[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 105 (Tuesday, June 23, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3034-S3035]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                  IRAN

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, I want to start by saluting my 
colleague the Senator from Virginia Senator Kaine for his steadfast 
adherence to the Constitution of the United States and Congress' role 
in that Constitution, especially as it relates to war powers.
  I rise today in support of this resolution and in support of ending 
this disastrous and illegal war that President Trump and Prime Minister 
Netanyahu launched over 100 days ago.
  Nearly 4 months into this illegal and reckless war, the American 
people have already paid too high a price. There is no good way out of 
a bad war, but when you are digging yourself into a hole, the best way 
out is to stop digging.
  The debate before us is not a question of whether the MOU signed by 
the United States and Iran is perfect, but rather the debate is about 
whether continuing the war would make things better.
  And it is clear that continuing this disastrous war will only make 
things even worse, not better. The terms of this agreement reflect the 
reality that many of us warned about before this war even began.
  We warned that military action would not achieve the grand, strategic 
objectives its advocates promised. In fact, you could tell that because 
there was such confusion within the administration about what the real 
goals of the war were.
  We warned that military force would strengthen the more militant 
elements of the Iranian regime rather than weaken them. We warned that 
the war would destabilize the region, threaten the global economy, and 
ultimately leave the people of the United States worse off.
  And that is exactly what has happened.
  Over 100 days ago, President Trump, together with Prime Minister 
Netanyahu, launched the war against Iran without congressional 
authorization. When he did that, President Trump walked away from 
diplomatic alternatives.

  In fact, just hours before launching military action, there was a 
diplomatic framework being advanced through Omani mediators.
  Instead of pursuing the diplomatic track, President Trump chose war, 
just as he previously chose to tear up the JCPOA. That is the agreement 
that was negotiated by the Obama administration which had successfully 
constrained Iran's nuclear program through diplomacy.
  That diplomatic framework, the JCPOA, placed meaningful constraints 
on Iran's nuclear program without dragging the United States into 
another war in the Middle East.
  It had an extremely vigorous inspection regime so that we could 
detect any effort by Iran to violate that agreement. In fact, the first 
Trump administration certified that Iran was in compliance with the 
terms of that agreement.
  But shortly after certifying that Iran was in compliance, the first 
Trump administration--President Trump, his first time in the Oval 
Office--ripped it up. He just ripped it up. He reimposed sanctions on 
Iran that had been lifted as part of that agreement.
  And so, not surprisingly, when President Trump ripped it up, Iran 
felt it no longer had to abide by its terms, which started us down the 
path that brings us here.
  Unlike President Obama, President Trump abandoned the effort to get a 
negotiated solution and joined Prime Minister Netanyahu in starting the 
war. I think we all remember that Candidate Trump told the country, 
told the American people, that he would keep us out of wars. He told us 
he was instead going to focus here at home and bring down prices.
  Well, he has done exactly the opposite; started a war, prices are 
going up.
  And now after starting a stupid war, President Trump finally appears 
to be embracing many of the same underlying principles of diplomacy 
with Iran that has always been required.
  Many of us warned that abandoning diplomacy would increase the 
likelihood of exactly the kind of conflict we are now seeing. And we 
were right.
  And now, after nearly 4 months of death and destruction, many of the 
same people in this body who cheered the war on are attacking efforts 
to end it. And as we discuss a War Powers Resolution, I think it is 
important to underscore the fact that many of our Senate colleagues who 
were cheering on the war still were unwilling to bring forth before the 
Senate an authorization--a congressional authorization--to support the 
very war they were cheering on.
  So they were cheering it on but refused to take responsibility for 
putting an authorization on this floor, which is Congress' duty with 
respect to the Constitution if it wants to go to war.
  And now, some of the same folks who refused to put forward an 
authorization to support the war they cheered on are doing their very 
best to try to prevent the war from ending. And that should concern all 
of us because every proposal to derail diplomacy ultimately leads back 
to the same place; it leads back to more war, to more destruction, to 
more American lives at risk, to more economic turmoil, and billions 
more taxpayer dollars wasted.
  Let's talk about what this war has already cost. We should keep this 
in mind as we listen to some who want to

