http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=4DB7F1F1-F3C7-452F-9D06-26FF461A0D69 Nancy Pelosi wants war vote after midterms
By: Lauren French
October 1, 2014 12:33 PM EDT
Congress should vote on a military authorization measure when lawmakers return to D.C. after the midterm elections in November, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said.
Pelosi (D-Calif.) told reporters on Wednesday that lawmakers should be taking the lead in drafting a military authorization vote to define the scope of the U.S. operation against ISIL, a terrorist group also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
“If you want to define an authorization, which defines the authority that you’re giving the president, you don’t wait for the president to write it, Congress writes it,” Pelosi said, adding that Congress should show “our willingness to vote for a plan of action.”
Before Congress left for recess in early September, lawmakers gave President Barack Obama approval to train and arm Syrian rebels to fight ISIL. The White House is also using two previous military authorization measures dating from the Sept. 11 attacks and the Iraq War to bomb key ISIL strongholds. But many lawmakers want a new authorization to approve further operations in the Middle East.
“Many other people within our own caucus are writing down possibilities of what an authorization will look like,” Pelosi said. “I think it has to spring from Congress. It’s our decision.”
