Iran, impeachment. Let me start with iran. Today, we will have a resolution on the floor put forth by congresswoman alyssa slotkin. Were very proud of her experience, in terms of National Security, under democratic and republican president s, now a member of congress, putting forth a resolution this week. Last week, in our view, the president the administration conducted a provocative disproportionate air strike against iran that dangered americans and did so without consulting congress. When i was informed of this attack the administration took responsibility for it over the weekend, i said, why did you not consult with congress . Well, we held it in closely. No. You have a responsibility to consult with congress. No, we held it close. Whoever close means. As you see, there has been criticism from the republicans about the briefing that was put forth yesterday by the administration on this subject. Some have asked, do you agree this is the worst intelligence classified Briefing Congress has received from this administration, as some of you have heard me say, there is stiff competition for that destination, worst. Here we are to protect american lives passing today the war powers resolution to limit the president s military actions. The Administration Must deescalate and must prevent further violence. America and the world cannot afford war. Some of you have heard me say in december, i took a bipartisan delegation to the 75th anniversary of the battle of the bulge. It was so remarkable to meet our vips, our veterans, who served at the battle of the budge, some of them also at normandy. Imagine the courage of teenagers, most of them at the time. The compelling message of the veteran who spoke to them along with the afternoon duke of luxembourg and president of germany, the veteran spoke about the band of brothers and allies working together, multilateralism, spoke about the challenges in those winters reminding me of Washington Crossing the delaware because it was december and it was snowing, and they were not as prepared for snow and camouflage from snow as they needed to be. But just seeing their patriotism, their courage, those young people, this veteran coming to speak for them, 90 some years old, at the end of his remarks, he said, i just have one message. I dont know if its appropriate to say, but i will. Pray for peace. Pray for peace. Thats what we all do. Protecting the American People is our first responsibility. Protect and defend, and oath we take, not only of our constitution but of the American People. Pray for peace. Thats what we must do. So, what happened, in the view of many of us, is not promoting peace but an escalation, not that we have any confidence in the goodness or good intentions of iran, and we certainly do not respect, and from my against background, know just how bad soleimani was. Its not because we expect good things from them, but we expect great things from us. Now, in terms of impeachment, you keep asking me the same question, i keep giving you the same right from the start, we need to see that the arena in which we are sending our managers. Is that too much to ask . In october we put forth hr 660, which is the House Resolution which talked about the terms under which we would proceed, to further proceed with the investigation so that people knew what the battlefield would look like. We expect to see that here. I hear different things. I hear that they might want to you probably heard one way or another, some of them have suggested they might want to dismiss. Dismiss equals coverup. Dismiss equals admission that youre afraid of the facts, the truth, the witnesses, and the documentation. We would have hoped that, as with the clinton process, that there would have been a bipartisan resolution determining how to proceed. Contrary to what the majority leader said, he says this is like the clinton. No, its not at all. And i sent our members yesterday six points in which six of the points in which it is different. But nonetheless, at some point we would hope that we would see from them what the terms of engagement will be. We are ready. We are proud of our defense of the constitution of the United States. We are concerned that the senators will not be able to live up to the oath that they must take to have an impartial trial. So much for that. At the same time as this is all going on, its important to note that there are so many other things of concern to the American People. One is the assault on the Affordable Care act that this administration is engaged in, in the courts, in the congress. And we are fighting them in the courts, in the congress, and in the country. Right now they are in the court, instead of defending the law of the land as is the responsibility of the justice department, this administration is fighting the law of the land. That means benefit for preexisting conditions, no lifetime limits or annual limits, child staying on your policy until age 26, being a woman no longer being a preexisting condition, the list goes on and on that they want to tear down. So with all of the other, shall we say, distractions going on, which are a collateral benefit to the administration, because it is a distraction, as they are masterful at, of whats going on, in addition to that and related to health is the statement from the administration that they are no longer going to enforce the National Environmental protection act. This means more polluters will be right there next to the water supply of our children. Thats a Public Health issue, and in their denial of climate, they are going to not use the climate issue as anything