DIRECTING THE PRESIDENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 5(C) OF THE WAR POWERS RESOLUTION TO REMOVE UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES FROM HOSTILITIES WITH IRAN

On 2026-07-22, Representative Seth Moulton (D-MA-6) delivered a floor speech titled "DIRECTING THE PRESIDENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 5(C) OF THE WAR POWERS RESOLUTION TO REMOVE UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES FROM " in the House.

DIRECTING THE PRESIDENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 5(C) OF THE WAR POWERS RESOLUTION TO REMOVE UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES FROM HOSTILITIES WITH IRAN

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 120 (Wednesday, July 22, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 120 (Wednesday, July 22, 2026)] [House] [Pages H5160-H5165] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] DIRECTING THE PRESIDENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 5(C) OF THE WAR POWERS RESOLUTION TO REMOVE UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES FROM HOSTILITIES WITH IRAN Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the order of the House of July 22, 2026, I call up the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 89) directing the President pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House. The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of today, the concurrent resolution is considered as read. The text of the concurrent resolution is as follows: H. Con. Res. 89 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), SECTION 1. TERMINATION OF USE OF FORCE. (a) Termination.--Pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution (50 U.S.C. 1544(c)), Congress hereby directs the President to remove the use of United States Armed Forces from hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran or any part of its government or military, including potential ground forces in a combat role or used for occupation, unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or specific authorization for use of military force against Iran. (b) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be construed to-- (1) prevent the United States from defending itself, its Armed Forces, its diplomatic facilities, or allied states from imminent attack; (2) prevent the United States Armed Forces from maintaining a troop presence in the region for defensive purposes; or (3) force the removal of United States Armed Forces in the region who are not engaged in hostilities against Iran. SEC. 2. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION RELATING TO INTELLIGENCE SHARING. Nothing in this resolution may be construed to influence or disrupt any intelligence, counterintelligence, or investigative activities relating to threats in or emanating from Iran or surrounding countries conducted by, or in conjunction with, the United States Government involving-- (1) the collection of intelligence; (2) the analysis of intelligence; or (3) the sharing of intelligence between the United States and any coalition partner, if the President determines such sharing is appropriate and in the national security interests of the United States. SEC. 3. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION RELATING TO NONAUTHORIZATION OF THE USE OF MILITARY FORCE. Consistent with section 8(a)(1) of the War Powers Resolution (50 U.S.C. 1547(a)(1)), nothing in this concurrent resolution may be construed as authorizing the use of military force. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The concurrent resolution shall be debatable for 1 hour equally divided among and controlled by Representative Mast of Florida, Representative Meeks of New York, and Representative Jayapal of Washington, or their respective designees. The gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mast), the gentleman from New York (Mr. Meeks), and the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Jayapal) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida. General Leave Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Florida? There was no objection. Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I will take some of my time and give recognition to those who we have lost in the fight to end the Iranian terror regime. I am going to say their names, going to tell you where they served, and I am going to show you their photo: Sergeant Angel S. Rampersad, United States Army; Private First Class Isabella Gonzales, United States Army; First Lieutenant Tyler James Feehan, United States Army; Sergeant Michael Emmanuel Swinton, United States Army; Lance Corporal Kevin Melendez, United States Marine Corps; Tech Sergeant Tyler Simmons, United States Air Force; Tech Sergeant Ashley Pruitt, United States Air Force; Captain Curtis Angst, United States Air Force; Captain Seth Koval, United States Air Force; Captain Ariana Savino, United States Air Force; Major John ``Alex'' Klinner, United States Air Force; Sergeant Benjamin N. Pennington, United States Army; Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, United States Army; Major Jeffrey Robert O'Brien, United States Army; Sergeant Declan J. Coady, United States Army; Sergeant First Class