[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 16001]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              TIME FOR A ROBUST DEBATE ON THE MIDDLE EAST

  (Mr. HONDA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HONDA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge this Chamber to do its 
constitutional duty and debate a new authorization for use of military 
force.
  Eight weeks ago, the House rushed through an amendment to the 
continuing resolution to authorize arming and training vetted Syrian 
rebels. But this is not something we should go into blindly. It is time 
that this Chamber has an informed, robust discussion and debate about 
the U.S. role in combating and dealing with ISIL and other extremists 
in Syria and Iraq.
  Those 8 weeks that we went through, we have conducted nearly 800 
airstrikes in Iraq and Syria and killed nearly 1,000 soldiers, 
terrorists, and civilians. We are quickly sliding back into combat in 
the Middle East. It may be necessary to send soldiers to the region to 
help repel the very real threats posed by ISIL and extremists.
  But this is not something we should do and go into blindly. It is 
time for a robust debate.

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