Washington, D.C. – House Armed Services Committee Chairman (D-WA) released the following statement about President Trump’s Executive Order revoking the requirement to report civilian casualties as a result of military operations.

"I have been, and continue to be concerned about the lack of transparency in reporting civilian casualties resulting from military operations overseas. So much so, that both the 2018 and 2019 bills legislated requirements for the Department of Defense to provide a substantive annual report on civilian casualties caused by military operations and make that information publicly available. Despite the repeal of the Executive Order by President Trump, I expect continued compliance with this mandate by the Department.

The Administration’s decision to revoke the Executive Order is beyond appalling, shows a complete disregard for human life, and ignores the important lessons we’ve learned about how transparency and decreasing civilian causalities not only bolsters support from local populations in our operating regions, but more importantly, it has a direct tie to decreasing the creation of more terrorists, ultimately making the world a safer place.

Under President Trump, airstrikes using drones is on the rise. American values make it necessary for us to be remain prudent in our approach, and transparent about the results. It is completely reasonable for the American people, our partners, and our allies to expect more, because they deserve it."