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

On 2026-09-24, Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) delivered a floor speech titled "DIRECTING THE PRESIDENT, PURSUANT TO SECTION 5(C) OF THE WAR POWERS RESOLUTION, TO REMOVE UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES FRO" in the Senate.

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 152 (Thursday, September 24, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 152 (Thursday, September 24, 2026)] [Senate] [Pages S4962-S4974] 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. KIM. Mr. President, on behalf of the two leaders, I ask the Chair to execute the order of August 8, 2026, with respect to H. Con. Res 89. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Committee on Foreign Relations is discharged from further consideration of H. Con. Res. 89, and the Senate will proceed to its immediate consideration. The clerk will report the concurrent resolution by title. The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows: A 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. [[Page S4963]] Thereupon, the committee was discharged, and the Senate proceeded to consider the concurrent resolution. Mr. KIM. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following Senators be permitted to speak: Kim for up to 8 minutes, Schiff for up to 8 minutes, Moreno for up to 20 minutes, Slotkin for up to 5 minutes, Merkley for up to 10 minutes, Murphy for up to 8 minutes, Baldwin for up to 5 minutes, Welch for up to 2 minutes, Kaine for up to 5 minutes, and Klobuchar for up to 5 minutes. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Mr. KIM. Mr. President, I rise today as Donald Trump continues to wage a war in Iran in our name, on our dime, but without our say--a war that is nearly 7 months old, a war that has cost Americans billions, a war that seemingly has no end in sight but that Congress has the authority to end. The Senate has just returned to the Capitol after over a month back home, and in that time, Americans have continued to be loud and clear at townhalls, at protests, and in letters and phone calls to our offices. They are sick and tired of this reckless and expensive war. They are sick and tired of this war, and they expect us to do something about it. This is a moment for us to step up and show the American people that we are listening and we are ready to take action. Democrats have taken action. We have come to this Chamber 11 times, in the past 208 days, to try to bring this war to an end. I have been encouraged to see some of my colleagues join from across the aisle to do the right thing and join us. It is not just the right thing to do; it is the right thing to do right now. It is about standing up for our Constitution--that this war, which Donald Trump said would end in about a month, has lasted over six times as long; this war, which Donald Trump wouldn't even admit to being a war, has resulted in damage done to our national security and the spread of chaos across the Middle East and the world; and this war, which Donald Trump said was worth the cost, keeps costing the American people more and more. So what has it cost us? It has cost us American lives. We have lost at least 19 servicemembers, brave men and women; over 750 injured. It has cost us economic security. Inflation is up--gas prices, just filling up the grocery carts as well. These are costs that Donald Trump is bearing upon the American people. It is costing each and every one of our American families hard- earned taxpayer dollars. A report last week by the Congressional Budget Office showed that the war has cost nearly $40 billion in the first 4 months alone. It has cost us our readiness and our ability to keep Americans safe from global threats. These are the things that we are seeing that are making us weaker and why it is that we need to end this now. So with this vote today, we can alleviate the cost of the war. I want to talk a little bit more about why alleviating this cost is so important to the people we represent, to our national security, and to our future. When we hear from so many of our constituents, when I hear from a woman back home in New Jersey, she is talking about just the challenges that she is facing raising her family, about the challenges that she is seeing as gas prices continue to skyrocket, as mortgage rates are hitting higher and higher. She paused and she looked at me, she said-- all of this that is happening, the Iran war, all these different actions--she said: But what about us? What are we supposed to do? And her question is one that all of us should be considering here in the Chamber. What about the American people? What are they getting out of this? Well, they are getting footed the bill. They are getting footed the sacrifice. They are the ones that are bearing this brunt. When we have a third of Americans already unable to handle a $400 emergency, that is not theoretical, that is their life right now. We see it as we see estimates already of gas prices going up so much that it is--what?--over $115 billion more than American families have had to bear, nearly $900 per household more since the start of this war. And over and over again, is this making us safer and more secure? Very clearly, no. And we see that just with the continued attacks, the continued violence, the spread of this now with Saudi Arabia, the Houthis. We are seeing this all over the place through the Middle East. I have worked in war zones; I have worked in the Middle East as a State Department officer, as a diplomat; and I have seen where this heads. Chaos is not a negotiating tactic. Trump is simply in over his head here. The entire administration is in over their head, and, again, the American people are the ones bearing this cost. As we talk about that cost to our future, the war has cost a lot of money. I have shared with you the costs at the gas pump. We see how much we have had to pay in the past for the previous wars of Iraq and Afghanistan. We do not want that going forward. I literally just yesterday celebrated the birthday of one of my sons. I do not want him and his generation to bear the burdens of these reckless decisions made by Trump. This is something we need to make sure we are pushing forward on. I think a lot about that woman in New Jersey that I mentioned. I wonder how she is holding up since I last talked to her, how she is bearing the cost of this war. And when we recess here shortly, I want to be able to go back to her and tell her what I heard, tell her what I tried to do, tell her what we tried to do here in the Senate. I wanted to tell her that I did everything that I could so she could breathe a little easier, be able to support her family in the way that she wants, that we--Democrats and Republicans--were able to come together and recognize that the cost to the American people is too great and that we need to work together to stop this war. So please, I ask my colleagues here at the Senate: Join me. Let's pass this resolution and do the right thing for the American people; do the right thing for our Constitution; do the right thing for our servicemembers in harm's way; do the right thing by ending this war. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California. Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. President, ever since the USS Abraham Lincoln was commissioned in the waning days of the Cold War, it has been known for many things. After a volcano erupted in the Philippines in 1991, the Lincoln led the largest peacetime evacuation of United States military personnel and their families. A baby was even born on board during the evacuation and named Abraham Lincoln. In 1993, the Lincoln became the first carrier in the Pacific fleet to integrate female aviators. But today, as a result of the President's war with Iran, the Lincoln has achieved another distinction, one it neither sought nor wished to claim. And that is for more than 300 days, over 5,000 sailors and marines aboard the Lincoln were at sea, without visits to their family or their loved ones, without visits to friends apart from fellow servicemembers. In fact, the Lincoln set a modern-day record for consecutive days at sea without a port visit and a record away from its home port of San Diego. And even now, just recently, after stopping in Thailand for its first regular port call in nearly 9 months, hull rusted, paint peeling, the Lincoln and its crew were still a long way from home. As the President's senseless war has dragged on, it has taken a heavier toll on the lives and well-being of our servicemembers and their families, many of whom are in California. So how does the Commander in Chief respond when asked last month if carriers like the Lincoln had been deployed too long? Donald Trump said, and this is a direct quote: No, no, no. Not nearly long enough. Not nearly long enough? It was long enough that our sailors had been working 12- to 16-hour shifts, at times facing the danger of enemy missiles. It was long enough that they were forced to ration food and water, shortages that have reportedly caused severe weight loss and health impacts. It was long enough that crew members have had severe mental health crises, which created significant distress for their families as well to the point where some servicemembers sought to jump off the carrier into the sea. It was [[Page S4964]] long enough that servicemembers had to deal with black mold that drips, as one servicemember described ``onto your face, shoulders, arms, or head while standing in line for a meal or even walking out of the shower.'' Doug, a constituent from California, wrote a letter to me expressing his deep concerns over his son's service on the Lincoln. His son had to be medically evacuated from the ship after suffering a collapsed lung, which Doug believes was connected to malnutrition and overexertion. The crew went about 4 weeks without hot water or laundry. They were on rations for 2 to 3 months while working

Referenced legislation: HCONRES89, HCONRES89, SRES226