OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Libya War Powers Resolution

Floor Speech

Date: June 3, 2011
Location: Washington, DC

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Mr. BURTON of Indiana. I thank the gentleman from Ohio for yielding.

I want to start off by saying this is not a partisan issue. I am very happy to cosponsor this legislation because it's the only legislation we are discussing today that has teeth in it. It really deals with the problem.

Now, Qadhafi is a bad guy and he ought to be replaced. There are a lot of tyrants around the world that ought to be replaced. But should the United States go to war any place we want to to get rid of a bad guy unless it's in our national interest, or unless we're at risk, or unless there's been a declaration of war? No. We could go to war anyplace we want to if we just say this guy's a bad guy and he's killing his own people. We could do it in Syria, we could do in Ivory Coast, we could do it all over the place.

But the Congress of the United States is the body that's supposed to be consulted by the President before we go to war. The President did not do this. We are contributing about two-thirds, or at least half of the war effort. It's cost over $700 million, and it will be over $1 billion before it's all over. And the President has taken us into this conflict without the authority of the Congress, without the support of the Congress.

He did get the Arab League, he did get the United Nations. He did talk to the French and the English. But he didn't talk to the people's House, the Congress of the United States. And the President did not have the authority do this.

Now, the reason I support the Kucinich resolution is it sends a clear message to the White House they cannot do this again. They cannot unilaterally go into Syria or the Ivory Coast or anyplace else without talking to the Congress that represents the people all across this country. The President should not have done this. And the only legislation that really deals with the problem today is the Kucinich resolution, which I cosponsored. I am a coauthor of it.

Now, I am going to vote for the Boehner resolution because it does send a signal. But it does not solve the problem. The only way to solve the problem is to let the President know he cannot, should not, and will not be able to do this again.

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