[[Page S3035]]

continue this war. It has already cost us the lives of 14 American 
servicemembers and hundreds have been wounded.
  An American Tomahawk missile strike killed more than 140 Iranians in 
Minab, most of them children. And even months later, questions about 
that attack remain unanswered.
  Thousands of other civilians have been killed and injured across 
Iran. Thousands more have been killed in Lebanon, and 30 civilians have 
been killed in Israel.
  All these lives lost, and for what--for what? We are now negotiating 
arrangements to restore conditions that existed before this war even 
began, like reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which, of course, was open 
the day before this war started.
  It has been a strategic disaster, and the economic consequences have 
been felt by every American. According to Moody's Analytics, this war 
has already cost American consumers and taxpayers about $132 billion. 
Gas prices have surged, and Americans have spent tens of billions more 
dollars at the pump than they would have otherwise.
  Fertilizer prices have increased dramatically contributing to higher 
food costs. We just saw inflation jump to the highest level in more 
than 3 years.
  The World Bank even downgraded its global economic growth forecast to 
just 2.5 percent, the lowest it has been since the pandemic. And the 
Pentagon--the Pentagon--tells us it is preparing to request $80 billion 
in supplemental funding to cover the costs associated with this 
conflict, a number we expect to be much higher at the end of the day.
  Now, as I mentioned, President Trump had promised that he was going 
to stop wars. He promised he was going to lower costs. Instead, he has 
spent billions of taxpayer dollars on a reckless war of choice while 
driving up prices here at home.
  Now, if President Trump and our Republican colleagues had had their 
priorities straight, they would have invested these moneys on behalf of 
the American people. You could use them to bring down healthcare costs. 
You could use them to bring down child costs.
  If you take even a conservative number of $50 billion for what the 
war has cost already--and it is much higher than that--but $50 billion, 
you could erase the medical debt for every American who was pushed into 
medical debt because they couldn't afford their healthcare.
  So these are the choices the Trump administration made, and this 
administration prioritized the war instead of making life more 
affordable for American families.
  Since the President launched this war without congressional 
authorization, many Members of our body continue to abdicate their 
constitutional responsibilities with respect to matters of war and 
peace, probably the most solemn responsibilities given to the Congress 
in the Constitution.
  That is why several of my colleagues and I have repeatedly introduced 
and called up these War Powers Resolutions--to continue to urge this 
body to execute our constitutional responsibilities.
  Now, today, we have before us another opportunity. The House has 
already acted by passing this concurrent resolution directing the 
President to remove U.S. forces from hostilities against Iran, because 
while this cease-fire represents progress, it remains tenuous. We all 
know that. In fact, President Trump yet again threatened to bomb Iran 
this weekend, contrary to the very first line in the first clause of 
the MOU that says Iran and the United States ``will refrain from the 
threat or use of force against each other.'' And American troops remain 
deployed throughout the region. The risks are still present, and the 
prospect of further escalation remains very real, particularly in 
Lebanon, where Prime Minister Netanyahu continues to agitate for more 
war despite the MOU clearly indicating a halt to the war on all fronts, 
including Lebanon.
  In recent days, I am sure my colleagues have seen that U.S. 
intelligence Agencies have warned the Trump administration that Prime 
Minister Netanyahu is likely to try to undermine the President's 
efforts to reach a lasting peace deal with Iran in order to ensure his 
own political survival in upcoming elections in Israel.
  Israel's National Security Minister Ben-Gvir also said in a social 
media post a few days after the MOU was signed:

       All of Lebanon must burn.

  He is not just any member; he is a member of the government, the 
Netanyahu coalition.
  And that sort of rhetoric is not new. In March of this year, Israel 
Defense Minister Yisrael Katz said that ``all homes in Lebanese 
villages near the border will be destroyed--in accordance with the 
Rafah . . . model in Gaza.'' Well, Rafah is a city in southern Gaza 
near the Egyptian border that was turned into rubble during the war in 
Gaza, and now you have the Israeli Defense Minister saying that is the 
plan for southern Lebanon.
  Indeed, the Netanyahu government's warmongering has been so blatant 
that even President Trump and Vice President Vance are publicly 
admonishing the extremist Israeli Government and their blatant attempts 
to undermine diplomatic efforts to permanently end this war.
  This agreement is a bow to reality--the terrible reality that many of 
us predicted would unfold if we started this illegal war in the first 
place. The war was a blunder. We should recognize that. And America is 
worse off than before we started. There is no good way to end a bad 
war, and we should end it.
  Those pushing to abandon this agreement owe the American people an 
answer to a simple question: What is your alternative? What comes next? 
More lives lost? More money wasted with no path forward? Because that 
is the only alternative they are offering.
  I want peace to prevail, and I hope this MOU becomes the foundation 
of a broader diplomatic settlement. But I also hope, colleagues, we 
will learn something from this needless tragedy. The calls for military 
adventurism, the promises of quick victory, the fantasies of regime 
change under the circumstances that were deployed, and the endless 
effort to undermine diplomacy led us directly to this disaster, and we 
should not repeat those mistakes. We should take a stand today and end 
this war, and we should finally start putting the interests of the 
American people ahead of costly and unnecessary conflicts.
  I urge my colleagues to vote yes on this War Powers Resolution.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wisconsin.

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