Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On The Cloture Vote To Advance The Repeal Of The Authorizations For Use Of Military Force Against Iraq

Washington, D.C. – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor ahead of the cloture vote on repealing the 2002 and 1991 Iraq AUMFs. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

This afternoon, the Senate will vote on cloture on AUMF repeal, bringing us one step closer to finally repealing the 1991 and 2002 Iraq AUMFs.

Once cloture is invoked this afternoon, we will hold a few more votes on additional Republican amendments. Senators should then expect to vote on final passage of the Iraq AUMF repeal as soon as tomorrow.

Repealing the Iraq AUMFs has been a good and reasonable process here on the floor. We had a strong bipartisan vote on cloture last week, we’re allowing Republican amendments, and most importantly we aren’t being dilatory, because this is something a majority of Senators want to get done. I hope this can be a method, a pattern, of what we do in the future. We are willing to allow amendments, but we must move forward and cannot be dilatory and cannot have amendments so extraneous that they just bog down the whole process. What happened on this AUMF bill is a good model for us for the future to get things done with bipartisan cooperation.

And on this bill, I want to thank Senators Kaine and Young, the Chairman and the Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and all the cosponsors of this legislation for their work on this measure.

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