer dollars.
  Captain Cody Khork, Sergeant 1st Class Noah Tietjens, Sergeant 1st 
Class Nicole Amor, Sergeant Declan Coady, Major Jeffrey O'Brien, Chief 
Warrant Officer Robert Marzan, Sergeant Benjamin Pennington, and all of 
the other servicemembers who have been killed in this war deserve for 
us to do our job.
  Mr. Speaker, my constituents' lives are in our hands and their fate 
is now up to us. Vote ``yes.''

                              {time}  1100

  Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I think it is a miscalculation to tell the military to 
end a war, a conflict, a battle, or anything else. We work to end 
threats. We work to eliminate imminent threats against the United 
States of America.
  There is a very important difference there to think that this was not 
thoroughly calculated, the approach at which this goes of destroying 
surface to air, then bringing in different aircraft, sinking a Navy, 
destroying drone manufacturing, every single target calculated in very, 
very specific orders.
  Either you believe that about our military, or you don't. I can tell 
you that I know for a fact that is exactly the way that our military 
has conducted this operation: in a pinpointed, methodical, pedantic 
drumbeat of a way to address targets in a very specific order over and 
over again, only paused because of the ongoing negotiations and cease-
fire that my colleagues want to say to remove all forces in the midst 
of.
  That is their demand today: Remove all forces, as they have demanded 
in the past.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from 
Washington (Ms. Jayapal), an esteemed member of the House Foreign 
Affairs Committee.
  Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Speaker, President Trump has illegally and 
unconstitutionally taken us into an expensive and dangerous war with 
Iran. The war has cost taxpayers $50 billion already, and the Pentagon 
will request $200 billion more on top of a record $1.5 trillion budget 
request.
  We have already lost 13 U.S. troops, including Major Ariana Savino 
from my home State of Washington. We have killed thousands of Iranian 
and Lebanese civilians and displaced millions more. Gas prices at home 
are up to $7 in my home State, and families are hurting. Another 10,000 
U.S. troops are being sent in to join 50,000 already stationed in the 
Middle East, with absolutely no strategy, no plan, and no exit.
  Meanwhile, the madman in the White House tweets about exterminating 
an entire civilization, rages at the Pope for calling for peace, and 
pretends that he is Jesus. We cannot allow this to continue. Let's rein 
in this President and restore the sole authority of Congress and 
Congress alone to go to war. Vote ``yes.''
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hurd of Colorado). Members are reminded 
to refrain from engaging in personalities toward the President.
  Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I am very proud that we have a President who 
knows where he is and can find his way on or off of a stage. I know my 
colleagues had to literally remove their President that they did not 
ask for any war powers authorities for when he was conducting his 
attacks against Iran for about 1 year. They didn't ask for that even 
though it was somebody who they literally removed from the ballot 
because of senility.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New 
York (Ms. Ocasio-Cortez).
  Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Mr. Speaker, in February, the Trump 
administration, in conjunction with the Israeli Government, launched an 
illegal and disastrous war in Iran. They provided no rationale to the 
American people. They sought no legal authority from Congress, and they 
have since descended our world and our global economy into chaos.
  That was just the beginning. Now, President Trump has threatened to 
use the United States military to carry out acts of genocide against 
the Iranian people, who are innocent civilians. Up until today, he has 
done this on his own as a rogue actor. Yet, today, we vote on whether 
or not he will do this in the name of the American people.
  Congress must vote to exercise our power to stop this chaos or to 
sanction it. We must vote to restrain it.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge our colleagues to vote ``yes'' and that we end 
and stop all that is imperiled before us.
  Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I will educate my colleague that the United 
States of America goes to the greatest lengths to use the most 
pinpointed weapons, at great expense, precision

