[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 10]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 14693]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


   ON CONGRESS' CONSTITUTIONAL RESPONSIBILITY TO ADDRESS THE ONGOING 
  CRISIS IN IRAQ INVOLVING THE ISLAMIC STATE IN IRAQ AND SYRIA (ISIS)

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                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 15, 2014

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I support my colleague 
Frederica Wilson in the effort she has undertaken to 
#bringbackourgirls, addressing the horrors of Boko Haram having 
extracted these girls from their lives. We also, in addition to that 
responsibility, have an exacting responsibility with reference to 
ongoing circumstances that the President addressed last Wednesday 
evening. On August 14, nearly a month ago, I wrote to the President 
asking him to be mindful of a letter that I sent to Speaker Boehner. I 
include both my letter to President Obama and to Speaker Boehner for 
the Record. I said the following in my letter to Speaker Boehner:

       I respectfully call upon you to bring Congress back into 
     session so that we may meet our constitutional responsibility 
     to address the ongoing crisis in Iraq. As you know, the 
     situation there is becoming increasingly more complex and 
     continues to defy easy resolution.
       There is no doubt that the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria 
     (ISIS) will continue to terrorize the people of Iraq, leading 
     to an increase in the tens of thousands of Iraqi Christians, 
     Yazidi and other refugees who have been driven from their 
     homes. However, we in Congress have a responsibility to make 
     sure that America is not dragged into another ongoing 
     military endeavor in Iraq. Although the current airstrikes 
     may have stopped ISIS momentarily, we still have a 
     responsibility under Article I powers to delineate and impose 
     a timeframe for these efforts as we move forward.
       The situation in Iraq on a political, humanitarian and 
     military level is increasingly dire, and we may very well 
     have a duty to meet these difficulties with force along with 
     any number of other strategic responses, but we certainly 
     have a duty to meet as a body at the earliest possible date 
     to discuss these issues and act accordingly under the United 
     States Constitution and the War Powers Resolution.
       I thank you for your time end consideration of my request 
     and ask for a prompt response.

  My letter to the President stated the following:

                                                  August 14, 2014.
     Hon. Barack H. Obama,
     President of the United States,
     The White House, Washington, DC.
       Dear President Obama: I write to inform you that I sent the 
     attached letter to Speaker Boehner today, calling on him to 
     bring the U.S. House of Representatives back into session so 
     that we may address the crisis in Iraq.
       The situation in Iraq on a political, humanitarian and 
     military level is increasingly dire, and we may very well 
     have a duty to meet these difficulties with force along with 
     any number of other strategic responses, but we certainly 
     have a duty to meet as a body at the earliest possible date 
     to discuss these issues and act accordingly under the United 
     States Constitution and the War Powers Resolution.
       I certainly appreciate your timely attention to the complex 
     and difficult situation unfolding in Iraq, and want you to 
     know that I am eager to facilitate a resolution to the 
     current crisis by making sure the Legislative and Executive 
     branches of our government work in unison to achieve an 
     acceptable outcome for the American and Iraqi people.
       I thank you for your time and attention to this matter.
           Sincerely,
                                                Alcee L. Hastings,
     Member of Congress.

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