Gregory Meeks

Mr. MEEKS

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from Maryland.

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland.

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the esteemed gentleman from the State of Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), who is an original cosponsor on this important measure, the former whip, and the majority leader emeritus of the House.

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, the question before this House is simple: Will we help Ukraine negotiate from a position of strength, or will we help Putin outlast American resolve? The Ukrainian people, our NATO allies, and the United States national security cannot afford to wait any longer for this body to act against Russia's brutal war in Ukraine. In the last 17 months, Russia has redoubled its efforts to break the Ukrainian spirit while waging its illegal war, and this body has failed to meet the moment. Let me be clear: The administration could be doing more right now without waiting for Congress. President Trump promised to end the war on day one. Seventeen months later, this administration has stalled delivery of assistance that Congress has passed. It has attacked Ukraine, the victim, while providing cover for Putin who continues to stall, delay, and outlast U.S. support. We all want this war to end. The question is how? Will we abandon Ukraine and force it into a terrible deal? That is what Vladimir Putin is counting on. Or will this body live up to the commitments we have made since the start of this war, that we will support the brave Ukrainians fighting for their future, deliver them the weapons that they need to defend themselves, impose costs on the Kremlin for this immoral conflict, and hold Russia accountable for its war crimes? This war ends when Putin concludes that prolonged conflict will cost Russia more than ending it. That means proving through action, not words, that the United States and our allies will not walk away. That is exactly what this bill aims to do. It supports Ukraine's reconstruction, fights Russian malign influence, shores up security assistance for our Baltic allies, and provides Ukraine urgently needed foreign military finance loans to purchase the weapons it needs to defend itself against and push back Russian aggression. Let me remind my colleagues. Nearly every dollar we invest in Ukraine's security assistance is spent where? It is spent right here in these United States of America supporting American workers, supporting American manufacturers, and supporting American communities. Mr. Speaker, this is not one of those conflicts where there is a gray area. Vladimir Putin is an authoritarian thug who ordered the invasion of Ukraine for his own imperialistic ambitions. He has ordered the kidnapping of Ukrainian children and the murder of innocent civilians. And as the United States' support has wavered, the carnage has only grown. Mr. Speaker, 2025 was the deadliest year for Ukrainian civilians since the war began. In the largest land war since World War II, we have seen over a million casualties that Putin chose. And if you believe his ambitions will end with Ukraine, you have not been paying attention at all. History and Putin have told us otherwise. Some colleagues have raised parts of this bill that could be improved as justification for voting against it. Mr. Speaker, this bill should have gone through regular order, but unfortunately, my request to move Russia bills through regular order have been routinely rejected. Republican leadership has opposed this bill and repeatedly blocked bipartisan efforts to hold Russia accountable. The Ukraine Support Act was introduced some 14 months ago, and we have forced it to the floor by discharge only because that was the only option left to us. Now, before I finish, I just have some people that I really need to thank. For 14 months, our majority leader emeritus Steny Hoyer, he has been absolutely tremendous, working and getting this bill to this point today. He used to be the whip or so. He is no longer the whip, but he hasn't lost those whip skills on how to whip people and get them together. That is what he has done, and I have got to thank him and have to say and know that his commitment to the Ukrainian people and to our allies is unwavering and unshakeable. I thank Steny Hoyer. Let me also thank Representatives Keating and Kaptur and so many other Democrats who have worked tirelessly and been instrumental in this process. Finally, I must thank Representatives Bacon, Fitzpatrick, and Kiley for courageously signing the discharge petition. This indeed has been a team effort and something that the Ukrainian people know that in a bipartisan way we support them in what we will do. So, Mr. Speaker, it is time for us to do what is right: Support Ukraine. Hold Russia accountable. Show the world and show Putin that the United States does not fold to bullies. Putin's belief that bipartisan U.S. support will fade is as much a fantasy as he believes that he could take Kyiv in a week. That is how we end this war, and I urge all my colleagues to support this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MEEKS

