Eliot Engel

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Jayapal).

Mr. ENGEL. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I want to, again, state the main reason for us voting on this. I am no fan of the regime in Iran. And I certainly was no fan of Soleimani, who had blood on his hands and did all kinds of heinous things. I don't care so much about them. What I care about is us. What I care about is the Constitution of the United States of America. It was drafted a certain way. It wasn't drafted to say that the President, no matter who that President is, no matter what party that President is from, the President has authority to do whatever he likes. It clearly says--and I said this before, but I think it is worth repeating. It clearly says that Congress has the power to declare war. Congress. And what we are trying to do on this side of the aisle is trying to strike that balance, the checks and balances. We all learned them when we went to school, checks and balances. The Constitution doesn't say the President can do anything he wants and the Congress must follow suit. It says that Congress has the sole right to declare war. It is really disturbing to me that subsequent Presidents--and this isn't only the fault of one President or one political party. This is a road that we all share blame for this--we have allowed our branch of government to wither on the vine when it comes to declaring war, when it comes to war powers. We have essentially said that any President can just declare war, and Congress has got to go along with it. If you don't go along with it, somehow you are unpatriotic or you don't care about the country. Quite the opposite. Quite the opposite. We care about the country and we are patriotic, and that is why we believe that the Constitution needs to be adhered to. Now, I would also encourage my colleagues to look more closely at the facts, instead of just accepting what the executive branch is saying about reinterpreting the law. As I said in my opening statement, the drafters of the War Powers Resolution were clear, that the situation we are in today is in a state of hostility. We are constantly today in a state of hostility. The committee report passing the War Powers Resolution from 1973, in the Congress, says: ``In addition to a situation in which fighting actually has begun, hostilities also encompasses a state of confrontation in which no shots have been fired, but where there is a clear and present danger of armed conflict.'' Certainly, we are in that situation now. That is exactly the situation we are in right now. So Congress' powers are not as narrow as the administration would like us to believe. I don't care who is President, and I don't care about who is elected in Congress. What I care about is that Congress fulfill its duties; fulfill its duties as the Constitution says that we must. So we are doing this again because the other body has not been cooperative and doesn't seem to want to make a move on anything. We are doing this because we have to do this. We are doing this because this is important. And no matter, again, 10 years from now, 20 years from now, there will be other Members here, I would hope that whoever is President then--no matter what party, whoever controls the majority of Congress-- no matter what party, this is not political. This is not about party. This is not about trying to do anything, as far as I am concerned, except reestablishing Congress' right to declare war. I don't know what is more important than war and peace. I certainly don't think Congress ought to start giving away its responsibilities. I have been in this body a long time, and we have constantly argued against the administration--no matter who was in that administration-- from usurping the roles that Congress has, from taking away congressional power, not only on matters of peace and war, but on everything; earmarks or anything you want to say. Congress has just sort of said to the President: Go ahead, you make the decision. We are just sort of along for the ride. We are kind of observers. We are observers. Well, we are not observers. We are people who care very dearly about the Constitution. And, again, I conclude by saying, Congress has the right to declare war. Only Congress has the right to declare war. That is what we are affirming today, and why I hope we get votes from both sides of the aisle. This is not a political discussion. It doesn't matter who is in the White House. It doesn't matter who is in Congress. What matters is that Congress not cede its responsibility to any other branch but its own. Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. Madam Speaker, it is my honor and privilege to mark a tremendous milestone for one of my constituents, George J. Lederer, who is celebrating his 100th birthday on March 21, 2020. George J. Lederer was born on March 21, 1920, in Vienna, Austria, to Felix and Helene Lederer. At the age of 18, he left Vienna and went, via Zurich, Switzerland, to England. He lived in Leicester until May 10, 1940, when, as a refugee, he was interned under General Orders in Edinburgh, Scotland. Transferred to a larger camp near Huyton, George was detained for approximately 8 weeks. He was subsequently transported to Australia on July 10, where he remained in internment camps for nearly two years. After his return to the United Kingdom, in September 1942, George lived in Leicester and London, employed by an Indian railway company, until his U.S. Immigration visa was ready. In July 1942, he left England and was landed, unexpectedly, in Halifax, Canada, from where he finally entered the United States of America in Van Buren, Maine on July 30, l943. Rejoining his family in New York City, George eventually enrolled in the College of the City of New York, and graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering degree in 1951. George later earned the designation of ``Professional Engineer''. After various positions in engineering design and construction work, he formed his own firm, George J. Lederer Construction Service Inc. in Scarsdale, NY, which engaged in military and civilian work. He retired in 2002. George plans to celebrate his birthday among his family and friends. Madam Speaker, it is my honor to recognize George J. Lederer on this special occasion. I wish George a happy birthday, and many more happy and healthy years to come.