[[Page H2934]]

weapons over and over again, so that if any civilian is killed, it is 
tragic, but it is never anything more than an accident because of the 
efforts that we go to, to be pinpointed in any strike that we carry 
out. That is a fact.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from 
Minnesota (Ms. Omar).
  Ms. OMAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today not just as a Member of Congress 
but as someone who knows the human cost of war, what it takes, what it 
destroys, and what it never gives back.
  We are already seeing thousands of civilians killed and wounded in 
Iran and in Lebanon, American servicemembers lost, and millions forced 
from their homes with nowhere to go. This is what war looks like, and 
it is only the beginning. Yet, this war of choice happened without 
Congress, without accountability, and without a plan for peace.
  The Constitution is clear: The power to declare war belongs to 
Congress. It is paramount that we act when a President abuses their 
power. I have seen what happens when the world looks away as violence 
spirals. We cannot be silent. We cannot be complacent.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.''
  Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I hoped that my colleague who was just 
speaking would stay for more debate, but I would be curious. The 
gentlewoman intends to vote to tell the President that all U.S. Forces 
must be removed from hostilities. Do they feel as though that is a 
sound strategy to reach the conclusion that they want in the midst of a 
cease-fire? It sounds like they haven't calculated that.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New 
Mexico (Ms. Stansbury).
  Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, as a cosponsor of this War Powers 
Resolution, this debate is making me sick: the lies and colleagues who 
are so weak that they won't enforce the Constitution to rein in a 
President who is clearly out of control.
  As we sit here, thousands of civilians are dead; 13 servicemembers 
have been killed; hundreds have been injured with brain injuries, whose 
lives will never be the same; millions of people have been displaced; 
and our American bases have been bombed.
  For what? Having been led into an illegal war by a madman who is 
attacking the Pope, threatening war crimes, implicated in the Epstein 
files, and who can't explain why we were there or what happens the day 
after, that is why it is time to end this war, to stand with our 
troops, and to stand with the American people.
  Mr. Speaker, we must pass this resolution and end this war now.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from 
engaging in personalities toward the President.
  Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I know the gentlewoman is still here. Does she 
really not know why we are there? She really doesn't know about the 
American servicemembers who were killed even before this who I 
mentioned? She doesn't know about the American bases that were struck? 
Really? You are a Member of Congress who does not know this?
  That is crazy. I will leave it at that. I will leave it at that for 
this moment, but we can get you classified briefings on this. We would 
be having one today were it not for this debate.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to direct their 
comments to the Chair.
  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Rhode 
Island (Mr. Magaziner).
  Mr. MAGAZINER. Mr. Speaker, the American people are tired of morally 
bankrupt politicians who are always saying that there is not enough 
money for healthcare, there is not enough money for education, and 
there is not enough money for housing but who are willing to spend more 
than $1 billion a day on an unnecessary war of choice. It is a war that 
has taken the lives of 13 American servicemembers and that has taken 
the lives of over 100 elementary school children, who were bombed in 
their school. Horrific. It is a war that has raised gas prices, home 
heating oil prices, and fertilizer prices on the American people.
  Now, that may not matter in Mar-a-Lago, where everything looks good. 
Yet, to the average working American, they don't know why they are 
being asked to pay for this unnecessary war, and neither do any of us.

