Limiting Use of Funds for Armed Forces in Libya

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 2278. This legislation will not end our military involvement in Libya. Both simply maintain the status quo and appease Republican Members who want to score political points against the President.

Under the guise of deficit reduction, Republicans have voted for deep cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and other safety net programs. We could better achieve deficit reduction by swiftly ending the Libyan war and accelerating our withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Congress has the power of the purse. Our nation has been at war in Libya for 97 days and Congress has never authorized the conflict. We need to completely defund operations in Libya and put an end to this conflict. It is time for us to come together, use our constitutional authority, and apply this critical check on the executive branch. At a time when we continue the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, we cannot afford to pursue another military adventure that is not in our national interest. We must get out of this war now.

I urge my colleagues to vote against this toothless bill, and instead defund operations in Libya in the upcoming 2012 Defense Appropriations bill.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source