Contact: Ron Boehmer
202-225-2906
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representatives Mark Pocan (WI-02) and Ro Khanna (CA-17) released the following statement regarding President Trump’s call for Saudi Arabia to lift a crippling blockade on Yemen that has prevented food, fuel, and medicine from reaching Yemenis facing a famine.
“For months, we have watched in horror as the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, which has engulfed Yemen, has only deepened as a result of the Saudi-led war and blockade. After months of Congressional pressure, President Trump has finally issued a much-needed demand that the Saudis completely allow food, fuel, water, and medicine to reach the Yemeni people.
“If the Saudis refuse this urgent call, millions of innocent people will die. And while President Trump’s words are a good starting point, Congress must take additional action to end the United States’ unauthorized military involvement in Yemen by adopting H.Con.Res.81. We must send a powerful signal that our country will no longer be complicit in the use of starvation as a tool of war. Through open and transparent congressional debate, we can end the prolonged suffering in Yemen.
“Nowhere else on earth today is there a catastrophe that is so profound and affects so many lives, yet could be so easy to resolve: halt the bombing, end the blockade, and let food, medicine, and fuel into Yemen so that millions may live.”
