August 15, 2014, 02:32 pm
House Dem demands Congress return to vote on Iraq
By Ramsey Cox
Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) demanded that Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) call the House back in session to address the crisis in Iraq.
“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,” Hastings wrote in the letter to Boehner on Thursday.
Congress has recess for its five-week August break and is scheduled to return on Sept. 8.
President Obama has sent hundreds of military advisers, launched humanitarian efforts and issued airstrikes in Iraq to combat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) — a militant group that has gained control of large regions in Iraq and Syria.
Hastings said he doesn’t want the country “dragged” into another war in Iraq.
“We in Congress have a responsibility to make sure that America is not dragged into another ongoing military endeavor in Iraq,” Hastings wrote. “Although the current airstrikes may have stopped ISIS momentarily, we still have a responsibility under our Article I powers [of the Constitution] to delineate and impose a timeframe for these efforts as we move forward.”
Hastings also wrote a letter to President Obama saying the legislative and executive branches need to “work in unison” on Iraq.
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