Kaine Continues Push For Congress To Debate & Vote On Mission Against ISIL

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the nomination of Dr. Ash Carter as Secretary of Defense, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine reiterated his call for the President to send a draft Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) to spur Congress to debate and vote on the mission against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

“It is still my hope that the White House will send to us a draft Authorization for the Use of Military Force,” said Kaine. “I don’t think this is a war that can be waged in perpetuity without Congress weighing in and putting our thumbprint on the mission and saying that if we’re going to ask people to risk their lives in the mission, Congress is going to debate, and vote, and authorize it.”

Since June 2014, Kaine has been calling on the Obama Administration to seek Congressional authorization for U.S. military force against ISIL. In December, Kaine’s efforts helped lead the Foreign Relations Committee to hold a public hearing with Secretary of State John Kerry, mark up an AUMF, and pass it out of Committee.

###