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. Madam Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I rise to honor a leader in our community whom we recently lost, Bishop William George Fields of Refugee Temple Annex in the Bronx. Bishop Fields was a native New Yorker, born on June 16, 1932 in Harlem Hospital. He attended New York University and later received a Doctor of Divinity Degree from the Universal Bible Institute. In 1959 Bishop Fields married Mother Bertha Lee Fields, and from their union they were blessed with 3 children, Bishop William Michael, Bertram Brett, and E. Beth Chism. They also had 4 wonderful grandchildren, Michael Aaron, Shekinah, Amon and Bethany, and 2 beautiful great- grandchildren, Zion and Katie. Bishop Fields was first ordained and appointed Pastor of Refugee Temple Annex in 1961. In 1975, he was consecrated Bishop. Bishop Fields also held several other positions in ministry, including serving as chairman and member of many convention committees, instructor at the Church of Christ Bible Institute, and treasurer of the Board of Bishops. He also served faithfully for many years on the 47th Precinct Clergy Coalition in the Bronx. A dedicated, kind, and mild tempered leader, Bishop Fields served as pastor of Refuge Temple Annex for more than 50 years. But he also served his country, including four years in the United States Air Force, and 26 years with the United States Treasury and Internal Revenue Service. Madam Speaker, those who knew Bishop Fields will always remember him as a teacher, mentor, preacher, worshipper, kind-hearted, and above all, a good man. He will be deeply missed by the Bronx and Mount Vernon communities in which he lived and served for so many years. My deepest condolences go out to his family.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to mark the completion of the English-edition Koren Talmud Bavli series by Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz. Born in 1937, Rabbi Steinsaltz has authored more than 60 books, and hundreds of articles on Jewish mysticism, religious thought, sociology, and philosophy. His most famous work is his interpretation of the Talmud, the formative piece of Jewish culture, and he is the first person since medieval times to have completed a full translation and commentary on the Babylonian Talmud. As of last year, all 46 volumes of the Koren Talmud Bavli, an English edition of the definitive Steinsaltz Hebrew Talmud, have been published. The debut volumes of the Steinsaltz Talmud gained critical acclaim, and by the end of last year, the final two volumes have been published. I was pleased to join Rabbi Steinsaltz's son, Rabbi Meni Even-Israel, and members of the Aleph Society to mark the complete series entering the Library of Congress. As the nation's preeminent library, it is truly an honor for Rabbi Steinsaltz's work to be housed in the Library of Congress.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, our Nation is in the middle of a youth tobacco epidemic driven by the increasing popularity of flavored e- cigarettes. In my home State of New York, youth e-cigarette use rose by 160 percent between 2014 and 2018. I want to commend Chairman Frank Pallone for his work on H.R. 2339 which will help turn the tide in this crisis. I would also like to thank the chairman for including my provisions in section 107 which update youth tobacco prevention awareness campaigns to include programming for Americans between the ages of 18 and 21. My provisions will help ensure that this group of young Americans is not left out and receives the support and education they need to avoid starting dangerous tobacco products. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support Chairman Pallone's legislation and help pave the way for the first generation of tobacco-free Americans.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. Madam Speaker, as chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, I rise to draw attention to the tragedy unfolding in Idlib, Syria. The regime backed by Iran and Russia continues to target civilians. They target hospitals and other civilian infrastructure. Just drop bombs. They are levelling whole neighborhoods, which is indicative that the regime does not want people to return to their homes. They are killing innocent men, women, and children for no reason. Over half a million people have been displaced in the last 2 months. There must be a humanitarian response from the world, and it must start here in the United States. There must be accountability, and we must show the Syrian people that we have not forgotten them. How can we stand idly by and allow this to continue to happen? I call on the President and all Members of both houses to have a forceful response to the regime in Syria to say that we will not tolerate the targeting of civilians, the wholesale killing of children and women and all civilians. We need to stand on the side of justice, and we must show the Syrian people that we have not forgotten them.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 811, I call up the bill (H.R. 550) to award a Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to the United States Merchant Mariners of World War II, in recognition of their dedicated and vital service during World War II, with the Senate amendment thereto, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion at the desk.

