WASHINGTON -- A GOP-controlled House committee agreed Thursday to a proposal to force a debate on a new war authorization.
The proposal would cut off the 2001 authorization to use military force against terrorism. The move by California Democrat Barbara Lee won voice vote approval by the House Appropriations Committee as it debated a Pentagon funding bill.
Lee wants to force a debate on a new war authorization, and some Republicans agree that debate is a good idea.
A surprised Lee took to Twitter to claim victory.
"Whoa. My amdt to sunset 2001 AUMF was adopted," Lee tweeted, using Washington shorthand for authorization for use of military force. "GOP & Dems agree: a floor debate & vote on endless war is long overdue."
Lee's amendment would repeal the 2001 law -- which has been broadly interpreted to permit military operations beyond those contemplated at the time -- 240 days after the bill is enacted, which Lee said in a statement "would allow plenty of time for Congress to finally live up to its constitutional obligation to debate and vote on any new AUMF."
The proposal has a long way to go before becoming law. For starters, it would likely be knocked out of the spending bill on procedural grounds during floor debate since spending bills technically aren't supposed to carry policy language.
The 2001 force authorization was enacted in the days after the Sept. 11 attacks to give the president greater powers to respond. It was very broadly drafted to authorize "all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001." A separate authorization for the war in Iraq was enacted just before the 2003 invasion.
"It is far past time for Congress to do its job and for the speaker to allow a debate and vote on this vital national security issue," Lee said.
The House Appropriations Committee's move comes as the GOP-controlled Congress takes the lead on one of President Donald Trump's key campaign promises, pressing for tens of billions of dollars more for active-duty troops, combat aircraft, and ships that he didn't request.
The House and Senate will consider defense budget blueprints crafted by their respective Armed Services committees after the July 4 recess. Both panels approved plans late Wednesday for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 The House committee calls for $696 billion in defense spending for 2018 while its Senate counterpart demands $700 billion.
Both committees described Trump's budget request, submitted to Congress last month, as insufficient to undo the damage caused by spending too little on a fighting force that's been at continuous combat for almost a decade and a half.
"For six years, we have been just getting by -- cutting resources as the world becomes more dangerous, asking more and more of those who serve, and putting off the tough choices," said Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, the House committee's chairman.
Lawmakers will have to agree to roll back a 2011 law that set strict limits on military spending. That's a tall order, said Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, who noted that lifting the so-called budget caps would take 60 votes in the Senate.
"Right now, we're just hoping," said Smith, the top Democrat on the House panel. "We're doing the $696 billion and we're hoping that between now and Oct. 1 some path that at the moment is completely blocked and completely unforeseen is going to emerge."
While the House plan was publicly released earlier this week, the Senate committee's version was released Wednesday evening, upping the House version by $4 billion. Approved by the committee 27-0, the Senate bill would provide $640 billion for core Pentagon operations, such as buying weapons and paying the troops, and another $60 billion for wartime missions in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and elsewhere. Trump's budget request sought $603 billion for basic functions and $65 billion for overseas missions.
The Senate panel authorized $10.6 billion for 94 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft, which is two dozen more than Trump requested. The bill provides $25 billion to pay for 13 ships, which is $5 billion and five ships more than Trump sought. That includes money for acquiring Arleigh Burke-class destroyers and Virginia-class nuclear submarines.
Troops would get a 2.1 percent pay raise under the Senate plan, which is less than what the House Armed Services Committee approved. The Senate bill would add 5,000 active-duty troops to the Army, while the House seeks an increase of 10,000 soldiers. Those and other differences will have to be resolved as the legislation moves forward.
Information for this article was contributed by Richard Lardner of The Associated Press.
A Section on 06/30/2017