{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.welch.senate.gov/welch-statement-on-u-s-iran-ceasefire/", "Welch Statement on U.S.-Iran Ceasefire", "2026-06-17", "2026", "2026-06", "Democrat", "Senate", "VT", "Peter Welch", "W000800", "www.welch.senate.gov", "welch", "https://www.welch.senate.gov/category/press-release/page/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) today released the following statement on the ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran, details of which have been shrouded in secrecy by the Trump Administration:\n\n\u201cI am encouraged by early reports of a ceasefire deal. The bombing in Iran and Lebanon must end. I opposed the war with Iran before it began, and I oppose this war today\u2014it has been a massive failure.\n\n\u201cPresident Trump\u2019s own objectives for his illegal war\u2014to topple the regime, to dismantle Iran\u2019s nuclear capabilities, and eliminate Iran\u2019s ballistic missile program\u2014have not been met. The new Supreme Leader is upholding the status quo, there is no indication that nuclear material has been meaningfully destroyed, and our own intelligence has said 75% of Iran\u2019s missile arsenal is intact. Trump wanted \u2018unconditional surrender\u2019 but the only unconditional surrender has been by the president himself.\n\n\u201cAfter more than 100 days of fighting, the United States is worse off than before President Trump started this war. Thirteen American servicemembers have been killed and hundreds more have been injured. Thousands of innocent civilians in Iran and Lebanon have been killed by bombs. There is major destruction across the Middle East. The Strait of Hormuz is closed, and farmers and families in Vermont are paying more at the gas pump and at the grocery store.\n\n\u201cCongress has stood by as President Trump unilaterally took us to war. It is long past time we reassert our Article I powers to declare war. As the Senate debates the defense authorization bill in the coming weeks, we must ask why we would consider validating this failed war in Iran and the administration\u2019s reckless actions. And we must demand accountability for this historic blunder.\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-06-18T06:41:00Z", "2026-06-18T06:43:25Z"]], "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.welch.senate.gov/welch-statement-on-u-s-iran-ceasefire/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.0147282630205154, "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"}