Richard B. Nugent: “Today I was planning to offer my own amendment which would hold the President accountable to the War Powers Act with…”

“Today I was planning to offer my own amendment which would hold the President accountable to the War Powers Act with regard to his operation in Libya. My intention was to expose the President's clear violation of this important law. However, I was concerned some wording could have raised a point of order. That being said, I'm proud to cosponsor Mr. Kucinich's important amendment, which will completely cut off funds for this illegal war. Mr. Chairman, on March 19, President Obama announced he had authorized U.S. military forces to conduct operations in Libya. Unfortunately, the President did this without receiving authorization from Congress even though he made sure to get the U.N.'s approval. By not being open and honest with Congress, he left Members in the dark and unsure of what our ultimate mission was. To this day, the President hasn't come to Congress to ask for formal approval. Initially, when the President committed our military operations in Libya, he said it would be days, not months. Well, now we are definitely talking months because it is a little over a week we've been engaged in military operations in Libya for nearly 4 months. In an effort to escape his responsibility, to this day the President has refused to acknowledge that the U.S. is engaged in hostilities in Libya. That being said, those in the Pentagon seem to disagree with the President on this issue.…”