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, the vote we will be taking tomorrow is of historic importance. It is a question of whether we will be able to vote to support Ukraine, punish Russia, and stand for our values. Let me be clear. I always prefer to move important and complex legislation through regular order. I asked for the Ukraine Support Act to be marked up in the House Foreign Affairs Committee. I have asked for simple, bipartisan bills on Russia, including some that have passed overwhelmingly in previous Congresses to move through committee or to the floor. Unfortunately, each and every time I have inquired about moving a bill to address Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine, no matter how bipartisan, I have been turned down. Of course, I am not alone in my frustrations about the inability to move important bills through this Congress. Many Members, on both sides of the aisle, have felt frustrated by the failure of this House to get important legislation across the finish line. This Chamber must legislate on the important domestic and foreign policy issues of the day. That is our constitutional duty. Russia's invasion of Ukraine is the largest land war in Europe since World War II. The invasion of a smaller democratic nation by a large authoritarian state is as black and white and pure and simple as it gets. This vote is not a process vote. It is a statement on whether this Congress and all of its Members stand with and support Ukraine and the people of Ukraine in its fight for freedom, its fight for democracy, and its fight for liberty. It is also a marker of whether we are against dictatorship, lawlessness, brutality, and the Russia-China no limits pact. I know where I stand. I am solidly on the side of America. I am solidly on the side of Ukraine, and I am solidly on the side of justice. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution. The previous question was ordered.

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members be given 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to vote ``aye,'' and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my motion to discharge House Resolution 518 so that we can consider my bill, the Ukraine Support Act, on the floor this week. I urge an ``aye'' vote, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MEEKS. I do.

Mr. MEEKS. I did sign.

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 2(c) of rule XV, I rise to provide notice of my intent to offer a motion to discharge the Committee on Rules from further consideration of House Resolution 518.

Mr. MEEKS

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, here is the bottom line: President Trump started a war. Congress never authorized it. I don't think anybody can dispute that. He started a war. Congress never authorized it. Sixty days have gone by. He still has not come back to Congress. That is the basic responsibilities that we have. Other than that, we should make a motion, and I would join, love to have a debate on the floor on an AUMF. Again, that is our constitutional authority. Again, the President has to come to us. Why don't we do our constitutional responsibilities? Why do we want to give it away? Well, actually, we are not even giving it away. We are not doing what the law says for us to do, what the Constitution says for us to do, what we took and swore an oath of office to do. The President did this. If he had a clear objective, he didn't bring it to Congress. If he had a credible endgame, he didn't bring it to Congress. However, most importantly, he didn't bring it to the American people, either. The way our system works, we are supposed to be representatives of the people. If you are going to bring it to the people, you have to bring it through this House or he should be making some public statements of that nature. He has yet to give us a clear objective, he has yet to give us a credible endgame, and he has yet to give us an honest accounting to how much this is costing the American people in dollars and cents. We can see it with our own eyes. I mean, I know I do. I know that when I go back home and talk to my constituents, they make sure to bring it up. One would show me the gas station, and then he shows me the price of gas. He knows that the price of gas was not that prior to this war of choice. If you go to a grocery store to buy food, you see the increase in cost. Those who were planning vacations for the summer now can't afford to fly or drive. Why? It is because of the rising costs. The danger is spreading. The President has, in fact, made America less safe, not more. My colleague keeps talking about imminent. Here is what the President of the United States said: All three nuclear sites in Iran have been completely destroyed or obliterated. He said it would take years to bring them back into service, and if Iran wanted to, they would be better off starting anew in three different locations prior to those sites being obliterated, should they decide to do so. Does that sound like the President feels that there is an imminent threat right now from Iran's nuclear facilities? He says the only thing he is concerned about--I have not heard the President say anything about an imminent threat to the United States. He talked about that he obliterated their nuclear weapons. Therefore, it just seems to me that the bottom line here is that Congress has a constitutional duty. It has a duty to act, not to cheerlead, especially not to cheerlead an open-ended war of choice, not to outsource our judgment to one man's ego. We have a responsibility. In the Constitution, we are a separate but equal branch of government. We are supposed to be a check and balance and oversight of the executive branch of government, not just do whatever the President says, not questioning, not having hearings, not going back and forth. Unfortunately, that is what is happening here. We had a vote last week, and it was 212-212. We are giving--and I think my Republican colleagues deserve to have--another opportunity to speak to their constituents, to let them know where they stand, whether or not they care about their financial situation, whether or not they care about anybody, about the American people. If we are going to do this, to give them this opportunity to speak to their constituents, we know what we see and hear when we go back home. We see this conversation is taking place not in blue States only, not only in purple States, but in red States because the truth of the matter and the bottom line, this is an American issue. It is about its institution called the United States House of Representatives and whether or not we are truly that branch of government that will exercise its constitutional responsibility and be a check and a balance on a President. Not whether or not, as the ranking member of the Intel Committee said, not whether we are just afraid of how to vote, as happens in other areas, in other countries. Many people are afraid to vote differently in Russia--so they do whatever Vladimir Putin says-- and North Korea and Iran. They are afraid. That should not be us. We should stand for the oath of office that we have taken and make sure that the American people that we represent get to hear from Congress. Let's vote. Let's go on record. Let's make sure that we are doing our jobs. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentleman from Colorado.