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the motion to concur.

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, let me start by thanking Mr. Khanna for his hard work on this measure. No one has worked harder to reassert Congress' constitutional authority over war powers, and I have been glad to partner with him and cosponsor this bill. Mr. Speaker, this measure passed the House with bipartisan support last year as part of the National Defense Authorization Act, but the Senate stripped it out before that legislation made it across the finish line. For all my colleagues who supported that amendment, the events of the past few weeks only underscore the importance of your vote. For anyone who was not convinced this measure was needed last summer, the present crisis shows exactly why we must adopt it today. Now, there is no question that Iran is dangerous. There is no question that Qasem Soleimani was a hardened terrorist with American blood on his hands; the world is better off without him. I am the first to speak out about the grave threats the Iranian regime poses to our allies and our interests and our way of life, but we need to address these threats in a way that protects Americans, not exacerbate the threat. No one expects Iran to behave responsibly. American leadership means that we need to keep pressure on Iran while working to avoid an unnecessary conflict. Instead, the administration seems to be holding a match to kindling. Let's be clear: The American people don't want war with Iran, and Congress has not authorized war with Iran. So the question is whether escalating tensions with Iran by killing Qasem Soleimani and, according to media reports, undertaking a strike against another Iranian official in Yemen were in America's interests and were consistent with the law. The past few weeks have shown pretty clearly that this action did not advance America's interests. American citizens want to drop everything and leave Iraq; thousands more troops are headed to the Middle East, alienating the Iraqi Government, a valued partner in the fight against ISIS; Iranian missiles injuring American personnel, even though at first the administration said there were no injuries, none of this is in America's interests. The administration claimed that the goal of the strike against Soleimani, that the goal of their whole Iran plan, is to restore deterrence. I see exactly the opposite. I see an emboldened Iran seeking to kick America out of the region, getting exactly what they want. And as we have learned more, it does not appear that the President followed the law here. The President ignored the requirements of the War Powers Resolution. He chose not to consult with Congress, as required by the law. He acted without authorization from Congress. And I have seen no evidence that there was any imminent threat against Americans or our Embassies, as the administration has claimed. The Constitution gives Congress, not the President, the power to declare war. I feel very strongly about that. We have all marched down the primrose path for the last two decades, with Congress sitting there. There has been no declaration of war since World War II, December 7, 1941, and so it means that we have let the executive of both parties really run roughshod and do whatever the President wanted. Congress just sat there and did not reassert its constitutional role. Well, we are reasserting that role now. Again, the Constitution gives Congress, not the President, the power to declare war. With President Trump taking steps toward conflict with Iran without any consultation with Congress, we need to reassert the responsibility given to us in Article I, Section 8. It is simple. If the President wants to go to war, he needs to come to Congress first. This measure simply enforces the text of current law as written in the War Powers Resolution. It preserves the President's constitutional right to act in self-defense, explicitly exempting defensive action allowed under the War Powers Resolution. But it makes clear that the President cannot just skip the critical step of coming to Congress. I hope my colleagues on both sides of the aisle can agree on this matter, as we did last year. Again, this has been done by both Republican and Democratic Presidents. We should all be united here. This is about upholding the Constitution. This is about checks and balances. This is about all the things we learned about the genius of our Constitution with checks and balances. We have really abrogated our responsibility, and the time to stop that is now. Now is the time for Congress to step up and assert our constitutional authority. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this amendment. I thank Mr. Khanna for raising this, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Khanna), the author of this important amendment who has worked very hard on these issues for many years.

