Garamendi Commends President Obama for Seeking Congressional Vote on Syria War
Statement
Congressman John Garamendi (D-Fairfield, CA), a Member of the House Armed Services Committee, today commended President Barack Obama for seeking Congressional authorization before engaging in military action in Syria.
"I commend President Obama for his courage in bringing his case for intervention in Syria to Congress. I also thank Congressional leadership from both parties for agreeing to a vote. By doing so, we are upholding the principles of our constitutional democracy." said Congressman Garamendi.
"Anytime we put our brave men and women in uniform in harm's way, a robust debate is needed," he added. "Now that Congress will act on its constitutionally-required role of oversight and consent, we can take a step back and thoughtfully look at the case for war. No matter the final outcome of the vote, America's position is strengthened when we respect the rule of law. The President reasserted an important precedent today, and in doing so, he made it harder for future presidents to rush into war."
This week, Garamendi called on the President and Congressional leadership to have a vote before any proposed attack in Syria. Garamendi authored a provision in the Fiscal Year 2014 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) making clear that the legislation did not provide an Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) for military action in Syria. This provision was incorporated into the FY 2014 NDAA, which was passed by the House of Representatives.
"With a vote on the horizon, I want to know what we hope to accomplish with a strike, what possible unintended consequences could result, how a strike will impact our allies and the balance of power in the region, how a strike impacts Al Qaeda's influence and power, and what kind of long term commitment we're getting into," Garamendi explained. "We all agree that Assad is a bad man, but before we get America in the middle of Syria's flaring civil war, we must follow the "first do no harm' principle. Military interventions often seem simple, until they're not.
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