                              {time}  1110

  The administration has not given us any evidence--and I have gone to 
every briefing, classified briefings and otherwise--any evidence that 
Iran was plotting an imminent threat against the United States, an 
imminent attack, any evidence that they were close to getting a nuclear 
weapon--none.
  This is an unnecessary war, a costly war. We have an opportunity to 
end it today, and I urge my colleagues to do that.
  Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Beyer).
  Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution.
  Let's not forget that one of the opening acts of this war of choice 
against Iran was the massacre of scores of school children, little 
girls committed by our military, in our name.
  While the President mumbled futile lies to escape his 
responsibilities as Commander in Chief, Hegseth did beat poetry about 
replacing politically correct legality with unhinged lethality.
  If that wasn't reckless enough, it was amplified by the President's 
own social media tirades where millions of people were reduced to 
targets in an early morning threat to obliterate an entire 
civilization--a contemptible failure of moral leadership.
  Sorry for being PC, but those kids would be alive today if Congress 
had done our job and restrained the President's lust for power. We have 
a chance to act before more lives are lost and more damage is done.
  I have never been more embarrassed for my Republican friends in 
Congress who have alternated between total silence and cheering on this 
madness. It is long past time for us to grow a brain, grow a spine, and 
stand up for the true interests of the American people.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from 
engaging in personalities toward the President.
  Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I would let my colleague that was just speaking know 
that almost all Democrats and Republicans literally gave the President 
the direction, voted, to include the top Democrat that is walking up 
right now, to use all means necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining a 
nuclear weapon. That is literally what they voted for, gave the 
direction: use any and all means necessary.
  I have said it many times. I am saying it again. It is exactly what 
they voted for. The difference today is politics. The difference today 
is it is not Joe Biden, who can't find his way off a stage. It is 
President Trump. That is why there were zero war powers resolutions 
under Joe Biden and half a dozen or more at this point for President 
Trump--pure politics.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Jeffries), the minority leader and the next Speaker of the 
House of Representatives.
  Mr. JEFFRIES. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend, the distinguished 
gentleman from the great State of New York (Mr. Meeks), the once and 
future chair of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, for yielding 
and for his leadership, for his courage, his character, his conviction, 
and his patriotism. How dare anyone on this floor question the 
patriotism of  Greg Meeks or any Member on our side of the aisle.
  What often happens with my Republican colleagues is they can't defend 
the merits of a particular situation. They can't defend the fact that 
Donald Trump, as candidate, promised not to start any wars, but to stop 
them--his words, not ours. You can't defend the fact that billions of 
dollars are being spent every day to drop bombs in the Middle East, but 
Republicans are unwilling to spend a dime to make life

[[Page H2935]]

more affordable for the American people. You can't defend the things 
that have taken place under this administration, the fact that the 
American people know life hasn't gotten better for them, life has 
gotten worse. Life has gotten more expensive, less affordable. When you 
can't defend your policies, you question the patriotism of Democratic 
Members of Congress.
  There are patriots on both side of this conflict and this issue. As a 
matter of fact, we know there are combat veterans on the Republican 
side and combat veterans on the Democratic side who may share different 
views about the nature of this conflict. Jason Crow is a combat 
veteran. He opposes this reckless war of choice. Are you going to 
question his patriotism? Pat Ryan is a combat veteran who opposes this 
reckless war of choice. Do you question his patriotism?   Mike 
Thompson, who served in Vietnam, a combat veteran, opposes this 
reckless war of choice. Do you question his patriotism, as well?
  Why don't you just argue the merits of your position as opposed to 
attacking the patriotism of people on the Democratic side of the aisle, 
when as far as I am concerned, the most patriotic thing we can do is 
stand up to ensure that our men and women in uniform aren't being 
recklessly sent into a costly war of choice, more than 12 of whom have 
already lost their lives and hundreds of whom have been seriously 
injured.
  Let's just argue the merits of Donald Trump's reckless and costly war 
of choice and stop the ad hominem attacks, which aren't a sign of 
strength. It is just a sign of Republican weakness in terms of your 
ability to persuade the American people as to why Republicans are on 
the right side of this unpopular war.
  Now, this war of choice, this reckless and costly war, was entered 
into without any plan, any objective, any exit strategy, any public 
support, and any approval of the United States Congress. Those are five 
different objective reasons to have a problem about what is going on in 
the Middle East right now. In fact, we are just trying to help Donald 
Trump bring to life his own words that, as President, he wasn't going 
to start wars in the Middle East. He was going to stop them--Donald 
Trump's own words. Do you question his patriotism?

