,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #ajci  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,april #d1     
#bjai ,mr4 ,udall 7for himself1 ,mr4    
,paul1 ,mr4 ,durbin1 ,mr4 ,leahy1 ,mrs4 
,feinstein1 ,mr4 ,sanders1 ,mr4         
,merkley1 ,mr4 ,heinrich1 ,mr4 ,murphy1 
,mr4 ,markey1 ,mr4 ,schatz1 and ,ms4    
,hirono7 introduced the following bill2 
which was read twice and referred to the
 ,committee on ,foreign ,relations  ,a  
,,bill  ,to limit the use of funds for  
kinetic military operations in or       
against ,iran4  #a4 ,short title ,this  
,act may be cited as the ,prevention of 
,unconstitutional ,war with ,iran ,act  
of #bjai4  #b4 ,findings ,congress makes
 the following findings3  7#a7 ,article 
,i1 ,section #h1 of the ,constitution of
 the ,united ,states grants ,congress   
the sole power to declare war4  7#b7    
,president ,george ,washington1 in a    
letter to ,william ,moultrie dated      
,august #bh1 #agic1 wrote that the      
constitution vests the power of         

declaring war in ,congress2 therefore no
 offensive expedition of importance can 
be undertaken until after they shall    
have deliberated upon the subject and   
authorized such a measure4  7#c7        
,alexander ,hamilton wrote in           
,examination ,number #a of the ,hamilton
 ,papers1 dated ,december #ag1 #ahja1   
that the ,congress shall have the power 
to declare war2 the plain meaning of    
which is1 that it is the peculiar and   
exclusive duty of ,congress1 when the   
nation is at peace1 to change that state
 into a state of war4  7#d7 ,iran's     
support for terrorism presents a serious
 threat to the ,united ,states and our  
allies in the ,middle ,east1 ,europe1   
and ,asia4  7#e7 ,missile tests by ,iran
 have led to escalating tensions with   
,israel1 ,saudi ,arabia1 the ,united    
,states1 and the ,united ,nations4  7#f7
 ,iran has threatened to shutdown       
crucial maritime lines of communication1
 putting ,united ,states and            
international naval assets1 as well as  

global energy assets1 at risk4  7#g7    
,according to the intelligence          
assessments of the ,united ,states1 the 
,joint ,comprehensive ,plan of ,action  
curtailed enrichment and prevented      
processing of fissile materials by ,iran
 to levels which would preclude ,iran   
from developing a nuclear weapon4  7#h7 
,the ,international ,atomic ,energy     
,agency has repeatedly verified that    
,iran has continued to comply with its  
nuclear-related obligations as required 
by the ,joint ,comprehensive ,plan of   
,action4  7#i7 ,noncompliance by the    
,united ,states with the ,joint         
,comprehensive ,plan of ,action risks an
 unnecessary conflagration with ,iran   
through the use of sanctions against    
both allies and adversaries in the      
region and throughout the world1 absent 
a clear diplomatic path for resolving   
the crisis4  7#aj7 ,a war with ,iran    
would also endanger ,united ,states     
assets1 personnel1 and foreign policy   
objectives throughout the region1       

including in ,iraq1 ,afghanistan1 and   
,israel4  7#aa7 ,president ,trump       
tweeted that ,iran will suffer          
consequences the likes of which few     
throughout history have ever suffered   
before4  7#ab7 ,loose talk of war and   
belligerent rhetoric increases the risk 
of miscalculation by either side and    
unsettles ,united ,states allies4  7#ac7
 ,section #b7;c7 of the ,war ,powers    
,resolution 7#ej ,u4,s4,c4 #aeda7;c77   
states that the constitutional powers of
 the ,president as ,commander-in-,chief 
to introduce ,united ,states ,armed     
,forces into hostilities1 or into       
situations where imminent involvement in
 hostilities is clearly indicated by the
 circumstances1 are exercised only      
pursuant to 7#a7 a declaration of war1  
7#b7 specific statutory authorization1  
or 7#c7 a national emergency created by 
attack upon the ,united ,states1 its    
territories or possessions1 or its armed
 forces4  #c4 ,limitation on use of     
funds for kinetic military operations in

 or against ,iran  7a7 ,in general ,no  
funds may be used for kinetic military  
operations in or against ,iran except   
pursuant to an ,act or joint resolution 
of ,congress specifically authorizing   
such use that is enacted after the date 
of the enactment of this ,act4  7b7     
,exceptions ,the limitation in          
subsection 7a7 shall not apply to the   
following3 7#a7 ,kinetic military       
operations in response to an imminent   
threat to the ,united ,states1 as       
otherwise authorized by applicable      
statutes and joint resolutions4  7#b7   
,the introduction of the ,united ,states
 ,armed ,forces into hostilities in     
order to repel a sudden attack on the   
,united ,states1 its territories or     
possessions1 or its ,armed ,forces4     
7#c7 ,the deployment of ,united ,states 
,armed ,forces to rescue or remove      
,united ,states citizens or personnel4  
7c7 ,rule of construction ,nothing in   
this section may be construed to relieve
 the ,executive ,branch of restrictions 

on the use of force or reporting        
requirements set forth in the ,war      
,powers ,resolution 7#ej ,u4,s4,c4 #aeda
 et seq474