to do with environmental decisionmaking. The public should know this. Denial, denial about the Climate Crisis in the midst of fires in australia, and we have them in our own country. And then ill close by just talking about how proud we are of the work that our members have done for the people. We have moved to Lower Health Care costs by lowering the cost of prescription drugs, hr 3, wildly popular in the country. Hopefully and it passed the house before we left. Also were proud to pass the mexico u. S. U. S. mexico canada trade agreement. Its sitting in the senate with more than 275 bipartisan bills that we sent over, bipartisan legislation. One of of them, the ninth anniversary of the attempt on Gabby Giffords life, it would save lives to have a bill on sensible gun legislation. To Lower Health Care costs, keep the American People safe, build american infrastructure. This coming week, in the next period of time, our chairman, led by peter defazio, chairman defazio of the transportation committee, will be putting forward our most Current Initiative on climate i say climate because you cant do infrastructure without having a recognition of resilience and green technologies. So thats where we are there. Now, today we again send sad condolences to the person who lost his or her life in puerto rico, others whose homes were damaged. We call upon the white house to stop its unlawful withholding of funds from puerto rico. We also there are needs that need to be met. There has been a disaster designated. But the ongoing withholding of funds appropriated by congress to puerto rico is illegal and we call upon the administration to cease and desist that illegal activity. So what else do we have here . Maybe well just take some questions from all of you. Reporter you say that you need to know what the agreement looks like. Yes. Reporter in the senate. How long are you prepared to withhold the articles of impeachment . Its interesting, just to listen to what they say, because the other day you probably heard the leader say im glad to show you what it is when im ready. But we dont know when hes going to be glad to be ready to show it to us. So there is something that they will have. And then he says, well, well pass it once we get the articles. In the past few weeks since weve had this, shall we say, impasse, because they wont reveal the terms of engagement, many things have been accomplished that are collateral benefit to the discussion. And they relate to, on december 20th, new emails showed that 91 minutes after trumps phone call with the ukrainian president , a top omb aide asked dod to hold off on sending military aid to the ukraine, directly related to that call. On december 29th, there was a report of public revelations about mulvaneys role in the withholding of aid, and the alarm that the delay caused within the administration, because everyone was not in agreement. Last thursday, newly unredacted pentagon emails exposed serious concerns about Administration People about the legality of the president s hold of the aid, legality of the president s hold on the aid to ukraine. Bolton this week announced he would comply with a subpoena compelling his testimony. His lawyers have stated he has new, relevant information. These and other things, our investigation and our protocols necessitate a fair trial with documents and witnesses. They dont want documents. The documentation. They dont want witnesses. They may want a dismissal which is proof that they cannot, cannot clear the president of the wrongdoing that he has committed. No, it wont be indefinitely. Ill send them over when im ready. And that will probably be soon. You know, he said if you dont send them over, im going to pass the mexico u. S. canada free trade agreement. Well, okay. We want to see what they will do and the manner in which they do it. But we wont let them say this is just like the clinton process. It is not. Documentation, witnesses, facts, truth. Thats what theyre afraid of. Reporter the democrats called it a danger to democracy. Who are we talking about . Reporter the democrats. Oh, i thought you meant Mitch Mcconnell. Reporter shouldnt you move more expeditiously given the fact that you raised a serious concern about i think we should move smartly and strategically. Reporter on iran, this is yes, the resolution. Reporter theres been some criticism on both sides that this should be binding, i know there is some parliamentary question about being privileged, but why not make this with real teeth, like an aumf . This is with real teeth. If you are familiar with the war powers act, and ill get you the text, the war powers act enables two approaches to go forward. One is a concurrent resolution, and it gives a procedure for that which we will be following today. And it gives a path for concurrent for an h. Con. Resolution. Were taking this path because it doesnt require a signature by the president of the United States. This is a statement by the congress of the United States. And i will not have that statement be diminished by whether the president will veto it or not. Reporter many of your members have raised serious concerns about the timing of the strike against soleimani, the administrations justification. Youve been briefed. Do you think that the administration misled the American People about an imminent attack . I think that its very unfortunate that right now, because i was briefed in the gang of eight and i was briefed in what did he call it, demeaning and worst classified briefing that the republican senators ever heard, yesterday. So at this point, in terms what have is in