  The reality is this war is costing the American people, taxpayers 
billions of dollars a day at the same time when Republicans are ripping 
healthcare away from the American people. This reckless war of choice 
is costing the American people billions of dollars a day at the same 
time when costs are going up because of the Trump tariffs, thousands of 
dollars a year in additional expense that everyday Americans are 
paying. This reckless war of choice is costing the American people 
billions of dollars a day when at the same time Republicans aren't 
willing to spend a dime to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. 
This reckless war of choice is costing the American taxpayer billions 
of dollars a day at the same period of time when grocery bills in this 
country are out of control. Far too many people are working hard. They 
are playing by the rules, but they are struggling to live paycheck to 
paycheck, can't thrive, and can barely survive.
  We are standing up for the American taxpayer in expressing support 
for this War Powers Resolution so we can put an end to this costly and 
reckless war of choice.
  These are just some of the reasons why we oppose what is taking place 
right now. In fact, there are many who are now arguing in the public 
domain that as a result of what Donald Trump and Republicans have done 
over in the Middle East, Iran, in some instances, is stronger now than 
they were before. They have effective control of the Strait of Hormuz. 
They didn't have that before, but now they do.

                              {time}  1120

  As a result, Americans are paying increased gas prices that are 
soaring to more than $4 a gallon, the largest, in fact, monthly 
increase in gas prices from March to April that the country has seen in 
more than six decades. That is just another reason to have a problem 
with Donald Trump's reckless war of choice.
  I ask my Republican colleagues to debate us on the merits. Enough 
with the ad hominem attacks. It is a sign of weakness, not strength. 
Take your position. We take our position.
  We feel very comfortable that we are standing on the side of the 
American people, standing on the side of the Constitution, and standing 
on the side of the principle that if we are going to spend billions and 
billions of taxpayer dollars, it should actually be spent to make life 
more affordable for the American people, not plunge us into a reckless 
and costly war of choice that is actually making life more expensive 
for the American people in provable and tangible ways.
  Vote ``yes'' on the Meeks resolution so we can stop this reckless and 
costly war of choice and actually get back to doing the business of the 
American people, making their lives better, not worse.
  Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume to 
respond to the minority leader.
  When my Democrat colleagues come down here and just lie, they are 
deserving of ad hominem attacks. When they come down here and try to 
say something about servicemembers killed but didn't take the time to 
learn a thing about them, learn their names, where they are from, but 
just want a number, you are deserving of an ad hominem attack.
  When the minority leader comes to the floor and tries to say--even 
though he has had various Gang of Eight meetings and things like that; 
more classified briefings than even I have had--and tries to pretend 
that he doesn't know the intelligence, what General Caine is doing, the 
methodical approach to what is going on here, the very slim number of 
Iranian ordnance that are making it past our defenses, the commitments 
of our allies, or the threats of them obtaining a nuclear weapon or 
what they would do with it, like the way Russia threatens the rest of 
world, he is deserving of an ad hominem attack, and so is everybody 
else.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, let me just say, I support 100 percent our 
troops, but I strongly disagree with anyone who would say to trust, 
just simply trust, the President of the United States. That is not 
patriotism. That is not why we are here. That is why we have separate 
but equal branches of government. Otherwise, it is just: Trust the 
king.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. 
Pelosi), the Speaker emerita.
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I 
thank him for his courageous leadership in bringing this legislation to 
the floor.
  We are the House of Representatives. Article I of the Constitution 
gives the power to declare war to the Congress of the United States. 
Why? Because we are the Representatives of the people of the United 
States, and it is important for the people of the United States to 
understand the reason why, the purpose, the strategy of it all, and 
also to approve of the use of force.
  Of course, the President did not do that. For some reason, there are 
those in this body who are willing to abdicate the power of the House 
of Representatives and the Congress of the United States to declare 
war.
  The greatest cost, of course, of this war is not just that the 
American people have not had the explanation, by way of the Congress 
having that explanation. The gravest cost is human. Thirteen brave 
American servicemembers have lost their lives, and hundreds more have 
been injured. More than a thousand civilians in the region have 
perished.
  We all agree, of course, the cost is in the billions. The President 
said we can't do childcare because we have to spend money on war. We 
don't have to spend money on war.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the 
gentlewoman from California.
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, we all agree that they cannot have a nuclear 
weapon. President Obama did that diplomatically. The current President 
threw that out and decided to go to war without a plan, without a 
strategy, without an exit plan, and, really, without even explaining 
his purpose to the American people.