Noah L. Tietjens, United States Army; Sergeant First Class Nicole M. Amor, United States Army; and Captain Cody A. Khork, United States Army. {time} 1850 The sacrifice of these servicemembers will never be forgotten by me, and [[Page H5161]] their commitment to their country, our country, the United States of America; their commitment to their loved ones; their commitment to seeing Iran's reign of terror and regime finally come to an end; and their commitment to ending the regime that killed countless American lives. That is what these servicemembers have been fighting against. That is what they gave their lives fighting against, a regime that has been attacking and taking the lives of United States of America's servicemembers and citizens for years. To belittle this mission is to belittle and demean the very service these members gave their lives for. Their sacrifice was not meaningless. This operation is bringing a reckoning for the hundreds of times Iran has attacked and killed people of the United States of America. What were those times? I am not going to go all the way back to the Beirut bombings. I wouldn't have time for that in tonight's debate with the time that we are limited to. I am only going to go back for the last couple of years to talk about what Iran has been doing to the United States of America, though my colleagues will argue that there has never been any imminent threat against the United States of America by Iran. IRGC naval forces capture 10 American sailors and two boats. Separate incident: Four patrol boats from Iran's IRGC attack the USS Nitze. Separate incident: United States Naval Ship Invincible attacked by multiple approaching IRGC fast-attack boats, small attack boats. Separate incident: IRGC vessel attacks USS Thunderbolt in Persian Gulf. Separate incident: Iranian drone attacks the USS Nimitz as fighter jets are landing. Separate attack: IRGC naval personnel place and detonate limpet mines on two Saudi-, one UAE-, and one Norwegian-registered ships. Separate incident: IRGC Navy attacks four ships--Saudi ships, Norwegian ships, and a UAE ship. Separate incident: IRGC Navy attack one Japanese ship and one Norwegian-owned ship as they transit the Gulf of Oman. Separate incident: IRGC shoot down U.S. aircraft operating over international waters, over the Strait of Hormuz. Separate incident: IRGC Navy seizes British-flagged, Swedish-owned tanker, and they hold the crew hostage for more than 2 months. On that same day, the IRGC also detained a Liberian-flagged tanker. Separate incident: Iran attacks, by helicopter and drone, a U.S. Navy ship in the Strait of Hormuz. Separate incident: IRGC Navy attack and seize Hong Kong-flagged tanker. Separate incident: 11 IRGC Navy small boats attack five U.S. Navy vessels. Separate incident: Iran vessels attack U.S. ships, including U.S. Coast Guard cutter. Separate incident: Iranian personnel board a Liberian-flagged tanker. Separate incident: IRGC attack and seize South Korean tanker, in the Strait. Separate incident: Tanker MT Mercer attack by Iran off of Oman, killing two people. Separate incident: Asphalt Princess attacked off of UAE, boarded by Iranians. Separate incident: Iranian forces seized two Greek vessels as they attacked them. Separate incident: Tanker Pacific Zircon was hit by an Iranian drone. Separate incident: Iran's Navy capture off the Marshall Islands a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker. Separate incident: IRGC seize Panamanian-flagged oil tanker in Strait of Hormuz, in international waters. Separate incident: Iran Navy seize Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker St. Nikolas while transiting the Gulf of Oman. Separate incident: IRGC seize containership MSC, in a helicopter, and also raided in the Strait of Hormuz. Separate incident: IRGC seize another tanker, the Talara. Separate incident: IRGC seize foreign oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. Separate incident: U.S.-flagged tanker attacked by Iranian gunboats in the Strait of Hormuz. The list goes on and on. I could keep reading this for probably another at least 10 minutes with the pages that I have of these. That is what our U.S. servicemembers are fighting against, an Iran that chooses to wage war against the United States of America day in, day out, week in, week out. Prior to Epic Fury ever beginning, the 30 months prior to Epic Fury beginning, Iran attacked us over 350 times. That is what our U.S. servicemembers are fighting against, the Iran that, prior to Epic Fury ever beginning, killed three U.S. servicemembers at Tower 22. That is what our U.S. servicemembers are fighting against. My colleagues will say that no imminent threat ever existed. They are the same colleagues that used to tell us we should use any and all means necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Why? Because they recognized back then that that is the Iran that we have been dealing with day in, day out, week in, week out, year in, year out, the Iran that has been relentlessly attacking the United States of America tankers and containerships, United States Navy vessels, Coast Guard vessels, firing on our personnel in Iraq, Syria, Jordan, anywhere in the Middle East t

Referenced legislation: HCONRES89, HCONRES89