Libya War-Funding Fight Escalates
WASHINGTON—U.S. lawmakers staked out starkly different positions Tuesday on the legitimacy of the American intervention in Libya, suggesting more legislative challenges are ahead in a debate the White House had hoped to put to rest.
Sens. John Kerry (D., Mass.) and John McCain (R., Ariz.) introduced a resolution to give President Barack Obama authority to continue the U.S. participation in the military action for one year. But in the House, Rep. Joe Heck (R., Nev.) planned to introduce a bill to force the U.S. to withdraw from Libya and to ban federal funds from being used in the campaign.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D., Ohio) is also trying to force a vote on cutting off funding by attaching a measure to a defense spending bill currently on the floor.
The Obama administration said last week that it did not need congressional approval because the U.S. military's role is "distinct" from the kind of actions contemplated by the War Powers Resolution. The U.S. is mostly playing a supporting role, administration officials have said, mainly by gathering intelligence and refueling aircraft. Its costs have totaled about $716 million through the start of June.
But tea party-backed lawmakers and fiscal conservatives have joined with antiwar liberals to say that Mr. Obama has gone too far. The House, in a 268-145 vote earlier this month, said Mr. Obama failed to offer an adequate rationale for intervening. It so far has stopped short of voting to cut off funding. House Republican leaders are unclear whether a majority of the caucus is ready to use its control of the federal budget to express displeasure.
Leaders will know more after the Republican caucus meets Wednesday morning. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R., Va.) said a vote on a bill related to Libya will come up for a vote on Thursday.
Mr. Obama committed U.S. resources in March after Col. Moammar Gadhafi tried to squelch an uprising among his people. The U.S. initially took a lead role in the campaign by bombing Libyan air-defense systems. It later turned over control to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization but has continued to play a supporting role.
In the Senate, supporters of the U.S. intervention want to end the debate by voting to give Mr. Obama approval to keep involved in the campaign in Libya. "It is time for the Senate to speak. And when that time comes, I believe we will find a strong bipartisan majority that is in favor of authorizing our current military operations in Libya," Mr. McCain said on the Senate floor.
Senate supporters also are hoping to use the congressional resolution to endorse the use of Libyan funds that have been frozen by the U.S. government to provide humanitarian relief to the Libyan people. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has been trying to hold a committee vote on such a measure, but has postponed votes amid disagreements on the committee.
—Janet Hook and Jeff Bater contributed to this article.
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