On the recordJune 17, 2015
I yield myself an additional 2 minutes. Mr. Speaker, just last week, this body considered a Defense Appropriations amendment that would have used Congress' constitutional power of the purse to force the AUMF issue, cutting off funding if Congress does not enact an ISIS-specific AUMF within the next year. That proposal failed in this institution. The reality is that Congress has made decisions that amount to, in a practical view, disagreeing with the authors of this resolution. Allowing the President to use current force authorities against ISIS is preferable to refusing to confront the threat ISIS poses to our national security altogether. Now, I will continue to work with Ranking Member Eliot Engel and all of our colleagues to see if we can find a way forward on a revised and updated authorization that is focused on the vicious and growing threat posed by ISIS. That is what we need to be working on together. Merely acting without a credible way forward is foolhardy. It is not brave. A divisive and unsuccessful AUMF process would be perceived by our allies, our partners, and our enemies as a vote of no confidence in the fight against ISIS, resulting in a significant blow to the national security of the United States. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Hartzler), who chairs the Armed Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
