[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 14449]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1045
                       OUR STRATEGY AGAINST ISIS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Jolly) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JOLLY. Mr. Speaker, 1 year ago this month, the President of the 
United States addressed the Nation proposing his strategy for a war 
against ISIS. He struggled with what the mission was. Were we as a 
nation engaging to degrade ISIS, to defeat ISIS, to destroy ISIS? And 
then the question arose in this body, at what level do we engage? Do we 
consider an Authorization for Use of Military Force, something that is 
proper under our constitutional authority?
  Yet 1 year later, we have not considered an Authorization for Use of 
Military Force. We have not had the debate over what is the role of 
this body and our current foreign policy and our current national 
security strategy against ISIS. The only portion that we were willing 
to touch was the request to arm and train Syrian rebels; and this body, 
I believe wrongfully, authorized and appropriated half a billion 
dollars--$500 million--to train Syrian rebels. Yesterday, we heard from 
the top commander of our forces in the Middle East that there are 
either four or five individuals engaged as Syrian rebels confronting 
ISIS--$500 million, five people.
  The President's strategy against ISIS has failed. ISIS continues to 
grow geographically, continues to be enriched. Russia's hand is 
strengthened. Iran has increasing leverage every single day. Mr. 
Speaker, the architects of terror today are emboldened. But they are 
emboldened not only by the failure of this administration's policy; 
they are emboldened by the failure of this Congress to do our job.
  Where are we in this debate? Where is this Congress on whether or not 
we are going to consider an Authorization for Use of Military Force? 
Where are we today on the $500 million that has now trained five 
people? Do we stand behind that decision as a body? I hope we do not.
  The bigger question we have to ask, and it is a hard question: Are we 
a nation at war today with ISIS or are we not? If we are, are we 
willing as a nation to accept the human and economic consequences that 
come with conflict?
  The frustration you hear in my voice is the frustration we hear in 
the voices of the American people across the Nation every single day. 
It is a frustration about what this body does not do. We should be 
having a debate over the Authorization for Use of Military Force. I 
don't know how that debate turns out.
  Nobody wants to go into conflict. We don't get to choose the threats 
that come our way. We only choose our response, and 1 year later we 
have no response. All this is through the lens of an agenda that we 
continue to fail to do.
  Let's give voice to the American people on issues like border 
security and immigration reform, on transportation, on a budget that 
finally balances. The frustration is not that we haven't achieved these 
things; it is that we haven't even engaged in a legislative fight to 
begin to advance the agenda that is right for the American people.
  We are elected to be custodians of the public trust, and we fail that 
public trust every day we fail to consider the issues that are of most 
significance to the American people, to honor the constitutional 
responsibility we have under article I. We have spent the last 2 years 
cloaking ourselves in the article I authority of the Congress every 
time the President overreaches, and we have rightfully done so; but 
just as we cloak ourselves in the article I authority, we have to 
recognize article I brings responsibility.
  We have failed to honor the responsibility that we have under article 
I. We have an obligation to have a very hard debate about whether or 
not we are a nation at war with ISIS and whether or not we are doing 
anything in the face of the President's failed policy to actually 
confront the audible threat of terror of a regime that wishes to bring 
harm and destroy the United States of America. This body has failed to 
engage in that debate.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask with the utmost conviction of this Member but, 
frankly, the people who give me the honor to represent them in this 
House. Let's give voice to the American people. Let's give voice to the 
people that we represent here in this body, and let's finally have that 
debate.

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