HUMAN AND ECONOMIC COSTS OF WAR IN IRAN

HUMAN AND ECONOMIC COSTS OF WAR IN IRAN

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 49 (Wednesday, March 18, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 49 (Wednesday, March 18, 2026)] [House] [Page H2556] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] HUMAN AND ECONOMIC COSTS OF WAR IN IRAN (Mrs. Sykes of Ohio was recognized to address the House for 5 minutes.) Mrs. SYKES. Mr. Speaker, last week, our Nation lost six American servicemembers in a tragic aircraft crash over Iraq. They are among the 13 who have lost their lives to date after Trump waged war in Iran. Among them are three Ohioans serving in the Ohio National Guard: Captain Seth Koval, Captain Curtis Angst, and Technical Sergeant Tyler Simmons. These were brave men who answered the call to serve their country. Technical Sergeant Tyler Simmons was only 28 years old. He had what his family called his dream job in the Air Force. His cousin said that he had a million-dollar smile that could light up a room and that he loved flying and serving his country. Captain Curtis Angst, a graduate of the University of Cincinnati, spent a decade serving his country as a pilot. Captain Seth Koval, who served nearly 20 years in uniform, had dedicated much of his life to flying missions that kept other aircraft in the sky and other servicemembers safe. These men flew one of the most demanding and dangerous missions in the Air Force: refueling other aircraft midair so that they could complete their missions and return home safely. Yet, these airmen never made it home. Each of these men have families, friends, and communities that will carry this loss forever. Today, my heart breaks for them. To those families and the families of other servicemembers who we have lost, please know that the people of Ohio are grieving with you. Mr. Speaker, these six Americans are not the only lives that we lost. Since President Trump dragged us into this war with Iran, 13 Americans have already died. These are 13 families who have received the worst knock at the door imaginable, and more than a dozen communities across the country are now mourning someone who stepped forward to serve. While those families are paying the ultimate price, Americans here at home are feeling the consequences of this war in other ways. Gas prices, oil prices, and the cost of nearly everything else are skyrocketing. Families feel it every time they fill up their tanks, during every trip to the grocery store, and with the cost of food at the market. Their paychecks are not stretching as far because of the President's reckless America last decisions. In Ohio's 13th Congressional District, families were already struggling with rising transportation costs. Cars, gas, insurance, and public transit costs are becoming increasingly expensive. According to the House Budget Committee, Ohio families saw transportation costs increase by an average of $65 last year alone because of Republicans' careless policies. President Trump promised that prices would go down on his first day in office, but that promise turned out to be a lie. Instead, his tariffs, which act like a national sales tax on American families, and the Republicans' big, ugly bill are driving up costs and squeezing families' budgets even more. {time} 1030 Mr. Speaker, I refuse to sit back and watch working families in Ohio get squeezed like this. That is why I have been pushing for policies that actually lower everyday costs and put more money in people's pockets. I introduced the Lower Your Taxes Act to do such a thing. The bill would expand the earned income tax credit and child tax credit so working families can keep more of the money that they earn. This effort and other commonsense solutions I have proposed, and my Democratic colleagues have offered, to lower costs have been blocked or opposed by Republicans. Mr. Speaker, we cannot forget the real people caught in the middle of all of this: families who now have to decide between filling up the gas tank and buying groceries, between fixing their car, going to the doctor, or paying their rent. Americans cannot survive Trump's dangerous actions overseas that are taking human and economic tolls. Republicans have ignored warning signs and blocked cost-cutting solutions, and they have left working families to fend for themselves. That is a failure of leadership. We can act to restore affordability, or we can keep letting costs spiral while Republicans protect the millionaires and the billionaires. I hope that we protect American families because the people we represent deserve so much better than what they are getting right now. May God bless our troops, and may God bless the United States of America. ____________________