Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, taking military action is the gravest responsibility of our government, and I take my role in helping to decide our Nation's policies very seriously.

I support the current plan to engage and ultimately destroy ISIL, but it won't be successful unless we can enlist an alliance of nations within the region that are fully and demonstrably committed to true democratic inclusion and are willing to fight for their own freedom. Mr. Speaker, I don't see how we can ally ourselves with nations that turned a blind eye to having their citizens send money to the very terrorists we are about to engage.

This effort will take time and should include training potential allied military units in nonbattlefield locations and providing appropriate arms to competent and reliable allied military units. Meanwhile, the President must demonstrate America's commitment to the region by using very limited American airpower in conjunction with local military units to help prevent additional ISIL territorial gains.

I do not support the involvement of American ground troops beyond their training mission or the excessive use of American airpower. Both of these are not needed and would likely be counterproductive in the end.

While I support this amendment and I thank the chairman for proposing this amendment, I want to urge my colleagues to consider the long-term effects of authorizing force to our soldiers, to the innocent civilians, and to the sustained stability in the Middle East.

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