Kaine blasts Congress for not voting on ISIS strikes

Hours after U.S. forces launched airstrikes against Islamic State terrorists in Syria, U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine accused Congress of abdicating its responsibility to approve such military actions.

Kaine, a strident critic of President Barack Obama's use of offensive attacks without legislative support, said in a speech Tuesday he's convinced the Islamic State poses a significant threat to the United States and must be stopped - but he argues that alone doesn't justify the president overstepping his constitutional limits. The president has the power to defend the country when directly attacked, Kaine said, but the Constitution clearly states that only Congress can approve an offensive attack.

He said Congress, which began a seven-week recess Friday, should debate and vote on the issue when lawmakers return in November, even though U.S. attacks began Monday night. To allow Obama to carry out such attacks without Capitol Hill's consent sets a "horrible precedent" that will be used by future commanders-in-chief, he said.

"If we're going to engage this mission, we've got to do it right or not do it," Kaine said in a speech at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. "If Congress won't get on board then, much as I might regret it, we should stop doing what we're doing."

Kaine has introduced a resolution that, if approved by Congress, would authorize airstrikes but prohibit the use of U.S. ground combat troops except for rescues or "limited operations." His proposal, one of a handful submitted by legislators, would end military action in a year unless Congress renewed its approval.

The Virginia Democrat, who began his Senate term in January 2013, said lawmakers' unwillingness to take on tough issues like military action against the Islamic State is at the root of why Americans think poorly of Congress.

"I would argue that - in the big picture - the major reason that the approval rating of Congress is so low is a belief that we too easily abdicate responsibility," Kaine said. He said the same legislators who can't agree on an annual budget or a long-term source for highway funding are unwilling to meet their responsibility for "the most somber thing that we do."

"Don't ask service members to risk their lives if there's not a political consensus that the mission is worth it," he said. "What right do we have to ask that sacrifice of anyone if we aren't willing to have that tough debate... and stand before our public and say 'yes' or 'no'?"

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