Jones Urges Speaker to Allow Debate on ISIS AUMF | Eastern North Carolina Now

News Release:

    Washington, DC     Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC-3) and Congressman James P. McGovern (MA-3) are again urging Speaker John Boehner to bring up an Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) for debate and vote.

    President Obama started launching airstrikes against ISIL on August 7, 2014, over a year ago, surpassing the 60-day window the president has to launch an offensive without congressional authorization. Initially, the Obama administration held that the airstrikes were legal under the AUMF President Bush signed into law on September 18, 2001, right after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, even though ISIL is a new and distinct threat.

    On September 25, 2014, Speaker Boehner told The New York Times that he wanted to wait until 2015 to bring an AUMF to the House floor for a debate and a vote to avoid bringing it up during a lame duck session. On December 6, 2014, Speaker Boehner said that House Republicans would work with the president to get an AUMF request approved if the president sent one to Congress. On February 11, 2015, President Obama sent his AUMF request to Congress. In over six months, the House has failed to act on the president's request, or any alternative.

    "Once again, I urge Speaker Boehner to do his duty as leader of the House of Representatives and take action on an AUMF," said Congressman Jones. "President Obama has been bombing in Iraq and Syria for over a year without congressional consent. Enough is enough: political expediency should never trump a moral and constitutional duty."

    On May 26, Congressman Jones and Congressman McGovern sent Speaker Boehner a letter urging him to direct the appropriate committees to mark up the President Obama's existing AUMF request and make substantive changes to it. They urged Speaker Boehner to bring up the AUMF for a debate and a vote.

    On February 6, 2015 in anticipation of President Obama sending an AUMF request to Congress, Congressman Jones and Congressman McGovern sent a letter to Speaker Boehner urging him to schedule a full debate on the president's AUMF request.

    On February 23, 2015, Congressman Jones led a coalition urging Speaker Boehner to follow regular order on President Obama's AUMF request so that the House could make changes to it and have an open debate and a vote on it.

    Last September, when the president started conducting airstrikes against ISIS and arming Syrian rebels, Congressman Jones sent a letter to Speaker Boehner asking for a full debate on an authorization for the use of military force in the region.

    Last July, Congressman Jones introduced H. Con. Res. 105 to prohibit the deployment of U.S. armed forces in a sustained combat role in Iraq without congressional authorization. The resolution passed with 370 votes.

    Last August, Congressman Jones, Congressman McGovern, and Congresswoman Lee formed a bipartisan coalition to urge the House Foreign Relations Committee to draft an authorization regarding Iraq and Syria. They also urged Speaker Boehner to bring up the authorization for a debate and a vote before Congress recessed at the end of September.

    Contact: Maria Jeffrey
      Communications Director

    Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC-3)

     2333 Rayburn House Office Building
     Washington, DC 20515

     Maria.Jeffrey@mail.house.gov  •  (202) 225-3415