Matt Ortega, Democratic candidate for California’s 14th Congressional District, released the following statement on the continuing illegal war against Iran and its impacts:

To date, seven U.S. servicemembers are dead. Brave Americans who served their nation and whose government failed to serve them. This president shows a callous indifference to the human cost.

How many more of our sons and daughters will die?

How many Israelis, Iranians, Bahrainis, Emiratis, and Iraqis? How many Jordanians, Kuwaitis, Lebanese, Omanis, and Saudis?

Congress couldn’t tell you. There’s been no debate, no deliberation, and no vote. It is the absence of that which distinguishes America from an autocracy.

Americans are already paying for this war in blood. Now, struggling under the weight of this administration’s policies, they will pay in treasure, too.

U.S. and Israeli forces targeted Iran’s civilian infrastructure—a war crime—including a strike on fuel depots. The billowing smoke shrouded Tehran in an unbreathable dark cloud bringing down toxic rain. The Strait of Hormuz, where 20 percent of the world’s oil supply travels, is effectively closed to civilian traffic. As a result, with fears of a prolonged conflict, crude oil futures spiked today to over $115 a barrel. When Americans awake in the morning, it is likely to be even higher.

The Republican-controlled Congress increased the annual Pentagon budget to $1 trillion on Trump’s request last year. He demanded another $500 billion for next year. Now this administration seeks $50 billion to fund a war Congress never authorized.

Do not tell us there is no money for health care. Do not tell us there is no money for college. Do not tell us there is no money for child care. There is money. There has always been money. What we lack is leadership. What we need is the courage to seize it. For every day this Congress fails to act, Americans will pay—in blood and treasure—for a war no one debated, no one authorized, and no one can justify.