Congressman Jared Moskowitz@RepMoskowitz
On Tuesday, I attended the congressional briefing on Iran that I, and many others, requested prior to this weekend's strikes.
Last week, when it appeared we might preemptively vote on the War Powers Resolution while the U.S. and Iran were in the middle of negotiations I said I would be a no vote because I believed that calling up the resolution at that time could undermine negotiations and telegraph to the Ayatollah that we weren’t applying maximum pressure and that he could delay a deal.
A lot has changed in a week. The military operations carried out this weekend were not limited strikes. The President of the United States has said it’s a war. The Secretary of War has said it’s a war. We don’t have to try to wordsmith this for the American people. They know it’s a war.
The Iranian regime has oppressed its people and trampled on human rights for decades. No one will miss the Ayatollah, and I am happy that he is no longer able to reign terror on his country. His regime has inflicted rape, torture, and horror on those who stood against the Ayatollah and is responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of Iranians including the over 30,000 people that were killed in response to last year's protests. It is clear that Iran should never have a nuclear weapon.
Regardless of how one feels about this war, or this President, Congress's constitutional role in any declaration of war is a completely separate issue. I have consistently held that Congressional authorities have been eroded under Republican and Democratic administrations and ceded by both parties when they control the trifecta of House, Senate, and Presidency. However, over the last year we have seen a ludicrous increase in the speed of Congress's abdication of authority to the Executive Branch. We must begin to claw back that prerogative. We must reestablish our Article I authority which grants Congress all legislative powers. For too long we have been happy to let our Presidents legislate through rulemaking - a dangerous precedent that I have consistently opposed regardless of who sits in the Oval Office.
I will be voting in favor of the Massie-Khanna War Powers Resolution.
The resolution that we will be voting on this week reclaims Congressional authority over the declaration of war. Additionally, it doesn’t prevent continued operations to protect our bases, assets, and personnel in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Israel, Oman, Jordan, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, and Kuwait – all of which are currently under attack by Iran – nor the continued sharing of intelligence with our allies.
Congress is on the verge of irrelevancy. We have done this to ourselves, and no one is coming to save us if we don’t show some sign of life.
I am also thinking of my constituents, the Levinson family, who I have represented since I served in the Florida State Legislature. Robert Levinson vanished in Iran in 2007 and for nearly 19 years, Iran has lied, obstructed, and refused to answer for his kidnapping, detention, and death. Robert’s loved ones deserve the truth of what happened to him in Iranian custody and to have his remains returned home.