[[Page H2936]]

  I urge our colleagues to respect who they are, Members of Congress 
with the power to declare war, and insist on voting on this motion put 
forth by the distinguished, soon-to-be-chairman-again of the Foreign 
Affairs Committee, Mr. Meeks.
  Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  A quote from Abraham Lincoln: ``Kings had always been involving and 
impoverishing their people in wars, pretending generally, if not 
always, that the good of the people was the object.''
  Donald Trump thinks he is a king. As I said, I support the troops, 
but I don't trust the President of the United States just by his saying 
that he knows what he is doing. Let's see what he has actually done.
  March 3, Trump says the Navy will escort tankers, no matter what, and 
guarantee the free flow of energy to the world.
  March 9, he says he is thinking about taking over the Strait of 
Hormuz.
  March 15, he says it is someone else's problem, questions whether the 
U.S. should even be there, and notes we have a lot of oil, seemingly 
not understanding that the price of oil is based on global prices.
  March 21, he threatens to bomb Iran's power plants within 48 hours if 
they don't open the strait.
  March 26, he announces a cease-fire and says Iran has agreed to open 
the strait.
  That same week, CENTCOM announces it is sending ships to clear mines 
from the strait that Iran supposedly agreed to open.
  This past Sunday, April 12, he says the Navy is going to blockade the 
blockade and interdict ships in the strait.
  The man says something one day and then something else. We had some 
signs up earlier of what this man has said. We had young people in 
here, and some of the words he used on Easter Sunday. He is supposed to 
be the leader of the free world, and then he puts out a picture of 
himself and tells you who he thinks he is. He thinks he is Jesus. He 
thinks he can do whatever he wants to do because he is Donald Trump. He 
thinks that his word is what governs.
  This is a constitutional democracy, and people died to create this 
Congress, to make sure that this Congress is a separate but equal 
branch of government, and that this Congress, if you are a patriot, 
would stand up in oversight of a President.
  Yes, that is what the people of the United States will do, and the 
people of the United States do not want to continue this war with this 
individual who says he is a king.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Knott). The time of the gentleman has 
expired.
  Members are reminded to refrain from engaging in personalities toward 
the President.
  Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I thank the President for all the work he has 
done working to end an imminent threat against the United States of 
America.
  My Democrat colleagues used to agree that it was an imminent threat. 
They did. They wisely agreed that it was an imminent threat. They 
voted, as I have said many times, literally to say--my colleague over 
there, the one who was just speaking--``use all means necessary to 
prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.'' They voted on it.

                              {time}  1130

  They voted on it numerous times to say the existential threat that 
Iran is against us. They just don't believe it when the name is 
President Trump.
  When it is Joe Biden, no War Powers Resolutions. When it is President 
Trump, do them every week, do them every day. No longer do they believe 
that they are an imminent threat. No longer do they believe use any and 
all means necessary.
  I think my Democratic colleagues really want America to lose. I think 
they want America to lose. That is why in the midst of this cease-fire 
that is going on, they are literally offering a resolution to say: 
Remove any and all U.S. forces from hostilities in or within Iran. I 
believe that is out of a desire to lose.
  It is really sad. They are over there laughing as we speak. As I levy 
an accusation that they want America to lose, they are over here 
chuckling and laughing. That is sad. I can see them mouth: He said that 
I am sad.
  I am sad. I am sad that my colleagues talk about the numbers of 
servicemembers killed, but they don't know a thing about them. That is 
sad.
  He is waving his hand.
  I am sad that my colleagues want the United States to lose, and they 
sit there and laugh about it.
  That is sad.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman has the only time remaining.
  Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, they have no time remaining to close?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Florida is correct.
  Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, may I ask how much time is remaining.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Florida has 1\1/2\ 
minutes remaining.
  Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I will just close it with this: It is sad. It 
is sad that they are over there laughing about this.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired.
  Pursuant to the order of the House of April 15, 2026, the previous 
question is ordered on the concurrent resolution.
  The question is on adoption of the concurrent resolution.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the noes appeared to have it.
  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XX, this 15-
minute vote on adoption of the concurrent resolution will be followed 
by 5-minute votes on:
  The motion to recommit on H.R. 6409;
  Passage of H.R. 6409, if ordered;
  The motion to recommit on H.R. 6398;
  Passage of H.R. 6398, if ordered; and
  Adoption of House Resolution 965.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 213, 
nays 214, answered ``present'' 1, not voting 3, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 114]