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Crow), a great former member of the United States military.

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Jayapal), an esteemed member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Himes), the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee.

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of my War Powers Resolution. Yes, here we go again. Today marks the fourth time this body will vote on a resolution to end President Trump's hostilities against Iran. After months of war, I ask the question: What has changed? I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, that certainly nothing has changed for the better. Gas prices are now approaching $5 a gallon. Airlines are cutting routes and struggling under rising fuel costs. The price of groceries, Mr. Speaker, and everyday goods continue to climb as more families are struggling to make ends meet. Why? It is all because the Strait of Hormuz, which was open before the war, now sits at the center of escalating disruption and economic uncertainty. When the President of the United States was asked whether he was thinking about the financial struggles of everyday American people, not the ultrarich like him and his buddies, he doubles down on a failed war. What was his response? ``Not even a little bit . . . I don't think about Americans' financial situation. I don't think about anybody.'' Here is what else hasn't changed, Mr. Speaker: The same Iranian regime remains in place. Iran retained its coercive capabilities, and Iran's nuclear program remains where it stood after the so-called 12- day war. Iran still possesses its highly enriched uranium and nuclear know-how. Much of its missile and drone capability remains intact, and Tehran retains leverage over the global economy. Trump started this war, and he started it without congressional authorization and without a credible endgame. He still cannot explain how it ends, and the situation grows worse by worse every day. Yet, my colleagues across the aisle continue to repeat the same argument. Perhaps for me the most absurd is that Iran posed an imminent threat. We have heard Mr. Mast, the chairman of the committee, say that Iran has posed an imminent threat for 47 years. Mr. Speaker, 47 years is not imminent. The administration has not even attempted to demonstrate any imminent threat existed, let alone one that would have justified launching this war under the Constitution or the War Powers Resolution. The law is very clear: If the President wishes to continue hostilities beyond 60 days, Congress must authorize them through an authorization for use of military force. If my Republican colleagues believe this war is justified, they should bring an AUMF to the floor. Yet, they have not. Absent congressional authorization, President Trump, by law, is required to withdraw U.S. forces from hostilities. It is clear to the entire world that even without a deep-water Navy, Iran is still capable of closing the Strait of Hormuz. None of this war's shifting objectives have been achieved. If and when Republicans try and claim, as Donald Trump sometimes does, that somehow killing the 86-year-old Khamenei, only to replace him with a much younger Khamenei, is proof of regime change, I would invite them to explain that to their constituents at a townhall meeting and see how seriously it is received by their constituents. We have heard my Republican colleagues say that we should trust the Commander in Chief. Mr. Speaker, no President, Democrat, or Republican, deserves a blank check, especially one who has said Iran's nuclear program was ``obliterated'' and then used that same threat to justify this war. This Commander in Chief has said the war is over, the war is won, that it is not a war, it is a war, that it is a mini war or an excursion. All of these things are what this President has said. We are trapped in a war that won't end because an incompetent President launched it thinking of only his own ego, while failing to prepare for the consequences. Diplomacy is the only exit from this, not more bombing, not more bluster, not waiting for the President to stumble into a cease-fire he can brand as a victory. That doesn't work. Yet, my Republican colleagues are just sitting on their hands doing everything they can to cover for this President. Mr. Chairman, what I would love to do on the Committee on Foreign Affairs is to at least hold a hearing. We have not held one single public hearing, not one witness, not 1 hour of testimony on a war that has cost the American people tens of billions of dollars. Congress cannot abandon its constitutional responsibility over matters of war and peace, and we should not be reducing ourselves to be a rubber stamp. That is why we must vote ``yes'' today: for our brave men and women in uniform who are in harm's way; for the family paying almost $5 a gallon who can't wait another week; and for the small business owner watching their costs spiral because this President started a war with no plan, with no authorization, and with no end in sight. All the polls show that Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, the American people, want this over. They are concerned about another forever war. Mr. Speaker, above all, and most importantly, the Constitution of the United States of America, what we swore an oath to--not to a President, not to anyone, to the Constitution of the United States of America. That Constitution requires us to take action, to have a vote on this floor, and let the American people know where we stand. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MEEKS

