Force Authorization

A group of House lawmakers wants House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to call for a vote to authorize the use of military force against Islamic terrorists in Iraq and Syria once Congress returns to session after the November elections.

In a Sept. 18 letter, the lawmakers write:

We believe the terms of the July 25th concurrent resolution approved by the House have been met and that U.S. Armed Forces are engaged in sustained combat operations in Iraq, and there is an increasing bipartisan recognition that the time has come to take up and debate an authorization regarding U.S. military operations in Iraq. We encourage you to inform the members of the House when such a debate will occur and to direct the appropriate committees of jurisdiction to consult with the Administration on the scope of such an authorization.

The letter was signed by Reps. James McGovern (D-MA), Tom Cole (R-OK), Walter Jones (R-NC), John Garamendi (D-CA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Richard Nugent (R-FL), Paul Broun (R-GA), Steve Stockman (R-TX), Peter Welch (D-VT), Keith Ellison (D-MN), John Lewis (D-GA), and John Duncan, Jr. (R-TN).