Washington, D.C. – In an overwhelmingly bipartisan effort, the House of Representatives and Alaska Congressman Don Young today sent a resounding message to the President that they do not support deploying or maintaining a military presence in Iraq without Congressional approval. By a vote of 370 to 40, the House passed H. Con. Res. 105, which states that “the President shall not deploy or maintain United States Armed Forces in a sustained combat role in Iraq without specific statutory authorization for such use enacted after the date of the adoption of this concurrent resolution."
Following the passage of the resolution, Congressman Don Young shared the following thoughts:
“As radical extremism and violence spreads across Iraq and conditions further deteriorate, there’s no question that my colleagues and I remain concerned. The passage of H.Con. Res. 105 today sends a clear message to the President that before a single soldier returns to Iraqi soil, Congress must first grant the authority.
“While the safety and protection of our nation and its interests abroad continue to be a top priority of mine, at this time I do not support returning American boots to the ground in Iraq. The United States cannot sit idle in accepting the spread of radical violence, but the actions we take to curb the advancements of global enemies must not put even more American troops in danger.
“As I’ve said before, at this point there is no easy solution to the current situation in Iraq. President Obama and his failed foreign policy decisions have led us to this point by allowing our enemies to regroup and expand in the massive void left open by our inaction and by leaving our global allies to fend for themselves. Until we can begin to change this type of thinking, we will continue to see global hostility grow.
“I ultimately believe that these are the conversations and policy debates that must take place in the legislative body elected to listen and represent the will of the American people. Today’s bipartisan step by the House sends an important message the President that only Congress has the Constitutional Authority to declare war. I encourage the Senate to quickly pass this measure.”
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