[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 101 (Tuesday, June 23, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E945-E946]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       REMOVAL OF UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES FROM IRAQ AND SYRIA

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 17, 2015

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 
55, which requires the President to withdraw our troops deployed in 
Iraq and Syria before the end of the year unless Congress passes an 
Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) to combat ISIL.
  I do want to stress that I support many aspects of the military 
operations the President is currently conducting against ISIL, 
including the use of American air power against ISIL targets and in 
support of Iraqi and Kurdish forces, as well as the deployment of 
limited numbers of American troops to help train and equip those 
forces. However, it has now been ten months since the President sent 
troops into Iraq and Syria and four months since the President sent 
Congress a proposed AUMF to combat ISIL. While I have serious concerns 
with that proposed draft, we owe it to our troops and the American 
people to at the very least have a debate in Congress on our military 
engagement in Iraq and Syria.
  My primary concern is that the President continues to rely on the 
2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force Against and Al-Qaeda and 
associated forces and the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force 
against Iraq as justification to take military action against ISIL. 
While he has repeatedly stated that he will not deploy ground troops in 
a combat role in either Syria or Iraq, these existing authorities leave 
that door open. We need to sunset both the 2001 AUMF and 2002 AUMF and 
pass a narrowly tailored AUMF to combat ISIL that provides the 
authority necessary to degrade

[[Page E946]]

and defeat ISIL without dragging the United States into another 
unnecessary ground war in the Middle East.

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