{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.hickenlooper.senate.gov/press_releases/hickenlooper-bennet-duckworth-introduce-bill-to-prevent-trump-admin-from-hiding-true-cost-of-iran-war/", "Hickenlooper, Bennet, Duckworth Introduce Bill to Prevent Trump Admin From Hiding True Cost of Iran War", "2026-08-13", "2026", "2026-08", "Democrat", "Senate", "CO", "John W. Hickenlooper", "H000273", "www.hickenlooper.senate.gov", "hickenlooper", "https://www.hickenlooper.senate.gov/press/page/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Today, U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper, Michael Benet, and Tammy Duckworth, along with 15 of their Democratic colleagues, introduced the Honoring the Sacrifices of Our Troops in War Act to stop President Trump\u2019s attempts to hide how long his war against Iran has lasted, the true cost of the war, and dishonor the sacrifice of our troops injured and killed in combat.\n\n\u201cBrave Americans who sacrifice everything for this country shouldn\u2019t have their service rewritten by an administration more interested in political convenience than accountability,\u201d said Hickenlooper. \u201cAltering casualty numbers doesn\u2019t just hide the true cost of this war. It diminishes the sacrifice of every service member who was wounded or killed. They and their loved ones deserve better.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Trump administration\u2019s decision to reclassify the deaths of four service members and the injuries of more than 200 is not only dishonest; it is an affront to the service and sacrifice these men and women, and their families, have made,\u201d said Bennet. \u201cOur legislation will stop this administration from obscuring the continuing cost of President Trump\u2019s ongoing war with Iran and, more importantly, will provide confirmation that those who have answered the call to duty and their families will receive the rightful recognition and benefits they are owed.\u201d\n\n\u201cI refuse to let Donald Trump dishonor the service of our heroes just because it benefits him politically to lie about the length of this illegal campaign and hide the true cost of his war from the American people,\u201d said Duckworth. \u201cTrump knows his war of choice is unpopular, which is why he\u2019s manipulating casualty records to try and fool the public into believing it\u2019s been less of a disaster. It\u2019s an insult to our fallen heroes, and it could jeopardize the benefits of troops and civilians he continues to put in harm\u2019s way. Our brave men and women in uniform deserve accountability, not a Commander in Chief who plays games with their sacrifices.\u201d\n\nThe bill comes after the Pentagon recategorized recent casualties suffered in Trump\u2019s illegal Iran war\u2014including four killed and over 200 wounded service members\u2014under a separate category outside Operation Epic Fury. This is a shameless attempt to downplay the damage done and evade accountability to the American people.\n\nTo ban the Secretary of Defense from hiding the true cost of war, the Honoring the Sacrifices of Our Troops in War Act specifically:\n\nProhibits redesignating an ongoing conflict if the administration continues to mobilize forces against the same enemy;\n\nProhibits manipulation of casualty records by falsely redesignating a contingency operation;\n\nRequires restoration of casualty records for Iran-related operations since February 28, 2026, and notification of next-of-kin about the correction;\n\nProhibits the modification of eligibility for deployment-related personnel benefits on the basis of falsely redesignating a contingency operation; and\n\nRetroactively restores all covered benefits entitled to members of the Armed Services and civilian employees who have supported Iran-related operations since February 28, 2026.\n\nHickenlooper has been outspoken about Trump\u2019s illegal war in Iran. To date, Hickenlooper has voted 13 times to end the Iran War. Recently, Hickenlooper introduced a War Powers Resolution to end the war, directing President Trump to terminate U.S. military hostilities against Iran. He has consistently condemned the administration for sidestepping Congress and dragging America into a war with no clear objective \u2013 one that risks American lives and that Americans overwhelmingly oppose.\n\nFull text of the bill is available HERE.\n\n###", 1, "2026-08-14T06:13:05Z", "2026-08-14T06:14:08Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.hickenlooper.senate.gov/press_releases/hickenlooper-bennet-duckworth-introduce-bill-to-prevent-trump-admin-from-hiding-true-cost-of-iran-war/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.1841039415448904, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}