March 13, 2019

Duckworth to Vote to End U.S. Military’s Unauthorized Support of Saudi Arabia’s Brutal Military Campaign in Yemen

 

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Ahead of a Senate vote today on a bipartisan resolution directing the President to end unauthorized U.S. military assistance to the Saudi Arabia-led coalition in Yemen, combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) released the following statement:

“The Senate is prepared to take an important step today to reclaim its constitutional responsibility to determine whether to declare war. For far too long, Congress has ceded that solemn responsibility, allowing the executive branch to send our brave men and women into harm’s way around the world without public debate or congressional approval. That has had painful consequences, particularly in Yemen, where the Saudis are responsible for perpetuating a humanitarian crisis. Untold numbers of people have been killed, starved to death and have died of cholera. It is important for the Senate to send a clear message today that the unauthorized American military assistance for this coalition must end immediately.”

Since she was elected to the Senate, Duckworth has urged her colleagues to replace our outdated Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMFs), which set the legal framework, parameters and constitutional basis for our ongoing military engagements. She penned an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal last year chastising her colleagues for neglecting their constitutional responsibility to debate a new AUMF, arguing that failing to act enables a seemingly endless conflict overseas without an honest, sober accounting of the true costs of war. Duckworth was also a strong supporter of the Senate resolution last Congress to cut off U.S. military assistance for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.

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