                               YEAS--213

     Adams
     Aguilar
     Amo
     Ansari
     Auchincloss
     Balint
     Barragan
     Beatty
     Bell
     Bera
     Beyer
     Bishop
     Bonamici
     Boyle (PA)
     Brown
     Brownley
     Budzinski
     Bynum
     Carbajal
     Carson
     Carter (LA)
     Casar
     Case
     Casten
     Castor (FL)
     Castro (TX)
     Cherfilus-McCormick
     Chu
     Cisneros
     Clark (MA)
     Clarke (NY)
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Cohen
     Conaway
     Correa
     Costa
     Courtney
     Craig
     Crockett
     Crow
     Cuellar
     Davids (KS)
     Davis (IL)
     Davis (NC)
     Dean (PA)
     DeGette
     DeLauro
     DelBene
     Deluzio
     DeSaulnier
     Dexter
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Elfreth
     Escobar
     Espaillat
     Evans (PA)
     Fields
     Figures
     Fletcher
     Foster
     Foushee
     Frankel, Lois
     Friedman
     Frost
     Garamendi
     Garcia (CA)
     Garcia (IL)
     Garcia (TX)
     Gillen
     Goldman (NY)
     Gomez
     Gonzalez, V.
     Goodlander
     Gottheimer
     Gray
     Green, Al (TX)
     Grijalva
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     Hayes
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     Huffman
     Ivey
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     Jacobs
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     Johnson (GA)
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     Kamlager-Dove
     Kaptur
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     Kelly (IL)
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     Khanna
     Krishnamoorthi
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     Latimer
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     McBride
     McClain Delaney
     McClellan
     McCollum
     McDonald Rivet
     McGarvey
     McGovern
     McIver
     Meeks
     Menefee
     Menendez
     Meng
     Mfume
     Min
     Moore (WI)
     Morelle
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     Moulton
     Mrvan
     Mullin
     Nadler
     Neal
     Neguse
     Norcross
     Ocasio-Cortez
     Olszewski
     Omar
     Pallone
     Panetta
     Pappas
     Pelosi
     Perez
     Peters
     Pettersen
     Pingree
     Pocan
     Pou
     Pressley
     Quigley
     Ramirez
     Randall
     Raskin
     Riley (NY)
     Rivas
     Ross
     Ruiz
     Ryan
     Salinas
     Sanchez
     Scanlon
     Schakowsky
     Schneider
     Scholten
     Schrier
     Scott (VA)
     Scott, David
     Sewell
     Sherman
     Simon
     Smith (WA)
     Sorensen
     Soto
     Stansbury
     Stanton
     Stevens
     Strickland
     Subramanyam
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     Sykes
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     Tran
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     Walkinshaw
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters
     Watson Coleman
     Whitesides
     Williams (GA)
     Wilson (FL)

[[Page H2937]]


  


