How lawmakers are reacting to Obama's draft war authorization request
The the president's request to use war military force against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is in the hands of Congress now. The White House sent lawmakers the draft request for an authorization for the use of military force (AUMF) against Wednesday morning. It requests a three-year authorization for U.S. forces to pursue the threat posed by ISIS and bans "enduring offensive combat operations," a term intended to appeal both to lawmakers who want authority for ground troops and those who don't. It would end the 2002 authorization for war in Iraq but says nothing about the 2001 legislation against al Qaeda in Afghanistan.
Lawmakers are now considering their next steps. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, promised a "thoughtful" review of the request from the Senate and said that senators would also take into account the advice of military commanders and would discuss the request later Wednesday afternoon.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, speaking at a news conference following a meeting with his caucus, said there's still a legislative process involving "hearings, markups and I'm sure changes," and at this point, "I think we've got an awful lot of work to do before we get into what I'm for and what I'm against." Still, he said he remains concerned about whether or not there is sufficient flexibility in the president's draft.
"I'm not sure that the strategy that's been outlined will accomplish the mission the President says he wants to accomplish. And his point, the President's point is that he wants to dismantle and destroy ISIS. I haven't seen a strategy yet that I think will accomplish that," Boehner said,
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-California, met with Democratic leaders Wednesday morning to discuss the AUMF, and she told reporters afterwards that Democrats "hope to have bipartisan support for something that will limit the power of the president but that will, nonetheless protect the American people in a very strong way." In a statement, she called the president's draft "serious and thoughtful," and urged Congress to "act judiciously and promptly to craft and pass an AUMF narrowly-tailored to the war against ISIS."
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Delaware, who is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, likes the parts that hew to the committee's own draft, written in December, like the three-year sunset, the repeal of the 2002 AUMF for Iraq and the language limiting "enduring" ground troops, but, he said in a statement, "Congress still has work to do, though, in finding a way to authorize this necessary fight without bogging down our nation and our troops in an endless conflict." And Coons wants to see any funds allocated for the ISIS efforts to be "fully offset through reduced spending, increased revenue, or both," and he intends to introduce an amendment to that end.
Another member of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, is also troubled by the language pertaining to ground troops. His statement read, "I am concerned about the breadth and vagueness of the U.S. ground troop language and will seek to clarify it."
A version of the legislation that passed the Senate Foreign Relations committee in December -- while the Senate was still under Democratic control -- would only have allowed the use of ground troops for specific operations, like rescuing a U.S. service member if their plane was downed in Syria. That AUMF drew only Democratic support in the committee.
CBS News Congressional Correspondent Nancy Cordes, Producers John Nolen and Alicia Amling and Associate Producer Walt Cronkite contributed to this report.