GOP lawmakers raise pressure on Clinton to answer Libya measure

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) has called on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to comply by next Thursday with a House resolution on the Libya military operation. 

The resolution approved by the House demands more information from the administration about U.S. military operations in Libya.

“As chairman of the committee with primary jurisdiction over foreign relations, intervention abroad, and War Powers, I wanted to underscore the importance of the House action and the need for the administration to immediately comply with the requests for answers and documents in H.Res. 292, but certainly no later than Thursday, June 16th, before the 14-day deadline in H.Res. 292,” Ros-Lehtinen wrote to Clinton in a June 8 letter.

Among other things, the House resolution asks for information on how the administration justifies the use of military force in Libya, U.S. military objectives, and the anticipated costs of those activities. Ros-Lehtinen listed out each of the 21 areas in which the resolution demands answers, and closed by again stressing the June 16 deadline.

{mosads}”In light of those statutory obligations and the gravity of the issues relating to U.S. military involvement concerning Libya, it is expected that the Department of State will promptly provide all information responsive to the requests framed in H.Res. 292 no later than Thursday, June 16, 2011,” the letter said.

The House approved the amendment, sponsored by Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), in a 268-145 vote. Forty-five Democrats joined all but 10 Republicans in voting in favor of the measure.

On Friday, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) wrote to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder asking for “any official document, record, memo, correspondence, or other communication in the possession of the Department that was created on or after February 15, 2011, and is responsive to H. Res. 292.”

Smith said he is “hopeful” that the Justice Department could provide this information by June 17.

— This story was updated at 2:00 p.m. to add the Smith letter.