the public domain, it is difficult to address some of what they contended. However, i will say this, because i was informed by phone call, as i mentioned to you earlier, i think i did, anyway, that when i was briefed by the secretary of defense and chairman of the joint chiefs over the weekend, taking responsibility for the killing, that it was disdainful in terms of not consulting with congress, dismissive. They held it closely. Really . So if you want us to all join together, let us have a strategy that we Work Together on. I do not believe, in terms of what is in the public domain, that they have made the country safer by what they did. And that is what our responsibility is. Well have more discussion of this on the floor today at some length. But again, as i go back to the battle of the bulge, pray for peace. We must avoid war. And the cavalier attitude of this administration, its stunning. And the president has said, oh, i inform you by reading my tweets. No, thats not the relationship that our founders had in mind in the constitution of the United States, when they gave power to the white house to do one thing in terms of our National Security and to the congress to declare war and to allocate resources and the rest. This is a question that is an important one. Again, we will have two hours of debate, an hour on the rule, two hours on the bill, today to put forth some of the factual basis of the concern that we have. And let me just say this, because you hear the administration say, well, we were justified because the office of Legal Counsel said. The office of Legal Counsel is a tool of the president of the United States. Thats who that is. So whatever the president wants to be declared legal, his office of Legal Counsel declares it so. So its misleading to the public as to what the war powers act, article ii, that gives the president certain powers, article i gives the house, the congress certain powers. Its a very big issue now because its nothing less than preventing war that is our first responsibility, to protect the American People. Reporter the briefers yesterday came to the senate, several people came out and said the briefers told them that putting out information, defeating the war powers act, would empower iran. The house floor is dwaeebating powers around iran. What do you tell the administration . I dont spend a whole lot of time telling them anything because i dont know what the basis is of their judgment to receive information. Ly i will say this. If they think any statement they make is there to curtail public debate on a subject as serious as this, it just explains to you the seriousness of the situation that we are in. We will debate on the floor of the house. Now, we are not going on the floor talking about what we learned in and they said at the beginning, even if you read it in the newspaper, if you hear it in here, you cant talk about it, and then they proceed to tell us many things that we have read in the local metropolitan journals that are seen on tv. But thats foolish. Thats completely foolish. And as i say, we have no illusions about iran, no illusions about soleimani. He was a terrible person. Did bad things. But its not about how bad they are. Its about how good we are. Protecting the people in a way that prevents war and to not have us producing again and again, generations of veterans who are suffering because let me just close on this. When we were there, and the 70th anniversary of normandy, when i met them there, my uncle was in world war ii, in the battle of the bulge, and these were brave teenagers, mostly, 18, 19, some 17 years old. And when we talked to them this time, because of deeper relationships over time, they said, you know, i never wanted to kill anybody. I didnt want to kill the germans. I was incapacitating them, i would shoot them in the leg or something. And one of them told me, i killed somebody and found out later he was a doctor and i always carried that with me. I said, well, you were instructed to shoot, you take him, ill take him. And he said, i still never forget that. So we all would die for our country. We take pride in saying that. But to kill for our country is a pretty traumatic thing. When we want to engage in these whatever we want to call this that the president engaged in, we have to be really careful about that, how we endanger our men and women in uniform who courageously, patriotically put themselves out there to protect and defend. Any other questions . Reporter because the air strike targeting general soleimani happened in iraq, is it time for the house to consider a broader aumf . I know thats the legal justification the administration has put forward with this air strike. Is it time for congress to get rid of the 20012002 aumf . We did get rid of the aumf of 2002, it was in an appropriations bill and passed in a bipartisan way, and in the dark of night, the thenspeaker, ryan, took it out. It was highly unusual. They just went and took it out. Thats ridiculous, but thats what he did. So the congress has already p s passed rejecting, after it passed both houses, he took it out before it was signed. So we will have that resolution coming up soon under the leadership of congresswoman barbara lee, and then the question is what do we do about an aumf. Its harder than you would think because an aumf, so who is president , democrat or republican, how much power, confidence do you have in that person, regardless of party, to execute an aumf. And the decisions that have to be made about aumf, its important to note, are what is the timing of it. This one didnt have a date. It should