Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine called on Congress to debate and ultimately vote on U.S. military action against the Islamic State during a floor speech Wednesday afternoon.
Kaine has been calling on Congress to vote for months after U.S. military operations began without congressional approval in August against the terrorist organization. Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees, urged President Obama to engage with Congress and asked for his fellow members on Capitol Hill to stay in session until a debate and vote is held.
“We have gone four months without any meaningful debate about this war,” Kaine said. “Now many are saying that we need to delay until after the New Year. The unilateral war would extend to at least five months and in all likelihood longer before Congress gets around to any meaningful discussion of the ISIL threat.”
Echoing Kaine’s calls, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. on Thursday introduced a resolution that declares a state of war between the Islamic State and the U.S. and pushed Obama to come to Congress for authorization to use military force.
