A bipartisan group of more than a dozen U.S. House members paid tribute on Tuesday night to Congressman Walter Jones, who represented Eastern North Carolina’s 3rd congressional district for almost a quarter of a century before he died last month.
Many of Jones’s congressional colleagues spoke about his bold opposition to the Iraq War when his party’s leadership still supported it. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), a presidential candidate, spoke about Jones’s subsequent reputation as a proponent of peace.
“He became a leading voice, not just in his party, but in congress, pushing for additional oversight over matters of war and peace," she said. "He called for ending illegal regime-change wars that put our troops lives on the line, leaving their families behind. And he pointed out that our taxpayer dollars should not be used to be the policeman of the world.”
Gabbard and Jones worked together on a number of legislative efforts to reduce the country's military influence in the world. In September, they cosponsored a non-binding resolution to make it an impeachable offesense for the president to declare war without congressional consent. Jones also cosponsored Gabbard's bill the Stop Arming Terrorists Act, which would prohibit federal funding to foreign governments that support Islamic militant groups. They also both signed on to a bill that would bar security assistance to Saudi Arabia.