have a date. Not one that couldnt be renewed, but nonetheless it should have a date. The timing, the geography. What are we talking about . This was to go into iraq, it was used then to pursue al qaeda, different places, and here we are. And third, what is the scope. Are we talking about boots on the ground . Are we talking about air cover . What are we talking about . So timing, geography, and scope. When you have that debate, its, well, i want to have the president to have as much power or i want the president not to have as much power. So its hard, its harder than you would think. But we have to do it. And when we do it we have to do it with enough time that is realistic militarily but also not endless, so that were not in a situation were in now. So to your point, the argument would be made that putting the shoe on the other foot, if the United States had a high level, maybe the second most important person in the country, assassinated wherever, the United States might consider that an assault on our country, right . And the iranians might as well, even though this took place at the iraqi airport. And so its foggy. There are those who think, well, it was in iraq so it counts. But it was an assault on iran, so it shouldnt count. I dont think theres anybody who thinks that that aumf would apply in iran. To your other point on it, though, it is it needs to be addressed, rewritten, because we have to have an authorization of use of military force specific to the danger that we are addressing. Reporter madam speaker, you have mentioned the [ inaudible ] agreement and documents. What other details specifically are you wait to go hear from senator mcconnell and why not fully turn over [ inaudible ] now . They are in the senates hands. And they have tried to have a bipartisan approach to how they would conduct the investigation, as what are we calling it, the trial, to conduct the trial. But feebly, feebly, the majority leader has said, this is just like clinton. Except it isnt. Its exactly not like clinton in that he wont do a bipartisan agreement on how to proceed. So thats very important. But it is not incidental to say, but for the documents and the witnesses. Separate from all of that, under the house and senate rules of 1986, what is allowed for in a presentation by the house is one person to speak. So are those the terms . Is that what we should be ready for . Or is there Something Else that they have in mind . Its one person to speak for the house and one person to speak for the white house. Did you know that . 1986. So is that the rule under which theyre all we want to know is what are the rules. It doesnt mean we have to agree to the rules or we have to like the rules. We just want to know what they are. So, getting back to sports, because thats always the protocol, football, college, high school, professional, we send in our team, we have to send in a special team as well as the team because we have to know what that trial is about. Reporter why not send the articles over and turn the whole negotiations over to the theyve had the negotiations. The senator has said he doesnt have to have witnesses and the rest. So you know, we may send them over. Im not responsible to Mitch Mcconnell or anybody else except my members and the people who worked so hard on this. Members and staff, patriots honoring the constitution of the United States. And i will give them our best shot to find the truth for our bosses, the American People. Thank you all very much. Reporter are you going to the niners game . It would be my intention to go. I went to the one game in San Francisco. We watched all together the second game from seattle. I have unfortunately responsibilities to save our country this weekend. So wearing my democratic hat as political leader, this weekend. So my family will enjoy our season tickets. Next week well, one day at a time. We had the baltimore and San Francisco super bowl. And that was hard because i had been rooting for both teams all along, right . And again, going to the 49er games and watching the baltimore games on the tv, right there at the stadium. What happens, they both win, nobody was in a more difficult situation than ithe mother of e coaches, the brothers coaching the teams. And you saw what happened. The dalesandros from baltimore came dressed in purple and the pelosis from San Francisco came all in red and we have a lovely family reunion. This time i hope that we get a similar result, both teams. Because of my, shall we say, responsibilities to run the house for the democrats and hopefully the Electoral College for the American People, i was scheduled to be in florida that weekend. So im all set. Im all set. One way or another. [ inaudible question ] who knows . Were talking about tom brady, who knows . Who knows what happens . But isnt it interesting . And its wonderful because its so unifying. Whatever your politics, forget it, its about the team. And i like to say, and we all believe, that were all team usa. So however it turns out. Thank you all very much. The impeachment of president trump. Continue to follow the process on cspan leading to a senate trial. Live, unfiltered coverage on cspan, on demand at cspan. Org impeachment. And listen on the free cspan radio app. President trump holds a Keep America Great Campaign rally in toledo, ohio. Watch live this evening at 7 00 eastern on cspan2, online at cspan. Org or listen live with the cspan radio app. House minority leader Kevin Mccarthy talks to reporters about the house war powers resolution and the articles of impeachment yet to be sent to the senate. Good morning, chet