Rand Paul: “I thank the gentleman for yielding. I rise in support of this rule, although I have a lot of complaints about how we…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. I rise in support of this rule, although I have a lot of complaints about how we deal with the issue of war. This is a debate that should have gone on 4 months ago, before the war was started. And if we had done this properly, we wouldn't be bringing this up quickly today. No committee work, no discussion, no chance for amendment. But, nevertheless, I will support the rule because at least we get a chance to talk a little bit about what's going on in Libya. We have two resolutions that will come up under this rule. The first resolution, generally, I understand most individuals aren't too keen on this, because it's a literal endorsement--a rather explicit endorsement--of the war, so obviously I oppose H.J. Res. 68. But my greatest concern is about H.R. 2278. The way I read this resolution is that it essentially grants the same authority that we grant in the first Resolution because we say that no funds can be used--it denies the use of funds. But how can you deny the use of appropriated funds when they're using funds that weren't appropriated? It's so redundant. The funds were never appropriated. So, yes, it's a good statement. You don't continue to be illegal, is what we're saying. What I'm concerned about are the exceptions.…”