U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna of Silicon Valley is teaming with U.S.
Sen. Bernie Sanders in a legislative effort to block funding they say the
Pentagon and President Donald Trump could otherwise use to launch the country
into war with Iran.
“Today, we are seeing a dangerous escalation that
brings us closer to another disastrous war in the Middle East,” Khanna
said in a statement Friday. “A war with Iran could cost countless lives
and trillions more dollars and lead to even more deaths, more conflict, more
displacement in that already highly volatile region of the world.”
President Trump on Thursday authorized a U.S. military
airstrike in Iraq that killed top Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani, an
action that left many across the globe discussing the likelihood of retaliation
by Iran and its allies.
Khanna and Sanders say they plan to introduce legislation
that could “prohibit any funding for offensive military force in or
against Iran without prior congressional authorization,” according to the
Silicon Valley congressman.
A previous measure to amend the National Defense
Authorization Act to block war funding directed at Iran, authored by Khanna and
U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, passed a vote in the House of Representatives
in July, but was later dropped in December.
“War must be the last recourse in our international
relations,” Khanna said.
“After authorizing a disastrous, $738 billion military
budget that placed no restrictions on this president from starting an
unauthorized war with Iran, Congress now has an opportunity to change course.
Our legislation blocks Pentagon funding for any unilateral actions this
president takes to wage war against Iran without Congressional
authorization.”
Khanna said that instead of a war, the United States has a “crumbling
infrastructure,” desperate housing needs, and “the existential crisis
of climate change” to face, and that “we as a nation must get our priorities
right.”
“The House and Senate should pass our legislation
immediately and uphold our constitutional responsibilities,” Khanna said.
“We must invest in the needs of the American people, not spend trillions
more on endless wars.”
Sanders wrote on Twitter that he and Khanna will introduce
the bill “to stop Donald Trump from illegally taking us to war against
Iran. It’s working-class kids who will to fight and die in a disastrous new
Middle East conflict — not the children of billionaires.”
Source: NBC Bay Area
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