Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) spoke on the Senate floor and highlighted his support for the War Powers Resolution, led by Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.), blocking President Donald Trump from using further military force against Iran without congressional approval. Schiff emphasized Trump’s unconstitutional decision to order U.S. attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities without congressional authorization absent an imminent threat to the United States.
Earlier this week, Senators Schiff, Kaine, and Andy Kim (D-N.J.) introduced an amendment to the War Powers resolution to clarify that U.S. defensive action and assistance to Israel and others to defend themselves against Iranian strikes would not be constrained by the resolution.
Watch his full remarks HERE. Download remarks HERE.
Read the transcript of his remarks as delivered below:
I rise today in support of Senator Kaine’s resolution for the simple and compelling reason that it upholds our constitutional duty. Regardless of what people may think of the military’s execution of its mission last weekend — and our service members performed with courage, with professionalism, with extraordinary precision — or their views of its effectiveness, and I hope and pray the mission was effective. Iran is a malevolent regime. It is the paramount sponsor of terrorism in the world, and it must never be allowed to obtain the bomb.
Regardless of whether you support the president’s decision to engage in pre-emptive strikes in the first place. Regardless of whether or not you support this president generally or you do not, the Constitution charges the Congress, not the president, with the power to declare war.
There may be a fog of war, and a murky uncertainty concerning the battle damage assessment, but there is no ambiguity here when it comes to the Constitution — Article I, Section 8 provides: “The Congress shall have power to declare war.”
Not the president, or the president if it’s not convenient to the Congress. But the Congress. This body, for far too long, has been allergic to its responsibility to govern the use of military force. Not since the very early part of this century has Congress approved any authorization for the use of military force. Nevertheless, a great deal of military force has in fact been used by the United States since then, in far flung places in the world.
In fact, post-World War II, the War Power has been utilized by an increasingly strong executive, and an increasingly deferential and fearful legislature. During the last several weeks, it has been apparent to anyone watching, that the conflict in the Middle East had the potential to draw in the United States of America.
When missiles began striking Tehran and Tel Aviv; when the president of the United States, with his signature bombast, began to telegraph the possibility we would enter the fray; when countless American families were forced to consider whether their children would be the next to bear the burden and carry the sacrifices of another potentially endless war in the Middle East.
And so with those families and our servicemembers in mind, Senator Kaine introduced this resolution to ensure that the president did not risk committing the United States to yet another open-ended conflict in the region without a debate in Congress and a decision by Congress as to whether the country should go down that dangerous road.
At that time, many Senators, myself included, pushed for an intelligence briefing from the administration. We had significant questions we needed answered: Had Iran made the decision to build a bomb? Had Iran begun the process of building the mechanism of a bomb? Was there an imminent threat to the United States or our forces? What are the threats to U.S. personnel and facilities in the region should Iran respond? How might Iran and its proxies escalate and harm U.S. interests, not only in the region but here at home and other parts of the world? How much damage could U.S. military action do to the Iranian nuclear and missile programs, and for how long would it set them back? And most important: what was the risk that such a bombing campaign could escalate into all-out war?
Days passed. No briefings. Even after last Saturday’s strikes, still no briefing. Not until yesterday did the administration come to Congress to answer the most basic of questions. And only after suggesting, it was reported that they would potentially choke off information to Congress. The Constitution demands otherwise. The founders split the government’s wartime powers, just as they divided responsibilities for so many other things.
It is Congress which declares war, which raises an army and a navy, and pays for the financial costs of defense and war. Keep in mind – the need for congressional approval of war making was not hypothetical to the founders. The United States had just fought a war against a king; and the founders didn’t want to put the power to start another war in the hands of any single person. The framers put their thinking on parchment.
In a letter to Thomas Jefferson in the summer of 1789, James Madison reflected on how they had approached this question of war power – which was the subject of much debate in Philadelphia at the Constitutional Convention. He said: “We have already given, in one example, an effectual check to the Dog of war; “By transferring the power of letting him loose from the Executive to the legislative body “From those who are to spend, to those who are to pay.” “From those who are to spend, to those who are to pay.” That is because a decision as consequential as entering into war requires informed debate and buy-in from the people’s representatives and the public. From us here in the Senate and from our colleagues in the House.
Because we need to weigh the benefits and risks for our constituents and for the country as a whole. Because a decision like this one should be insulated from partisan politics and not made with haste or with blinders on. There are, perhaps, Senators in this body who will say this debate is no longer needed. The mission is over. Iran has backed down, a lasting ceasefire is in place, and the threat has passed. I would say to them, I don’t know that to be true and neither do you. And on behalf of all those who could and would pay, we should not allow this great and solemn power to make war to be usurped any longer.
The only way for us to know whether the United States might be drawn into a broader conflict is if we exercise our authority to prevent it. Or to determine that the Congress wants to affirmatively provide the president with the authorization to use force.
So, I am a yes on this resolution. And if the Senate votes to bring this resolution before the body, which I hope it will see the wisdom of doing, I will move an amendment that I have filed with Senators Kim and Kaine that I would hope would receive all of our support.
Our amendment makes clear what is implicit in Senator Kaine’s resolution already – and that is that terminating the use of U.S. armed forces against Iran does not affect the ability of the United States to defend itself, to share intelligence with Israel or our other partner nations, or to assist them in taking defensive measures to protect themselves from an attack by Iran or its proxies.
Our intent in this amendment is to make it crystal clear that calling up and passing this resolution would in no way restrict the United States’ ability to defend itself or our partners. And with that question settled, we should be able to turn to the real need for this debate: should this Congress continue to abdicate our constitutional duty to an administration that, at every turn, has deemed us irrelevant?
An administration that too long deferred its obligation to brief Congress and has reportedly threatened to take steps to choke off the amount of information we have and need to assess the impact and consequences of unilateral military action. An administration that openly disdains and threatens a free press, ignoring the fact that our fourth estate exists to ask questions for the people, even if those questions are uncomfortable, especially when those questions are uncomfortable, and shine a light on the places where tyranny and despotism can grow and fester.
Because here’s the bottom line: Article I, Section 8 says that “The Congress shall have power to declare war.” And every American should know that Congress is not giving up on its most basic constitutional right to debate and determine whether U.S. forces undertake further operations, offensive operations against the Iranian regime or any other.
This resolution, with my amendment, would give Senators confidence that a vote on that question will in no way put American troops, or our allies at increased risk. And the underlying resolution would give the American people the confidence of knowing that they will not be dragged into another war without their consent.
There must be a check on the dogs of war. There must be a voice for those who will pay the costs of going to war. And the Senate must be that voice.
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