OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Limiting Use of Funds for Armed Forces in Libya

Floor Speech

Date: July 7, 2011
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Defense Foreign Affairs

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Mr. TURNER. Thank you, Mr. Rooney. I appreciate the time, and also your advancing this resolution.

The President has not made the case for committing our military to the conflict in Libya. The President claims that these military actions do not constitute hostilities. However, the American people know otherwise.

The President is engaged in military action against Libya and the Qadhafi regime without congressional approval. In addition to ignoring Congress, many believe that the President has exceeded the scope of the U.N. Security Council resolution imposing an embargo, a no-fly zone, and authorizing civil protection of the Libyan people.

The President has told us who we're against: Qadhafi. But he cannot tell us who we are for. Secretary Gates has indicated that we know little about the opposition or rebels. We do not know their geopolitical view towards their neighbors or us. We do not know their commitment to domestic diversity. Are we going to have atrocities?

We do not know their ideology, or their preferred form of government, or if they have a commitment to nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction, an issue that is incredibly important in the area of Libya.

The President has used the United Nations' approval of civil protection to wage an all-out war on Qadhafi, without congressional approval or American support.

U.S. Admiral Locklear, in charge of the NATO operations against Libya, recently stated that ground troops would be needed to provide stability in Libya once the Qadhafi regime falls. And yet the President has not provided us any information about what a post-Qadhafi Libya will look like or what will be our involvement. He is committing us to an extended military action; and for Congress to be relevant, the voices of this body need to be heard.

I support the passage of Mr. Rooney's resolution limiting the use of funds appropriated in the DOD in support of U.S. activities in Libya unless otherwise authorized by law. This passage of this resolution is an important step to limit the role of the U.S. military.

I urge passage of H.R. 2278.

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