Update provided by Stephanie Kreuz, Midwest Regional Coordinator
I wanted to give you an update on the continuing resolution (CR) and the Export-Import Bank. Leadership released text of a CR on Tuesday that would go through December 11th (so Congress would be voting on another spending bill during the lame duck session), and attached a nine-month extension to the Export-Import Bank (new expiration date would be June 30, 2015).
However, House Leadership canceled the vote scheduled for today in order to consider the President’s new request. Below is an update:
Heritage Action Agrees with Hal Rogers: No ISIS Provision in the CR
Washington – Yesterday, Congress delayed action on a year-end government funding bill to consider a last minute request from President Obama to include language that would authorize American troops to give support to “moderate” resistance forces in Syria. As Bloomberg noted, the 9-month extension of the Export-Import Bank “had been the primary sticking point in devising a spending bill” before Obama’s ISIS request. Heritage Action released the following statement from chief executive officer Michael A. Needham:
“Heritage Action agrees with Chairman Rogers that President Obama’s Syria policy should be considered separately from the CR. It is unconscionable to expect lawmakers to make a decision on this complex, complicated policy issue as the administration simultaneously invokes the specter of a government shutdown. The House should pass a clean CR and debate extraneous measures, including Syria, separately.”
James Jay Carafano, Ph.D., the Heritage Foundation’s vice president for foreign and defense policy studies, added:
“Last night the President finally outlined a strategy for dealing with the threat of ISIS. If Congress considers authorizing the use of military force, it should do so as a standalone measure. Furthermore, the pending continuing resolution should not be used to give a $500 million blank check to Syrian rebels whom we know little about. That is neither wise nor necessary for driving ISIS out of Iraq and restoring its territorial integrity. The need for action is real, but matters of war and peace should be dealt with separately.”
Look for more updates on the Monday night Sentinel Strategy Call!
Best,
Stephanie Kreuz
Midwest Regional Coordinator
Heritage Action for America
Cell: 202-258-4703
Twitter: @skreuz