House Republican: Schedule military force vote after elections

Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) on Monday urged Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to schedule a vote to authorize the use of military force in Iraq and Syria following the midterm elections.

Last week, Boehner said that a lame-duck session of Congress with members just voted out of office shouldn’t be responsible for authorizing a full-scale use of military force to fight Islamic extremists.

{mosads}But Jones argued Congress should debate a military authorization as soon as possible.

“Mr. Speaker, I am asking you to allow a full debate and vote on an authorization for the use of United States Armed Forces in Iraq and Syria when Congress reconvenes in November. Many members are asking for this to take place before the end of the year,” Jones wrote in a letter to Boehner.

“We need to have this debate sooner rather than later. The American people are asking for Congress to fulfill its constitutional obligation as it relates to war,” Jones added.

Other members are ambivalent as to whether Congress should vote on an authorization of military force after the elections or in the new session of Congress. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told The Hill on Monday that lame-duck members have “as much of a responsibility.”