The congressional debate over granting President Obama authorization to wage war against the Islamic State could last months, and it is not certain that Congress will even vote on the use of American military force in a foreign conflict.
Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said this week he expects preliminary hearings to last up to three weeks, after which time his committee would decide on whether to take additional action. Such actions could include amending Obama’s proposed resolution, which asks Congress to authorize the use of limited military force against the Islamic State, which controls a territory in Iraq and Syria the size of West Virginia, though less densely populated. Hearings were to begin on Wednesday in the Foreign Relations Committee.
“We want to do it thoroughly but not overdo it,” Corker said.
Once Foreign Relations has completed its work on the president’s war powers proposal, the Senate Armed Services Committee plans hearings and a possible mark-up of its own, panel Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., told reporters on Tuesday. That sequential approach to the committee work pushes floor consideration and amendment votes into early April at best. The floor debate could last several weeks.
McCain said any military authorization that addresses the issue of “troop strength” would fall under the purview of Armed Services.
“If it has to do with movement or numbers of troops or military presence then the Armed Services Committee has a role to play,” the Navy Vietnam veteran, former prisoner of war and long-sitting senator said.
McCain has previously indicated that he wishes to expand the war beyond the Sunni terror state to include what has so far proven to be its only effective enemy in battle: Bashar Assad’s Syrian government, which draws on field support from Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah militia and material support from Iran.
Beyond turf wars and the glacial pace of the Senate is the time the House of Representatives will need to process a war resolution and reconcile the policy disagreements that could arise between the two chambers of Congress, as well as between Democrats and Republicans. A conference committee to negotiate a compromise between competing House and Senate war resolutions could take weeks.
Obama’s proposed authorization for use of military force against the Islamic State has the GOP complaining it is too narrow in scope and inadequate to defeat the group, which also controls a “province” in Libya and portions of other countries. Democrats have their own complaint: that it would grant the president a blank check to wage war all over the world. Achieving consensus could prove particularly difficult in the Senate, where any resolution will need 60 votes to pass.
Sen. Dan Coats indicated Obama’s initial proposal is a nonstarter.
“I have major reservations about whether or not it does give the president the necessary authority — the reservations and restrictions placed in there don’t seem to match with the goal,” the Indiana Republican said.
In the House, Speaker John Boehner of Ohio has declined to give a timeline for moving a war authorization bill, saying only that it will receive careful consideration in his chamber. Boehner and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., are working with key committee chairmen to develop a hearing schedule and process for debate and amendment.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee has jurisdiction over the resolution, and would lead any mark-up.
As does the Senate, the House boasts its own complement of committees with national security oversight. The House Intelligence Committee and the House Armed Services Committee are both expected to hold hearings. Many House members have only been sitting since 2010 and have never authorized war powers. As in the Senate, final decisions on how to address the matter, both from a policy and procedural standpoint, are being put off until after the initial committee hearings.
Once members have had a chance to review Obama’s proposal and more fully weigh options for adjusting it, leaders plan to consult with them on a strategy for getting legislation to the floor.
“The Foreign Affairs Committee will examine the proposal in depth,” panel Chairman Ed Royce, R-Calif., told the Washington Examiner in a statement. “The administration has a lot of questions to answer. The first step in our examination will be multiple hearings and briefings, the first of which we convened the day after the president sent up his proposed legislation. After this committee review, we’ll look at next steps.”
