[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 146 (Wednesday, December 3, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H8277-H8278]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             THIS CONGRESS MUST VOTE TO AUTHORIZE THE WARS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my great 
frustration and anger that this Congress--the 113th Congress--continues 
to ignore its constitutional responsibilities to debate and vote on 
whether to authorize the U.S. war against Islamic State forces in Iraq 
and Syria.
  On July 25, this House voted 370-40 that, if the United States 
engages in sustained combat operations in Iraq, then the House would 
need to authorize such actions. Let me read exactly what this House 
approved by such an overwhelming, bipartisan majority:

       The President shall not deploy or maintain United States 
     Armed Forces in a sustained combat role in Iraq without 
     specific statutory authorization for such use enacted after 
     the date of the adoption of this concurrent resolution.

  That vote, supported by 180 Republicans and 190 Democrats, was taken 
nearly 4.5 months ago.
  What has happened since then? On August 8, just 2 weeks after the 
House vote, the U.S. began bombing Islamic State forces in Iraq. We are 
now bombing Iraq to protect infrastructure, as part of coordinated 
military operations with Kurdish and Iraqi military forces, and to take 
back or to hold cities, towns, and other territory. We are flying 
dozens of bombing sorties nearly every day in Iraq.
  Mr. Speaker, we have also escalated the number of U.S. troops in 
Iraq, ostensibly as trainers and advisers. On November 7, the President 
announced yet another escalation in the number of U.S. troops deployed 
to Iraq, sending roughly an additional 1,500 troops to the region for a 
``comprehensive training effort'' for Iraq's army.
  When they arrive, this will put the number of American troops in Iraq 
at around 3,000. The U.S. Central Command is also working on setting up 
new ``expeditionary advise-and-assist operation centers'' far outside 
the cities of Baghdad and Erbil.
  What else has happened since July? We expanded the war to Syria. On 
September 17, this House voted to include in the short-term continuing 
resolution authority to arm and train certain Syrian rebel forces, 
ostensibly to provide ground troops inside Syria to fight Islamic State 
forces.
  Five days later, the U.S. began bombing inside Syria. We have flown 
scores of bombing missions inside Syrian territory against the Islamic 
State and--and this should come as no surprise--other radical groups 
like the Khorasan Group.
  This week, we are in military negotiations with Turkey to establish a 
safe zone--a no-fly zone--along the northern border of Syria that will 
cover territory inside of Syria and inside Turkey.

[[Page H8278]]

  The President has asked for an additional $5.6 billion from Congress 
to augment the Pentagon's overseas contingency operations account, the 
OCO. About $3.4 billion of that would go to the operations against the 
Islamic State, and another $1.6 billion would directly support the 
Iraqi training and equipping mission. I have no doubt that all or most 
of those funds will be included in the omnibus appropriations bill next 
week.
  Mr. Speaker, if this doesn't add up to our forces being engaged in 
sustained military combat operations, then what in the world does? Many 
Members keep talking about prohibiting U.S. troops from having boots on 
the ground.
  Mr. Speaker, we already have nearly 3,000 pairs of boots on the 
ground in Iraq, and I don't know how many people we have supporting and 
carrying out bombing missions because the Pentagon and the White House 
haven't told us.
  Enough is enough. This House needs to draft, debate, and vote on 
whether to authorize this vast array of military operations known as 
Operation Inherent Resolve before we adjourn this year.
  This war began under this Congress, the 113th Congress. It has 
escalated under the 113th Congress. It has expanded from Iraq to Syria 
and now to Turkey under the 113th Congress. It is the responsibility of 
the 113th Congress to authorize it or not. We need to take care of our 
business--real, serious, life-and-death business--before we walk out 
the door next week. We need to do our jobs.
  No more excuses, no more whining about how the White House should 
send Congress a request. It is the institutional and constitutional 
duty of the Congress of the United States to decide matters of war and 
peace. It is time for the leadership of this House to step up to the 
plate and bring an authorization to the floor to be debated and voted 
on before we adjourn.
  If not, then shame on this House and shame on the leadership for 
failing to carry out our most sacred duty to our uniformed men and 
women, their families, and the American people.

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