                               NAYS--214

     Aderholt
     Alford
     Allen
     Amodei (NV)
     Arrington
     Babin
     Bacon
     Baird
     Balderson
     Barr
     Barrett
     Baumgartner
     Bean (FL)
     Begich
     Bentz
     Bergman
     Bice
     Biggs (AZ)
     Biggs (SC)
     Bilirakis
     Bost
     Brecheen
     Bresnahan
     Buchanan
     Burchett
     Burlison
     Calvert
     Cammack
     Carey
     Carter (GA)
     Carter (TX)
     Ciscomani
     Cline
     Cloud
     Clyde
     Cole
     Collins
     Comer
     Crane
     Crank
     Crawford
     Crenshaw
     De La Cruz
     DesJarlais
     Diaz-Balart
     Donalds
     Downing
     Dunn (FL)
     Edwards
     Ellzey
     Emmer
     Estes
     Evans (CO)
     Ezell
     Fallon
     Fedorchak
     Feenstra
     Fine
     Finstad
     Fischbach
     Fitzgerald
     Fitzpatrick
     Fleischmann
     Flood
     Fong
     Foxx
     Franklin, Scott
     Fry
     Fulcher
     Fuller
     Garbarino
     Gill (TX)
     Gimenez
     Golden (ME)
     Goldman (TX)
     Gooden
     Gosar
     Graves
     Griffith
     Grothman
     Guest
     Guthrie
     Hageman
     Hamadeh (AZ)
     Haridopolos
     Harrigan
     Harris (MD)
     Harris (NC)
     Harshbarger
     Hern (OK)
     Higgins (LA)
     Hill (AR)
     Hinson
     Houchin
     Hudson
     Huizenga
     Hunt
     Hurd (CO)
     Issa
     Jack
     Jackson (TX)
     James
     Johnson (LA)
     Johnson (SD)
     Jordan
     Joyce (OH)
     Joyce (PA)
     Kelly (MS)
     Kelly (PA)
     Kennedy (UT)
     Kiggans (VA)
     Kiley (CA)
     Kim
     Knott
     Kustoff
     LaHood
     LaLota
     Langworthy
     Latta
     Lawler
     Lee (FL)
     Letlow
     Loudermilk
     Lucas
     Luna
     Luttrell
     Mackenzie
     Malliotakis
     Maloy
     Mann
     Mast
     McCaul
     McClain
     McClintock
     McCormick
     McDowell
     McGuire
     Messmer
     Meuser
     Miller (IL)
     Miller (OH)
     Miller (WV)
     Miller-Meeks
     Mills
     Moolenaar
     Moore (AL)
     Moore (NC)
     Moore (UT)
     Moore (WV)
     Moran
     Murphy
     Nehls
     Newhouse
     Norman
     Nunn (IA)
     Obernolte
     Ogles
     Onder
     Owens
     Palmer
     Patronis
     Perry
     Pfluger
     Reschenthaler
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rose
     Rouzer
     Roy
     Rulli
     Rutherford
     Salazar
     Scalise
     Schmidt
     Schweikert
     Scott, Austin
     Self
     Sessions
     Shreve
     Simpson
     Smith (MO)
     Smith (NE)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smucker
     Spartz
     Stauber
     Stefanik
     Steil
     Steube
     Strong
     Stutzman
     Taylor
     Tenney
     Thompson (PA)
     Tiffany
     Timmons
     Turner (OH)
     Valadao
     Van Drew
     Van Duyne
     Van Epps
     Van Orden
     Wagner
     Walberg
     Weber (TX)
     Webster (FL)
     Westerman
     Wied
     Williams (TX)
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Womack
     Yakym
     Zinke

                        ANSWERED ``PRESENT''--1

       
     Davidson
       

                             NOT VOTING--3

     Boebert
     Kean
     Mace

                              {time}  1206

  Ms. MALOY, Messrs. CARTER of Georgia, JOHNSON of South Dakota, 
ALFORD, THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, CRAWFORD, ELLZEY, NEWHOUSE, and 
TURNER of Ohio changed their vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
  Messrs. SUOZZI, JOHNSON of Georgia, HOYER, NEAL, Ms. SCANLON, and Mr. 
LYNCH changed their vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
  So the concurrent resolution was not agreed to.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________