WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) spoke on the Senate floor and emphasized how President Trump’s $200 billion request for funding to support his war of choice in Iran will drive up costs for American families, farmers, and small business owners. In his remarks, Senator Welch urged candor from the president about his administration’s goals, expectations, and outcomes of this conflict. The Senator also emphasized that the true cost of Trump’s deadly war will be borne by the American soldiers risking their lives to fight it, and who will deal with the consequences for years to come. 

“We in Congress have a role to play, and it’s to weigh in on the decision of where and when we will send young men and women into harm’s way. They do their job—we’re not doing our job. We’ve had no hearings. We’ve had no debate. We’ve had no discussion. It’s just happening. We’re sleepwalking passively into a war that could be yet another forever war in the Middle East,” said Senator Welch. “The true burden of war is borne by those who fight, not by those who decide. Is it not our responsibility, our minimal responsibility, to decide? We’re not doing that. We’re passively backing into a war with no debate, no discussion, no profound appreciation of what we are asking the young men and women of this country to subject themselves to. We owe them more than that.” 

Senator Welch continued: “There’s been no candor about what this war will cost…We owe candor to the American people when it comes to what is going to be required for this war. But the other essential obligation we have in making a decision about going to war is to the men and women who we will ask to go to war because of our decision—or because of our indecision.”   

Watch Senator Welch’s full remarks below: 

Read key excerpts from Senator Welch’s remarks: 

“Yes, it is true—the Iranian regime is dangerous. Saddam’s regime was dangerous. The Taliban was dangerous. In the cases of Iraq and Afghanistan, we did escalate, and we stayed and couldn’t get out because we didn’t make a decision. We were there, and justified staying, because we were there in the first place. We’re at that moment with what is occurring in Iran and, yes, it’s an evil regime. Yes, we want them not to have a nuclear weapon, but is diplomacy to be abandoned? Is unilateral action to be chosen? Is that to be done where we literally have no debate and no discussion? It’s the wrong decision, and we face very soon a question of whether we will support a $200 billion expenditure for that war. The president calls it an ‘excursion,’ but we all know better. We must make a decision, and I have made a decision. I will not support $200 billion for a military ‘excursion’ in Iran.” 

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“The $200 billion request that is coming our way—that’s an extraordinary request of the American taxpayer. It’s $60 billion more than President Bush requested in his supplemental to fund the opening months of the Iraq invasion in 2003…One of the weaknesses of our position right now is that the president did bypass Congress in making his decision to go on this ‘expedition.’ The president also bypassed the American people by not addressing them and outlining with clarity the goals that he seeks to accomplish, and the means by which he hopes to accomplish them, and the expectation of the sacrifices that American citizens will have to make in order to achieve his goals.  

“And in a democracy, this is not just something that is done because it’s nice to do. In a democracy, public backing for a war is not optional. It’s a strategy necessity for success. There has been no effort to engage the public, and indeed, public opinion of the wisdom of this shows that barely 40% of Americans support this war, and more than 60% think our military action in Iran has been excessive…$200 billion as a supplemental is a down payment on more to come. $200 billion is literally a $1,400 tax on every single American household. The average American family is also going to pay an extra $2,000 at the pump with the increase in gas prices. Families in Vermont are going to pay $1,000 more to heat their homes. Our small farmers in Vermont and in your state, Mr. President, are going to pay about 35% more for fertilizer just as planting season begins.”  

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Last week, Senator Welch 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. 

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