Last week, the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to prohibit unconstitutional U.S. participation in the Saudi war in Yemen. Every single Democrat and eighteen Republicans voted for the House Yemen War Powers Resolution. March will be the fourth anniversary of U.S. participation in the Saudi regime’s Yemen war, which was unconstitutional the day it was born, under the Obama Administration, in March 2015.
Here’s what we should do in the future: stop unconstitutional wars before they start.
Congressional Progressive Caucus vice-chair David Cicilline [D-RI] has a simple bill to do just that. It would prohibit any funds from being used by the Trump Administration for unconstitutional war in Venezuela. The bill is expected to be marked up in the House Foreign Affairs Committee next week.
The Cicilline bill was introduced on February 6. So far, thirty-five Members of the House have [co-] sponsored the bill, including Foreign Affairs committee members David Cicilline, Ilhan Omar, Ted Lieu, Karen Bass, Adriano Espaillat, Andy Levin, and Dina Titus. The bill is expected to be marked up in the Foreign Affairs committee next week.
This bill should already have many more co-sponsors. There are 104 Members of the Progressive Caucus. It should be a no-brainer that if you’re a member of the Progressive Caucus, you should co-sponsor a bill offered by a CPC member to prohibit an unconstitutional war.
Below is a list of CPC members who haven’t co-sponsored the bill yet. If your Representative is on this list, please call them at 202-225-3121 and ask them to co-sponsor the Cicilline bill to prohibit unconstitutional war in Venezuela.
When you reach a staffer or leave a message, you can say something like:
“I urge you to co-sponsor the Cicilline bill to prohibit unconstitutional war in Venezuela. Don’t wait four years to stop the next unconstitutional war.”
When you’ve made your call, please report it in the comments below.
Here is a list of CPC Members who haven’t co-sponsored the bill yet:
Adam Smith
Alma Adams
André Carson
Andy Kim
Angie Craig
Antonio Delgado
Bennie Thompson
Bonnie Watson Coleman
Brad Sherman
Brenda Lawrence
Brendan Boyle
Carolyn Maloney
Dan Kildee
Danny Davis
Darren Soto
David Loebsack
Debbie Dingell
Debbie Mucarsel-Powell
Donald Norcross
Dwight Evans
Eddie Bernice Johnson
Elijah Cummings
Frank Pallone
Frederica Wilson
Gil Cisneros
Grace Napolitano
Hakeem Jeffries
Hank Johnson
Jared Golden
Jerrold Nadler
Jimmy Gomez
Jimmy Panetta
Joe Kennedy III
Joe Morelle
Joe Neguse
John Lewis
Judy Chu
Katherine Clark
Katie Hill
Katie Porter
Linda Sanchez
Lisa Blunt Rochester
Lloyd Doggett
Lois Frankel
Lucille Roybal-Allard
Madeleine Dean
Marcia Fudge
Mark DeSaulnier
Mark Takano
Mary Gay Scanlon
Matt Cartwright
Maxine Waters
Mike Levin
Nanette Barragán
Nydia Velázquez
Pramila Jayapal
Rashida Tlaib
Raúl Grijalva
Rosa DeLauro
Ruben Gallego
Sheila Jackson Lee
Steve Cohen
Steven Horsford
Suzanne Bonamici
Sylvia Garcia
Veronica Escobar
Wm.Lacy Clay
Zoe Lofgren