The following 40 members of the U.S. House of Representatives voted against H. Con. Res. 105 yesterday:
Robert Aderholt, Susan Brooks, Eric Cantor, Matthew Cartwright, Mike Coffman, Chris Collins, Tom Cotton, Eric Crawford, Sean Duffy, Bill Flores, Paul Gosar, Tim Griffin, Michael Grimm, Duncan Hunter, Bill Johnson, Sam Johnson, Mike Kelly, Steve King, Peter King, Adam Kinzinger, Luke Messer, Steven Palazzo, James Renacci, Cedric Richmond, Martha Roby, Tom Rooney, Peter Roskam, Paul Ryan, Aaron Schock, Pete Sessions, John Shimkus, Steve Stivers, Bennie Thompson, Tim Walberg, Jackie Walorski, Randy Weber, Lynn Westmoreland, Joe Wilson, Steve Womack, Todd Young.
Why does it matter that they voted against this legislation? What was so important about H. Con. Res. 105?
H. Con. Res. 105, if it passes into law, will force the President of the United States to consult Congress before starting a new war in Iraq. Currently, Barack Obama asserts that he has the right to take the United States into a new war in Iraq at his sole discretion.
The active clause of H. Con Res 105 reads, “Pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution (50 U.S.C.
1544(c)), Congress directs the President to remove United States Armed Forces, other than Armed Forces required to protect United States diplomatic facilities and personnel, from Iraq–
(1) by no later than the end of the period of 30 days beginning on the day on which this concurrent resolution is adopted; or
(2) if the President determines that it is not safe to remove such United States Armed Forces before the end of that period, by no later than December 31, 2014, or such earlier date as the President determines that the Armed Forces can safely be removed.”
By making the removal of U.S. military resources from Iraq the legal default, H. Con. Res. 105 would make it necessary for Congress to approve any new war in Iraq. The 40 U.S. representatives who voted against this resolution were in essence voting to allow Barack Obama, or any future president, to send the American military off to fight in Iraq all over again – even if the American people are opposed.
At present, the United States Senate needs to pass an equivalent piece of legislation to H. Con. Res. 105 before the law can move forward to the White House to be signed into law. If you want to curtail to this century’s bad habit of rushing off to war, call your two U.S. Senators and urge them to act on this issue, before it’s too late.