Rep. Chu Statement on ISIL Vote

Statement

Rep. Judy Chu on Wednesday voted in support of President Obama's request for authorization to train and equip local groups to fight against the Islamic State in the Levant (ISIL), which has taken control of large amounts of territory in Iraq and Syria. Rep. Chu released the following statement:

"ISIL is a serious threat to the people they claim to represent, to the stability of the Middle East, to U.S. citizens, and to our allies. Its ideology is one of violent oppression. This is not a group that stands for human rights, or respects human dignity. Over the past weeks, I have deliberated on how to address ISIL and participated in many informative briefings. What became clear to me is that we cannot ignore this threat. While I am strongly against putting U.S. troops on the ground, I believe that in combination with the engagement of regional partners and targeted air strikes, training the moderate Syrian opposition provides the best on-the-ground opportunity to combat this threat. That is why I took the difficult vote today to support, train, and equip local forces through a limited authorization that will expire in December. This allows the President to address the threat before us, but also allows time for Congress to assess the situation in a transparent and accountable way, so that we can continue to make the decisions that are best for all Americans."

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