Pallone Statement on Vote in Support of House War Powers Resolution

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) statement on vote in support of House War Powers resolution:

“I voted for the War Powers Resolution today because the Constitution is clear: only Congress can declare war.

“I believed that in 2002 when I voted against the authorization for the Iraq War, and I believe it just as strongly today. Back then, the drums of war were deafening and the pressure in Washington was immense. The founders made this power explicit for a reason: decisions about war belong to the representatives of the American people, not to one person in the Oval Office acting on instinct or impulse.

“Now we are watching the same reckless playbook unfold again. President Trump is spending billions of tax dollars on an unauthorized war when the American people are struggling to pay for groceries and doctor’s appointments. The president has no plan and no interest in combating the affordability crisis here at home.

“President Trump has taken the United States into a war with Iran without coming to Congress first. Even the Pentagon acknowledged there was no imminent threat to the United States, yet the bombs fell anyway. American service members are already dead, and the President shrugs and says there will ‘likely be more before it ends.

“The American people did not vote for this war. Congress did not authorize it. And the Constitution does not permit it.”