Kaine laments Congress' lack of debate on military action against ISIL

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees, took to the floor to highlight Saturday's anniversary of the launch of U.S. military operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, lamenting that there has been neither meaningful debate nor a vote on the mission.

“We are about to go on a one-month adjournment with the nation at war,” Kaine said. “Although vested with the sole power to declare war by Article I of the Constitution, Congress has refused a meaningful debate or vote on the war against the Islamic State. A Congress quick to criticize any executive action by the president has nevertheless encouraged him to carry out an unauthorized war.

"A debate in Congress by the people's elected representatives and a vote to authorize the most solemn act of war is how we tell our troops that what they're doing, what they're risking their lives for, has purpose, has meaning and has the support of the American people," Kaine said. "Otherwise, we're asking them to risk their lives without even bothering to discuss whether the mission is something we support."