WASHINGTON – Republicans and Democrats on Thursday derided President Obama’s claim that U.S. air attacks against Libya do not constitute hostilities and demanded that the commander in chief seek congressional approval for the 3-month-old military operation.
In an escalating constitutional fight, House Speaker John Boehner threatened to withhold money for the mission, pitting a Congress eager to exercise its power of the purse against a dug-in White House. The Ohio Republican signaled that the House could take action as early as next week.
The administration, in a report it reluctantly gave to Congress on Wednesday, said that because the United States is in a supporting role in the NATO-led mission, American forces are not facing the hostilities that would require the president to seek such congressional consent under the War Powers Resolution.
The 1973 law prohibits the military from being involved in actions for more than 60 days without congressional authorization, plus a 30-day extension. The 60-day deadline passed last month with the White House saying it is in compliance with the law.
The 90-day mark is Sunday.
In the meantime, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has maintained his grip on power, and the White House says if the mission continues until September, it will cost $1.1 billion.
Instead of calming lawmakers, the White House report and its claims about no hostilities further inflamed the fierce balance-of-power fight.
“We have got drone attacks under way, we’re spending $10 million a day,” Boehner told reporters. “We’re part of an effort to drop bombs on Gadhafi’s compound. It doesn’t pass the straight-face test, in my view, that we’re not in the midst of hostilities.”
Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., a combat veteran and member of the Armed Services Committee, also scoffed.
“Spending a billion dollars and dropping bombs on people sounds like hostilities to me,” Webb said in an interview.
The White House pushed back, singling out Boehner and saying he has not always demanded that presidents abide by the War Powers Resolution.
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