Congress Must Act to End U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen

Civil society groups rallied at U.S. legislators’ offices in New York, Boston, and San Francisco on Friday, July 16th as part of a National Day of Action for Yemen. They called for U.S. senators & representatives to introduce a new War Powers Resolution to end U.S. participation in the 6-year war and blockade on Yemen that has created the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, according to the U.N.

In Boston, Brian Garvey of Massachusetts Peace Action noted, “We’re not going to stop until we end the U.S. war in Yemen, and that means War Powers….It’s the only legislation that meets the urgency right now.”

During the Day of Action, letters were hand-delivered (see letter to Sen. Sanders below) to local offices of the following legislators signed by dozens of local civil society groups in each state calling for the new War Powers Resolution. Letters to these legislators are being delivered to their Washington D.C. offices today:

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA)
Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA 2nd)
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY 14th)
Rep. Gregory Meeeks (D-NY 5th)
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA 12th)
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA 17th)
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA 33rd)

“If Joe Biden and the U.S. Congress wanted to end this war, they could do it today,” said Paul Shannon, the Founder of the Raytheon Antiwar Campaign. Legislators have been vocal this year on Yemen since Biden took office. Recently, a 76-member House letter to President Biden by Representatives Dingell, Pocan, and Khanna, urged an end to the blockade on Yemen. It was followed by a 16-member Senate letter led by Senator Warren, and a bipartisan letter from the House Foreign Affairs Middle East Subcommittee. Also, a coalition of 70-plus national advocacy organizations and celebrities sent a letter urging President Biden to take action to bring about an end to the blockade.

Definitive action is urgently needed as 16M people are still going hungry, and 5M are near famine, with a child under 5 dying every 75 seconds, according to the U.N. A bipartisan War Powers Resolution was passed in the Senate and House in 2019 but was vetoed by President Trump, and similar legislation is needed right now to end the crisis. “The inaction of Congress is complicity,” said Hayat Imam from Dorchester People for Peace. “The children are not just dying from the ravages of war, but also from this blockade.”

Additional Quotes

“President Biden promised us accountability for Saudi crimes, but he has yet to deliver. That means progressives in Congress like Bernie Sanders need to put their foot down. Millions of people’s lives from my home country of Yemen depend on it.”

Neda Saleh, founder of Hands Off Yemen and lead organizer of Action Corps California

“If a Yemen War Powers Resolution was passed multiple times under a Trump administration, then Congress should be able to introduce and pass it under a Biden administration. As chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Meeks has the power — and responsibility — to save many lives by ratifying the will of Congress: He should introduce this resolution to finally end U.S. participation in the war on my beloved Yemen.”

Kawthar Abdullah, lead organizer of Yemeni Alliance Committee New York

“It is critical that Rep. Meeks introduces a War Powers resolution to end U.S. complicity in the worst humanitarian crisis on the planet. He has a significant amount of power to change the trajectory of the lives of thousands of Yemeni children.”