Mulvaney Releases Statement on ISIS Amendment

Statement

"I voted against the amendment to the continuing resolution that would provide weapons and training to fight the terrorist group, ISIS. I did so for basically three reasons.

First, the only choice I was given was to approve (or disapprove) a plan that would arm groups we know very little about. The more I learn about the "Moderate Free Syrian Army,' the more I recognize this group is neither moderate nor an army. We are all too familiar with situations in the Middle East where weapons we have supplied to people are being used against us. With this new policy, I now fear we will eventually be fighting those we not only armed, but also trained.

Second, the Administration has been completely incapable of defining what "victory' looks like. I think "when will we know it will be over?' is a reasonable question to ask. The answers have been frighteningly ambiguous to, worse, completely unreasonable. "A stable Iraq with an inclusive government and a stable Syria with Assad gone' is not an answer. It is a foolish hope based on a defunct concept of "nation building.' To think that we are going to solve 1400 years of religious strife is so detached from reality as to make one wonder if the Administration is taking the matter seriously.

Finally, I thought it was wrong to attach consideration of this matter to a funding bill that included things such as the Export-Import Bank and internet taxes. This should have been a stand-alone bill, not one used to buy votes for other policies.

I will point out that opposition to the president's proposal was broad-based and bipartisan. I was particularly swayed by the arguments against the proposal that were made by Members of Congress and my own constituents who served our nation in the armed forces."

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