Friends,
Congratulations. We
have moved closer to ending U.S. complicity in the terrorizing of the people of
Yemen. All seven Democratic members of the House voted for the War Powers
Resolution. Of course, Republican Andy Harris voted to continue the
attacks of the children of Yemen. Now we have to take this measure to the
Senate. Thanks you rep if s/he voted yes, and excoriate those who voted
no. Then petition your senators to co-sponsor S.J.Res. 7. Bernie
Sanders’ resolution has 17 co-sponsors. But Ben Cardin and Chris Van
Hollen are not on the list, and must be contacted to sign on as co-sponsors.
Kagiso,
Max
Wednesday, February 13,
2019
'Historic':
House Approves War Powers Resolution to End US Complicity in Yemen
"Not only does this vote bolster hopes for a quicker end to
the war and the resulting humanitarian crisis, it also signals a timely
resurgence in congressional oversight on war."
commondreams.org/news/2019/02/13/historic-house-approves-war-powers-resolution-end-us-complicity-yemen
The
U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelming approved a War Powers
Resolution that would require President Trump to end U.S. military support for
the ongoing Saudi-led war in Yemen.
The
bill, H.J. Res. 37 introduced by Rep. Ro Khanna
(D-Calif.), passed in a 248-177 vote—mostly along party lines in the
Democratic-controlled House—and will now head to the Senate where a version of
the resolution last year, despite Republican control, passed in historic
fashion. Read the full roll call here.
Ever
since joining Congress, I’ve been pushing for the U.S. to end our illegal and
unconstitutional involvement in Yemen. Even as support grew, @PRyan blocked the resolution over and
over as tens of thousands of Yemenis died and millions starved.
With
my resolution passing the House, we are closer than ever to ending our
complicity in this humanitarian catastrophe. And with @BernieSanders' leadership, a War Powers
Resolution will pass through both chambers of Congress for the first time in
history.
"Today
is historic," declared Khanna in statement. "This is the culmination of
several years of legislative efforts to end our involvement in the Saudi war in
Yemen. I’m encouraged by the direction people are pushing our party to take on
foreign policy, promoting restraint and human rights and with the sense they
want Congress to play a much larger role."
Paul
Kawika Martin, senior director for policy and political affairs at Peace
Action, also celebrated the vote and characterized it, like the Senate vote
last year, as historic.
"Building
on last year's Senate vote, the newly empowered House of Representatives just
made history by voting to end U.S. support for the war in Yemen, marking the
first time the House has successfully invoked the War Powers Act to direct the
withdrawal of U.S. forces from an unauthorized war," Martin said.
"Not
only does this vote bolster hopes for a quicker end to the war and the
resulting humanitarian crisis," he added, "it also signals a timely
resurgence in congressional oversight on war. The Senate will have to vote
again to send this particular bill to the president's desk, which it should do
without delay, but Congress has now made its opposition to U.S. military
involvement in Yemen crystal clear."
Both
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who spearheaded the companion resolution in the
Senate, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), an early co-sponsor, applauded the
House vote:
I
applaud my House colleagues for today’s historic passage of HJ Res 37 – ending
U.S. support for the disastrous Saudi-led war in Yemen. The Senate must quickly
pass this resolution and finally reassert Congress' constitutional authority
over war.
The
House just voted to end US military support for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen.
I’m proud to be an early co-sponsor of the companion bill in the Senate, and I
urge @SenateMajLdr McConnell to
bring it to a vote. We cannot continue to be complicit in the deaths of
civilians.
Win Without War, one of the
key anti-war groups that lobbied alongside other peace and human rights groups
to demand an end to U.S. complicity in Yemen, thanked their members and all
those who applied pressure on lawmakers to vote in favor of the resolution:
Thank
you to all of the Win Without War activists who called, petitioned, and wrote
to end U.S. involvement in the brutal and unconscionable war in #Yemen. We are honored to
stand with you and ready for the next steps. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPibebKfs9c&feature=youtu.be …
Diane Randall, executive
secretary of the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), also hailed
the vote and gave credit to the tireless work of campaigners.
"Today's
vote affirms the power of grassroots, pro-peace advocacy to turn the tide
against war in Congress," said Randall. "Ending the war that has led
to the world’s worst humanitarian crisis is something we can achieve. Today's
vote demonstrates a bipartisan desire to do so."
Martin
said that he hopes the Saudis and their allies in the war, like the United Arab
Emirates, recognize just how serious a rebuke of the carnage in Yemen members
of Congress are now voicing.
"For
nations participating in the Saudi-led intervention," Martin said,
"this new political reality poses a serious threat to their military
relationships with the United States. For millions of Yemenis facing
indiscriminate airstrikes and war-induced famine, this new political reality
offers a glimmer of hope for a more peaceful future. More work remains to be
done, but hope is well worth celebrating."
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License
Donations can be sent
to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD
21218. Ph: 410-323-1607; Email: mobuszewski2001 [at] comcast.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/
"The master class
has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles.
The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject
class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their
lives." Eugene Victor Debs
No comments:
Post a Comment