Tell Congress to End U.S. Military Involvement in Yemen
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/27/18) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on all Americans of conscience to contact their members of Congress and urge them to support bipartisan legislation removing U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities in Yemen.
The war in Yemen, which began in 2015 when a coalition of Arabs states led by Saudi Arabia launched a campaign to oust Houthi rebels that had taken over the Yemeni capital, has taken the lives of more than 50,000 and displaced some 3 million people. Save the Children estimates that an additional 85,000 Yemeni children may have died from starvation or disease since the fighting began.
Introduced by Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Mike Lee (R-UT), Senate Joint Resolution 54 directs the President to remove U.S. forces from Yemen within 30 days of the adoption of the resolution. Without an official declaration of war, Congress has the authority to remove U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities abroad pursuant to the War Powers Resolution (50 U.S.C. 1544(c)).
The resolution was first introduced in March, but the Senate voted 55-44 to table it. Monday, Senator Sanders tweeted that he would reintroduce S.J.Res. 54 and push for a floor vote this week. The Vermont Senator believes that he now has enough support for the resolution to pass. A concurrent resolution was introduced in the House by Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA) and would also need to pass for the bill to take effect.
Today, 50 prominent figures, including two former U.S. ambassadors to Yemen, leading law professors, a Nobel Peace Laureate, and Noam Chomsky, sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) urging them to pass S.J.Res. 54.
“The War in Yemen represents one of the worst ongoing humanitarian crises in the world today,” said CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw. “It is high time that the United States withdraws its troops and pushes for a ceasefire so that humanitarian organizations can get in and alleviate the suffering of Yemeni civilians.”
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CONTACT: CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com
Tell Congress to End U.S. Military Involvement in Yemen
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/27/18) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on all Americans of conscience to contact their members of Congress and urge them to support bipartisan legislation removing U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities in Yemen.
The war in Yemen, which began in 2015 when a coalition of Arabs states led by Saudi Arabia launched a campaign to oust Houthi rebels that had taken over the Yemeni capital, has taken the lives of more than 50,000 and displaced some 3 million people. Save the Children estimates that an additional 85,000 Yemeni children may have died from starvation or disease since the fighting began.
Introduced by Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Mike Lee (R-UT), Senate Joint Resolution 54 directs the President to remove U.S. forces from Yemen within 30 days of the adoption of the resolution. Without an official declaration of war, Congress has the authority to remove U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities abroad pursuant to the War Powers Resolution (50 U.S.C. 1544(c)).
The resolution was first introduced in March, but the Senate voted 55-44 to table it. Monday, Senator Sanders tweeted that he would reintroduce S.J.Res. 54 and push for a floor vote this week. The Vermont Senator believes that he now has enough support for the resolution to pass. A concurrent resolution was introduced in the House by Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA) and would also need to pass for the bill to take effect.
Today, 50 prominent figures, including two former U.S. ambassadors to Yemen, leading law professors, a Nobel Peace Laureate, and Noam Chomsky, sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) urging them to pass S.J.Res. 54.
“The War in Yemen represents one of the worst ongoing humanitarian crises in the world today,” said CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw. “It is high time that the United States withdraws its troops and pushes for a ceasefire so that humanitarian organizations can get in and alleviate the suffering of Yemeni civilians.”
END
CONTACT: CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com