Washington, D.C. — June 19, 2019 — In response to the House of Representatives passing H.R. 2740, which includes language to repeal the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) Paul Kawika Martin, Senior Director for Policy and Political Affairs at Peace Action, released the following statement:
“The 2001 AUMF is the legislative underpinning of a generation of endless war—wars that have cost hundreds of thousands of lives and nearly $6 trillion. With the Trump administration flirting with an unconstitutional war with Iran and citing the 2001 AUMF as a potential legal justification, Congress needs to move swiftly to reclaim its constitutional power over war. “This historic vote in the House is the closest Congress has come to repealing this blank check for war..."
Today, June 20 at 11: U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.), members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, will deliver back-to-back speeches on the Senate floor calling on Congress to step up and reassert its constitutional authority to halt the Trump administration’s reckless march to war with Iran. Udall and Kaine will urge the Senate to pass their bipartisan amendment<https://www.tomudall.senate.gov/news/press-releases/udall-kaine-senators-file-bipartisan-iran-amendment-to-ndaa-to-prevent-unauthorized-war> to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which would prohibit funds from being used for military action against Iran without explicit authorization from Congress, thereby blocking the president from provoking another unnecessary military conflict in the Middle East.
Peace Action released a statement in response to the Senate voting June 20 to block arms sales to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and other countries.
Peace Action Maine supports another statement,too, from Peace Action, sounding the alarm over potential retaliatory strikes against Iran for the downing of a U.S. surveillance drone. “The sky-high tensions between Iran and the U.S. is the type of situation that the United Nations was created for. It may be unfashionable in this era of go-it-alone unilateralism to suggest convening the UN Security Council to pump the breaks on this crisis, but that’s exactly what we need right now.”