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. MEEKS. Come to us, and we will then decide. That is what the Constitution allows.

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for the purpose of closing. Mr. Speaker, first, based upon the argument, I heard the President say just a few months prior that he obliterated all of Iran's nuclear capabilities. That is what he said, so come back to the United States Congress to tell us that you did not, and here are the reasons why they still have what they have, and it is imminent, from my definition of ``imminent,'' that they will utilize it against us soon. From all the evidence that I have seen, they have not done so. I don't know what 30 meetings or classified hearings the chairman has had. I have had two--two, one with the full Congress, and one with the gang of 16 or 18, or whatever we are called. I do know that it is clear by today's debate that my Republican colleagues simply cannot defend this costly and massively unpopular war. I have not heard one time anyone talk about how much this war is costing us, how much it is costing the American people. What I have heard--and we do know what the President thinks because we heard him. The President says that he doesn't care. He doesn't even think a little bit about what it costs Americans. He said that he doesn't think about Americans' financial situation and that he doesn't think about anybody. That is probably including Congress. We are somebody, too. He doesn't think about us. My colleagues have not been able to make a case that Americans are better off now than we were before this reckless war. We are worse off now. The Strait of Hormuz is closed. We are losing allies. My colleagues cannot demonstrate that this war has neutralized Iran's most significant threats. Clearly, that is what they are saying. That is what I am hearing. Nor have they put us in a position to guarantee a better nuclear deal than we had before, which Donald J. Trump ripped up. That is because this is an unauthorized war, and this war has, instead, ushered in a new, younger, and more extreme Ayatollah. That is a fact. It has weaponized the Strait of Hormuz, severely damaging the global economy as well as everyday American checkbooks. That is a fact. If you deny that, say that to the American people. Ask them when you go home. As this war grinds on at the cost of $1 billion a day, the United States must face numerous global challenges with significantly depleted munition stockpiles and setbacks to our military readiness. The fact is, this war has been a mistake from the start. The American people ended one forever war in the Middle East. They don't want another. In fact, many of President Trump's MAGA friends, the reason why they voted for him was because he said he would not get into another war. That is why you hear that some of his friends and many Republicans are now angry with him. What do the American people want? Do you know what they want? They want the affordability crisis addressed. They want good jobs. They want good healthcare. Instead, this administration has started a war that has skyrocketed everything from gasoline to groceries with little to show for it. So to my colleagues across the aisle, it is past time that we do our job. That is all Mr. Gottheimer was saying: Do our job. We declare war, not the executive branch. It is time for the President to come to us, and it is time for us, I believe, to end this war. Everyone is asking me: How is it going to end? We are going to have to negotiate our way out of this because clearly we are not going to be able to bomb our way out of this. It is not going to make us safe as we see what is taking place right now. It is time for Members of Congress, Republicans, Democrats, and those who are Independent, to say, okay, Mr. President, if you have proof of something, come to us.

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Menefee).

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from New Jersey.