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Let me say, with respect to the gentleman's statement about process, when our colleagues on the other side of the aisle were in charge, they struck and replaced language in a Senate-passed bill 15 times in the last two Congresses, and this is doing the same thing, which is exactly what they did. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Garamendi).

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman from California an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Castro), the vice chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, the chair of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation.

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Brown).

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, let me just say that the President always has a legal right to defend America, U.S. forces and embassies, and this resolution explicitly exempts the defensive actions described in the War Powers Resolution. The War Powers Resolution has been around since 1973, and it has never prevented the President from defending America. Again, this amendment just enforces the text of the War Powers Resolution. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Moulton), not only a Member of this body, but a combat veteran. I thank him for his service.

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Haaland).

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, let me say that America's Constitution laws don't really convey weakness. Enforcing those laws is what keeps America strong. And when any President does not follow the law, this Congress must act, and that is what we are trying to do now. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio).

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett).

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Judy Chu).

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Frankel).

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, let me say that if killing Soleimani was about retaliating for past bad acts by Iran, that is exactly when the law requires the President to work with the Congress for a response, not do a response on his own. The President didn't work with us. Instead, he told the American people there was an imminent threat, with no evidence to support that claim. Now, I don't like the Iranian regime. There are lots of things I don't like about them. But it doesn't mean that we just give any President a blank check to do whatever he wants to start a war. We have been through that in the past decades of endless war, with this body, as far as I am concerned, abrogating its responsibility and essentially giving the administrations of both parties blank checks. This is about Congress reasserting what it is supposed to do. This is about Congress saying only we have the power to declare war; the President does not have that power to declare war. Now, the Khanna measure is about enforcing current law as it is written in the War Powers Resolution. We should not create special loopholes in current law for any one country, no matter how close our alliance or partnership is. This is not a question of whether we will defend our allies and partners. It is a question of which branch of government is responsible for making that decision. The War Powers Resolution could not be more clear. It is Congress who is responsible for authorizing the use of military force. We went through the entire Cold War without ever creating an exception to the War Powers Resolution or the Constitution when it comes to Article 5 of the NATO treaty. We do not need to create a loophole now. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, let me say something that I have been saying a lot recently. Nobody denies the fact that Iran is a bad actor. No one denies the fact that Iran is the leading state sponsor of terrorism in the world. No one is saying that the Iranian regime is a good regime or a regime that doesn't threaten our interests. They do threaten our interests. I am not a naive person. I don't like the regime, and I know what they do. But we have a way of responding, and it is not to give any President a blank check to do whatever he or she may want to do. Congress declares war according to the Constitution; not the President. Congress declares war. And today we are attempting to take back the authorization that is given to us in the United States Constitution and say to this President and to every President that comes in the future: No blank checks for war. We gave blank checks for the past 20 years, and we have been involved in one mistake after another. This is simply saying for Congress to reassert its authority. I am not saying that in the future there may not be a different decision, but the decision that should always remain the same is that Congress has the power to declare war; not the President. Congress. I think my friends on the other side of the aisle somehow forget that. They make some good points. But, again, I say, it comes back to this Congress to declare a war, and we are today taking that responsibility, grabbing the bull by the horns and saying: Enough is enough, where Congress just sits idly by and has no say except to rubberstamp whatever administration wants to go to war. That should stop today, and that is why we are moving ahead with this resolution. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline).