It's not too often that the Congress votes on a bill to cut off money for an ongoing military mission, but we will see that today, as the House tries to block funding for NATO airstrikes on Libya and the Qaddafi regime.
"This is primarily a fight between the Congress and the President, over his unwillingness to consult with us," said Speaker John Boehner.
While a number of Democrats may vote with the Speaker and most Republicans, the White House is still arguing that a vote against this mission would send the wrong message to Muammar Qaddafi.
"We don’t think it would be helpful as a matter of policy for a message to be sent that in any way is not supportive of the goals that we think Congress shares, which is to keep the pressure on Qaddafi and to continue to have our partners carry the burden of this mission, with the United States in a support role," said White House spokesman Jay Carney.
"The US has zero national security interest in continuing the conflict with Libya," said Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA).
"I believe we should withdraw," Broun added.
There are strong views on the Democratic side that are much the same as well.
"The war in Libya is illegal, unconstitutional and unwarranted. It must end," said Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) in a letter to his colleagues.
"Congress must use the power of the purse to cut off funds for the war and reassert its Constitutional authority over war as enshrined in Article 1, Section 8."
There will be two votes in the House today on Libya, one on a resolution that authorizes the mission with NATO against Libya - that is expected to lose - and then another resolution which allows the U.S. government to provide some help to NATO.
"The limitation on funds...does not apply with respect to— (1) search and rescue; (2) intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; (3) aerial refueling; and (4) operational planning," reads the bill language.
Kucinich is one who opposes that, making the case for no U.S. help for NATO.
The House and Senate may end up at odds on this matter, as while the plan to block funds for hostilities involved in the NATO mission may pass in the House, it seems unlikely to get through the Senate.
We'll see what the House vote total is later today.
