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 The House voted 231 to 196 to defeat the amendment sponsored by
Representative Adam Schiff. Republicans, who control a majority of
seats in the House, largely voted against the amendment and Schiff's
fellow Democrats generally backed it.
The vote took place a day after President Barack Obama ordered the
deployment of 450 additional U.S. troops to Iraq to advise and
assist Iraqi forces seeking to retake territory lost to Islamic
State. [ID:nL1N0YV2WV]
The amendment would have required Congress to debate and vote on a
new authorization by March 31, 2016, prohibiting funds in next
year's defense appropriations bill to be used for the campaign of
air strikes against Islamic State until Congress passed an
authorization.
 Obama asked Congress in February to approve an authorization for the
use of military force (AUMF) against the militant group after
agitation from lawmakers worried that the military campaign he began
in August overstepped his constitutional authority.
But Congress has failed to take up the issue. Republicans, who
criticize Obama's foreign policy as too passive, say they want
stronger measures against the militant fighters than those proposed
by Obama.
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And many of Obama's fellow Democrats are wary that approving an AUMF
would lead to another large, enduring deployment of U.S. troops in
the Middle East.
Schiff is one of a handful of lawmakers who have been pushing for
Congress to pass an AUMF.
"If we're going to ask our service members to risk their lives, we
ought to have the courage ourselves to take a vote on this war," he
said.
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Sandra Maler and Eric
Beech)
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