I rise today to once again try to end President Trump's War of Choice in Iran.
We're not only five months into this war, with no end in sight.
President Trump and Pete Hegseth have spent at least $37.5 billion on a war that Americans
overwhelmingly oppose.
Americans are footing the bill with their tax dollars and at the pump as higher prices
continue.
We've lost 18 American service members, with hundreds more wounded.
My heart is with the military families who are grieving the loss of a loved one.
Now, after months of chaos, Secretary Hegseth wants Congress to sign off on nearly $70 billion
for this illegal war.
Nearly $70 billion more of our money to fund a war that Americans did not choose.
That's $70 billion that we could be using to bring down the cost of housing and help
folks get their foot in the door to buy their very first home.
That's $70 billion that we could be using to help families afford childcare and allow
parents to get back to work.
And that's $70 billion that we could be using to lower Americans' health insurance premiums,
fund our rural hospitals or put some of the damage from Republicans' cuts to Medicaid
to rest.
In other words, restore that money.
Instead, this president wants nearly $70 billion for a war that's spiraling further out of
control.
That is his priority, not Americans' housing costs or insurance premiums, but rather a
war across the globe that nobody asked for.
Even worse, we are five months into this war, and this administration refuses to give us
straight answers about when this conflict will end.
It does not have to be this way.
It's clear the only way to stop this war and find a political solution through diplomacy
and tough negotiations is for Congress to force President Trump's hand.
He started this war, and he's clearly incapable of ending it on his own.
So on behalf of all of our constituents who are paying the price, I urge my Republican
colleagues to join us in bringing an end to this war before another American life is
lost.
I yield.