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

On 2026-05-13, Representative Eric A. "Rick" Crawford (R-AR-1) delivered a floor speech titled "DIRECTING THE PRESIDENT, PURSUANT TO SECTION 5(C) OF THE WAR POWERS RESOLUTION, TO REMOVE THE UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES" in the House.

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

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 81 (Wednesday, May 13, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 81 (Wednesday, May 13, 2026)] [House] [Pages H3439-H3446] 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 THE UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES FROM HOSTILITIES AGAINST THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the order of the House of April 27, 2026, I call up the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 75) directing the President, pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution, to remove the United States Armed Forces from hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House. The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Moore of Utah). Pursuant to the order of the House of April 27, 2026, the concurrent resolution is considered as read. The text of the concurrent resolution is as follows: H. Con. Res. 75 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), SECTION 1. FINDINGS. Congress finds the following: (1) The Islamic Republic of Iran is the leading state sponsor of terrorism and an adversary of the United States. (2) The Islamic Republic of Iran seeks to pose a threat to the United States, its Armed Forces, and allies through its ballistic missile program, its sponsorship of terrorist proxy forces, and pursuit of a nuclear weapon. (3) The Islamic Republic of Iran engages in a range of destabilizing activities across the Middle East and the world which have resulted in scores of American deaths since 1979. (4) Congress has the sole power to declare war under article I, section 8 of the Constitution. (5) Congress has not declared war with respect to, or provided any specific statutory authorization for, hostilities involving United States Armed Forces against the Islamic Republic of Iran. (6) United States Armed Forces were introduced into hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran on February 28, 2026. (7) The President is mandated to brief Congress on the deployment of United States forces, included their estimated scope and duration of their continued use, under the War Powers Resolution. SEC. 2. 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, by not later than the date that is 30 days after the date described in section 1(6), 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. 3. 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. 4. 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 and controlled by Representative Mast of Florida and Representative Meeks of New York, or their respective designees. The gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mast) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Meeks) each will control 30 minutes. The Chair recognizes 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 any 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 reserve the balance of my time. Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Con. Res. 75. I thank Mr. Gottheimer for this resolution. We are here for a third time--a third time--because congressional inaction has cost Americans paying a lot and suffering a lot. Most Americans oppose this war. Now, this is not my opinion. It is a fact. It is not unpatriotic to say so. It is honest, which is what Americans want and what Americans deserve from their government. The opposition to this war has just continued to grow. As we stand here today, CBS News found 60 percent of Americans oppose the war. RMG Research, a Republican-leaning firm, has the most recent survey on RealClear Politics. It finds the war is opposed by 59 percent of Americans with only roughly one-third in support. {time} 1900 A recent PBS News poll shows that 81 percent of Americans are feeling the [[Page H3440]] strain of increased gas prices on their families. My colleagues across the aisle are defending a war that their own voters really oppose. They can and will, I am sure, deflect, but you cannot escape the facts. The American people are tired of costly misadventures in the Middle East, and they are right to be tired. They are tired of wars. They thought this President said he would not get them into a war, but, as he wanted to change the Defense Department, he basically said he was going to get into wars because they want to call it the Department of War. Let's look at the full cost of this war, not cherry-picked facts that some prefer. The Israelis did strike and kill Supreme Leader Khamenei. We still have a Supreme Leader Khamenei. This new Supreme Leader is 30 years younger and widely considered more extreme, less practical, and more hostile to the United States than his father. We removed a devil we knew and replaced him with one that we don't. It is a fact that U.S. strikes against Iran have depleted Iran's stock of missiles and drones. The New York Times reported just yesterday that Iran has regained access to most of its missile sites, and there is evidence Iran has restored operational access to 30 of the 33 missile sites it maintains along the Strait of Hormuz. Iran still has a significant drone capacity. Shahed drone manufacturing is low cost, quick to produce, and easier to conceal than missile production. Here is what my colleagues do not want to talk about. Per public reporting--this is in the public sphere--we have used 20 percent of our long-range joint air-to-surface missiles and 30 percent of our Tomahawks. We have expended 45 percent of our Precision Strike Missiles, half of our THAAD interceptors, and 50 percent of our Patriot missile interceptors. These are incredible military capabilities. We are burning through them at an unsustainable rate in a theater that is not our most urgent strategic priority. Our allies are seeing yearslong delays on the purchases of U.S. arms into the 2030s, undermining their own strategic posture. My colleagues on the other side who profess to be China hawks should be sounding the alarm right now about the impacts of this war on our Indo-Pacific readiness. Before the first strike, there was no serious diplomatic off-ramp used. This was and this is a war of choice. It was from the start, and it is now. The American people are paying the price. This war has also demonstrated to Iran the effectiveness of weaponizing the Strait of Hormuz. Oil prices have skyrocketed. Americans are paying more to take their kids to school and to drive to work. It seems as though, unless you are Secretary Duffy, family vacations are out of reach because of skyrocketing fuel prices. Rising fertilizer and gasoline costs are making it more difficult to put food on the table. Just recently, President Trump, when asked by a reporter--I believe it was yesterday--if he is considering America's financial situation when it comes to making a deal to end his war of choice, what was his response? Was he considerate? What did he say? ``Not even a little bit.'' He went on to say: ``I don't think about Americans' financial situation.'' Maybe he is telling the truth, I guess, but the American people need to know that he doesn't think about it. He says: ``I don't think about anybody.'' I think that sentiment couldn't be clearer. We still don't have the exact figures on the cost of this war. The Trump administration's latest estimate is $29 billion, which is an enormous figure for an unnecessary and failing war and is far below other reasonable estimates, which suggest the war costs more than a billion dollars a day. Of course, the highest costs to our country have been to the more than 400 soldiers who have been wounded in the conflict and the 14 who have made the ultimate sacrifice. We honor them. The best way to honor them is to end a war that was never in America's national interests. The record speaks for itself. Most Americans--yes, most Americans, and that is Democrats, Republicans, liberals, co

Referenced legislation: HCONRES75, HCONRES75