House members call for new vote on authorizing military force

A bipartisan group of House members is calling on Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to schedule a vote on authorizing military force when Congress returns in November.

Rep. James McGovern (D-Mass.), a vocal anti-war Democrat who voted against the authorization this week to arm Syrian rebels to fight Islamic extremists, spearheaded the letter to Boehner and Pelosi. Throughout the week, McGovern and other lawmakers argued that Congress should instead vote on a full-scale military authorization instead of the narrow measure to provide weapons to vetted Syrian rebels.

{mosads}”We believe such a debate and vote is required, will enhance our national security and the ability of Congress and the executive to carry out U.S. foreign and defense policies abroad, will better safeguard our homeland, and will uphold the Constitutional and institutional responsibilities of the U.S. House of Representatives,” the lawmakers wrote.

The 11 other lawmakers who signed the letter were Reps. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), Walter Jones (R-N.C.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Richard Nugent (R-Fla.), Paul Broun (R-Ga.), Steve Stockman (R-Texas), John Garamendi (D-Calif.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), John Lewis (D-Ga.) and John Duncan (R-Tenn.).

They argued that Congress should vote on a new authorization of military force instead of allowing the Obama administration to rely on votes from the previous decade.

“[T]here is an increasing bipartisan recognition that the time has come to take up and debate an authorization regarding U.S. military operations in Iraq,” they wrote. 

The lawmakers called on leadership to apprise the House of a potential vote and start preparing the legislation.

“We encourage you to inform the members of the House when such a debate will occur and to direct the appropriate committees of jurisdiction to consult with the administration on the scope of such an authorization,” they wrote in the letter.

Most of the letter’s signatories voted against the authorization to arm Syrian rebels. Only Cole and Ellison voted for it.