May 22, 2014

Congresswoman Lee Slams Irresponsible Defense Authorization Bill, Refusal to Consider Bipartisan AUMF Repeal Amendment

For Immediate Release:

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Contact: Katherine Jolly, (510)-763-0370

Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Barbara Lee offered the following statement following the passage of HR 4435, the FY2015 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Congresswoman Lee was one of 98 members to oppose the NDAA:

“The Republican leadership has continued to ignore the will of the American people in this year’s National Defense Authorization Act, which bankrolls bloated Pentagon spending, extends more funding for the war in Afghanistan, and funnels an additional $79.4 billion into the Overseas Contingency Operations slush fund for unspecified Pentagon projects.”

“I am also disappointed that the Rules Committee failed to bring my Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) repeal amendment to the floor.  As the only Member to vote against the AUMF on September 14th, 2001, I anticipated at the time that this legislation could be used as a blank check for the President to wage limitless war at anytime, anywhere, for any reason, in perpetuity.”

According to a CRS report from July 2013, there are 30 known instances where the AUMF has been invoked by Presidents Bush and Obama for the purposes of deploying troops in Ethiopia, Djibouti, Georgia, and Yemen, justifying detentions at Guantanamo Bay, and conducting military commissions.

“I am pleased, however, that my bipartisan amendment to audit the Pentagon passed and included in the bill. For far too long, the Department of Defense (DOD) has gotten away with excessive and unexamined spending while taxpayers foot the bill. Americans deserve some basic measure of accountability and transparency from the Pentagon. This amendment will for the first time provide Congress with concrete, concise information as to how close each part of DOD is to achieving audit readiness.”

The Burgess-Lee amendment would require the Secretary of Defense to provide the defense committees a short report ranking all military departments and defense agencies ranking in order of how advanced they are in achieving auditable financial statements as required by law.

“Finally, I was pleased to co-sponsor Congresswoman Jackson Lee’s amendment to support victims of Boko Haram, provide Congress with a better understanding of Boko Haram’s crimes, and help bring an end to their reign of terror in Nigeria and neighboring countries. Access to an unencumbered education and an existence free from slavery are basic human rights which need to be protected with vigilance. This amendment was an important step towards ending the terrorist activities of Boko Haram and gaining justice for their victims.”

###

Follow Barbara Lee on Facebook and Twitter at @RepBarbaraLee. To learn more, visit lee.house.gov.

Congresswoman Lee is a member of the Appropriations and Budget Committees, the Steering and Policy Committee, is a Senior Democratic Whip, as well as the Whip of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), where she serves as the Co-Chair of the CPC Peace and Security Task Force.