Welch supports three Joint Resolutions of Disapproval (JRDs) to halt nearly $660 million in additional U.S.-funded weapons Israel
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) spoke on the Senate floor to demand that President Trump immediately de-escalate and end his unconstitutional war of choice in Iran that is making the United States and its citizens less safe and more economically vulnerable. The Senator also emphasized his strong opposition to the Trump Administration’s proposed $200 billion supplemental funding request to fund the president’s reckless and unauthorized war.
“Our country is now very deep into this war—the biggest in a generation. And yet the U.S. Senate has not held a single hearing, has not had a single debate, has not demanded a full account from the executive as to the war in Iran. And now, we understand the Administration is preparing a $200 billion supplemental funding request for a war that has not even been explained, much less authorized,” said Senator Welch. “I will oppose this funding. I will oppose sleepwalking into a forever war.”
Watch Senator Welch’s full remarks below:
Senator Welch also emphasized how President Trump’s reckless war has worsened the affordability crisis for everyday Americans:
“The cost to American families and businesses from the closing of the Strait [of Hormuz]—from this asymmetric warfare—those costs are staggering. Across the country, gas prices at the pump are up at least a dollar. The average American family will pay an additional $2,000 a year in gas. And as a country, we are paying an additional $2 billion every day—$2 billion—as the war premium that we have to pay at the pump. In Vermont and across the country, our farmers are paying up to 35-40% more for fertilizer. More than a third of global fertilizer supplies come through the Strait. Just ahead of Spring planting, farms are facing additional tens of thousands of dollars to do business.
“Vermont families are also paying a war premium to heat their homes. Heating prices for heating oil are surging—from around just a little over $3 a gallon, to over $4.70 a gallon. An average family is going to be facing a $1,000 additional expense to maintain heat in their home.”
In his remarks, the Senator also acknowledged the service and loss of military personnel who have been injured and killed in the line of duty, expressed support for the exemplary service of the Vermont Air National Guard’s 158th Fighter Wing, and prayed for the safe return home of all troops risking their lives in President Trump’s reckless war in Iran.
Senator Welch also joined Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) in filing three Joint Resolutions of Disapproval (JRDs) that would halt the transfer of nearly $660 million in additional offensive U.S. weaponry—funded by American taxpayer dollars—to Israel as President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pursue a war of choice in Iran.
“President Trump’s war of choice in Iran has been a catastrophe–jeopardizing our national security and the lives of our troops, killing and wounding thousands of innocent civilians, and causing havoc in the global economy. The war needs to end today,” said Senator Welch. “With the bombs already provided to Israel by American taxpayers, Israeli forces are unleashing a campaign of total war in Iran with the clear and deliberate intention to eviscerate Iran’s economy and society. I support these joint resolutions to make sure that we do not send another 20,000 bombs to Israel that will result in further destruction in Iran and Lebanon. We must end this war, and we must not send these bombs.”
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