House Passes Cole Amendment to Defund Libya Operations

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Tom Cole (OK-04) released the following statement after the House approved his amendment to prohibit funding for military operations in Libya by a vote of 225-201. Cole offered the amendment to the FY 2012 Department of Defense Appropriations Act (H.R. 2219).

"Congress has allowed the president to overreach in Libya. We should not be engaged in military action of this level unless it is authorized and funded by Congress.

"This is a very important moment for the Congress and for the United States. It's extraordinarily important that we stop the erosion of the war-making authority and responsibility of the Congress of the United States, that we end this ill-advised adventure in Libya, and that we reassert the rightful place of this institution in conducting war, authorizing it and funding it."

Cole's amendment specifies that "None of the funds made available by this Act may be used by the Department of Defense to furnish military equipment, military training or advice, or other support for military activities, to any group or individual, not part of a country's armed forces, for the purpose of assisting that group or individual in carrying out military activities in or against Libya."