Even though House Republicans put national security at the top of their 2016 agenda, it may still be difficult for GOP lawmakers to pass a new measure authorizing military force against the Islamic State.
The House has already begun informal talks on the legislation, known as an Authorization for Use of Military Force, or AUMF, following the spread of the terrorist group in the Middle East and deadly attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif.
But lawmakers aren’t sure what to include in a formal measure that would likely increase U.S. military presence in the fight.
The last time Congress voted on such a measure was in 2002 when lawmakers authorized the war with Iraq under President George Bush. Many lawmakers currently serving in the House weren’t elected yet when the vote took place.
Only 41 House GOP lawmakers who voted on the 2002 AUMF remain in Congress.
“A lot of folks here have never voted on an AUMF,” Rep. Bill Flores, R-Texas, said Friday after the House Republican retreat in Baltimore.
Some lawmakers want to move forward on an authorization measure, but others aren’t sure if it’s the right move. If Congress passes an AUMF, it shifts the responsibility for U.S. military involvement from the president to Republicans. Republicans lost dozens of seats in Congress in 2006 in part because of opposition to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But polls show Americans are increasingly worried about the Islamic State, and support is growing for U.S. military involvement.
Last month, a CNN/ORC poll found a majority of people, 53 percent, favor sending ground troops to Iran and Syria to fight. The same poll found 60 percent of respondents disapprove of the way President Obama has handled terrorism.
“Americans are very anxious right now, and rightfully so,” House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said Friday after announcing the GOP agenda.
Ryan didn’t promise and AUMF. He said Republicans will focus on shoring up the military and “making sure we are equipped to defeat ISIS and the threat posed by radical Islamic terrorism.”
Many believe that requires sending the president a new military authorization to take on the Islamic State.
Obama authored his own proposal and sent it to Congress in February, but Congress never took it up, in part because neither party can agree on the size and scope of U.S. military involvement.
Republican and Democratic lawmakers this year agreed to boost defense spending by $50 billion over two years.
But GOP lawmakers said Friday members are hearing from their constituents and now feel a sense of urgency to do something more about the growing threat of terrorism.
Flores, who is chairman of Republican Study Committee, the largest faction of House conservatives, said he’s invited experts to speak to the RSC in the coming weeks about whether to propose an AUMF, a declaration of war, or something in between.
“I just think everybody knows the American people are uncomfortable where we are and the threat profile of o the country is as high as it has ever been,” Flores said. “We’ve pumped up the defense resources, now we’ve got to figure out what other authorizing tools they need.”
