US house to vote on Libya measures

The House is considering resolutions on U.S. actions in Libya, including one that would strip funding for military operations, except for support activities. The House was expected to take two votes on Libya Friday, the agenda from Minority Whip Steny Hoyer indicated. One measure would authorize the U.S. role in the military campaign but observers expected it to be defeated, The Washington Post reported. The other initiative would cut off money for activities such as U.S. drone strikes but leave funding for support activities, such as aircraft refueling, intelligence-gathering and reconnaissance. The defunding resolution, authored by Rep. Thomas Rooney, R-Fla., isn't likely to have major consequences because the Democratic-controlled Senate is unlikely to approve it, observers said. The resolution does, however, give members a vehicle to voice dismay over U.S. involvement in Libya, where rebels have been fighting a months-long campaign to oust leader Muammar Gaddafi. "I don't think that it's our role to … determine what will or what won't go to the Senate. I think that we have to take care of our business," Rooney told the Post. "We're not going to sit by and just do nothing while the president has broken the law." Members of Congress have maintained that President Obama bypassed the War Powers Act that requires presidents to seek congressional approval in sending troops into hostilities overseas. The White House has argued the U.S. is not engaging in sustained hostilities. House Speaker John Boehner sought to reassure NATO allies Thursday that U.S. forces weren't likely to withdraw from Operation Unified Protector. "We are engaged. I believe that NATO is an important organization, and as we're there I don't want to do anything that would undermine NATO or to send a signal to our allies around the world that we are not going to be engaged," he said. "This is primarily a fight between the Congress and the president over his unwillingness to consult with us before making a decision."