House members press Boehner for vote on ISIS war resolution

A bipartisan coalition of 28 lawmakers are urging Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to take action on an authorization for use of military force (AUMF) against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

The group — led by Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Tom Cole (R-Okla.) — formally sent a letter Thursday to the chamber’s top Republican asking him to instruct the relevant committees to mark up the proposal, schedule a floor debate and vote on it. 

{mosads}The document caps a more than weeklong lobbying effort by Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, and Cole, one of Boehner’s closest allies, to get debate moving again on President Obama’s AUMF.

The president sent his war powers resolution to Capitol Hill in February, and it was declared dead on arrival by both parties.

Republicans said language restricting “enduring offensive ground combat operations” could limit military options. Critics on the left argued the same language could lead to an open-ended U.S. ground presence in the Middle East.

Signatories to the bipartisan letter included Democratic Reps. Chris Van Hollen (Md.), Tammy Duckworth (Ill.) and Charles Rangel (N.Y.) and Republican Reps. Walter Jones (N.C.) and Mark Sanford (S.C.).