On the recordSeptember 8, 2014
Madam Speaker, today, I will be introducing two bills to address the most pressing national security threat since 9/11, the rapid advances made in ISIS in Iraq and Syria, as well as territorial gains made by al Qaeda-affiliated groups in Libya, Nigeria, and Somalia. We are seeing perhaps the largest ever territorial gains by terrorist groups in the Middle East and north Africa. If we learned any lesson from 9/11, it is that wherever terrorist groups find safe haven to train and plot, the United States and our allies will inevitably be targeted. The purpose of this authorization is to end any ambiguity about the President's authority or the Congress' support for a U.S.-led international coalition to take action against this threat. Passage of this bill also would send a strong message to our allies that the U.S. intends to confront and defeat this threat. The Congress has a responsibility and a constitutional obligation to take an up-or- down vote on this. ____________________
