House denies extension of Libya operation

June 25, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON

The House of Representatives sent President Barack Obama a strong bipartisan message Friday that it is frustrated and impatient with the U.S. military mission in Libya.

The House voted 295-123 to deny congressional consent for extending the 3-month-old effort for another year, a clear rebuke to Obama.

But the House would not take the extra step of denying funding for the mission. A bid led by Rep. Thomas Rooney, R-Fla., to cut off money for all but search and rescue, intelligence, aerial refueling and noncombat operations got bipartisan support but lost on a 238-180 vote; 144 Republicans and 36 Democrats supported the restrictions.

The votes mean that U.S. involvement in the NATO-led effort to prevent Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi from crushing his people can continue. But the emotional, half-day debate illustrated the discontent that many lawmakers and their constituents feel about the mission, similar to their reservations about the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.

White House press secretary Jay Carney voiced dismay.

“We are disappointed by that vote. We think now is not the time to send the kind of mixed message that it sends when we are working with our allies to achieve the goals that we believe that are widely shared in Congress ... protecting civilians in Libya, enforcing a no-fly zone, enforcing an arms embargo and further putting pressure on Gadhafi. And the writing is on the wall for Col. Gadhafi, and now is not the time to let up.”

Democratic House leaders had pressed for the legislation to authorize the Libya mission for one more year, while barring most U.S. ground troops. In all, 70 Democrats and 225 Republicans voted against it. The Senate is expected to consider a similar measure early next month, and Democratic leaders there expect it to pass.

The breadth of the bipartisan coalition against the Libya mission was striking. Longtime liberal war critic Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, called the U.S. mission a “distraction,” while Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, argued, “We have no business being in Libya.”

Others railed about the cost — estimated by the White House at $716 million as of June 3.