WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama told congressional leaders he will propose terms for a measure authorizing U.S. military force against Islamic State, two top Republicans said following a White House meeting Tuesday.
Obama had said in November that he would seek authorization from Congress to fight the Sunni terrorists in Iraq and Syria. Since then, Republicans including House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have criticized him for not spelling out possible provisions for U.S. military involvement, such as whether to impose a time limit.
"A good starting place is for him to tell us what he wants," McConnell of Kentucky told reporters after the meeting.
A debate over efforts to defeat Islamic State would reopen tension over the president's authority to conduct military operations and uneasiness among some lawmakers — mostly Obama's fellow Democrats — about being drawn into open-ended conflicts and ground combat.
Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the Senate's second-ranking Republican, told reporters after Tuesday's meeting at the White House that the president's statement came as "a little bit of a surprise."
"I think that's helpful because we've been trying to get him to come up with the plan and show a little bit of what his strategy is going to be," the senator said.
Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the No. 2 Democrat in the House, said he believes Obama "is going to make some proposal" on an authorization for use of military force.
A White House statement said Obama "committed to working with members of both parties" on an authorization "that Congress can pass to show the world America stands united against ISIL," an acronym for Islamic State's former name.
Congressional leaders of both parties met with Obama today for about an hour, the first such meeting since Congress opened its new session this month with Republicans in control of both chambers for the first time in eight years.
Lawmakers who attended said the discussion was wide-ranging and covered topics including trade, cybersecurity, infrastructure and the Keystone XL pipeline.
A debate over authorizing military force against Islamic State could put Republican senators considering a run for the White House in 2016 in a tricky position. Among them are Ted Cruz of Texas, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Marco Rubio of Florida.
Last week's attacks in Paris, including the murder of journalists at Charlie Hebdo, a satirical newspaper, brought the threat posed by Islamic extremists back into the spotlight.
Last year, Islamic State and its supporters carried out a series of videotaped executions of citizens of Britain, France and the United States. Islamic State has called the killings reprisals for the armed campaign against them.
Boehner, like many fellow Republicans, has criticized the president as lacking a clear strategy to defeat Islamic State. He urged Obama Tuesday to send the authorization request and said Republicans will work to build bipartisan support for its enactment, according to the speaker's office.
"There's consensus both up here and at the White House that we need one," South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the chamber's third-ranking Republican, told reporters following the meeting.
Passing such an authorization could help smooth the way for confirmation of Ashton Carter, Obama's nominee to become defense secretary, Thune said.
"Getting that, kind of, elephant out of the room and dealing with that issue might clear the deck for some other foreign policy, national security issues to move as well," he said.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain of Arizona said he would be "very pleased" if Obama sent authorization language to Congress.
"I think it's the right thing to do," McCain said. "It's what we've always asked for."
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee in December approved a draft authorization, written by Democrats, that would have imposed a three-year limit and banned "large-scale U.S. ground combat operations." The restrictions reflect the position of many Democrats who said they regret the open-ended 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force that Congress gave President George W. Bush following the Sept. 11 attacks by al- Qaeda.
In December, Secretary of State John Kerry told the Senate panel that the administration would support a three-year time limit but wanted the measure to include an option for the next president to extend the authorization if necessary. He also said that authorization to target Islamic State and its affiliates shouldn't be limited to Iraq and Syria because "it would be a mistake to advertise" to the group that it has "safe havens" elsewhere.
Kerry also resisted language that would limit combat operations, saying Congress shouldn't "pre-emptively bind the hands" of the president in case of unforeseen circumstances. He cited Obama's assurances that he won't send U.S. forces into ground combat.
Boehner earlier Tuesday discussed the potential use of force behind closed doors with House Republicans, including newly elected members.
Rep. Dennis Ross of Florida said Boehner described — as he did during a meeting in September — how the first votes he cast as a just-elected member in January 1991 were on whether to approve an earlier U.S. military action against Iraq, under then-President George H.W. Bush.
Boehner said that even 10- and 20-year congressional veterans agonized over that vote, Ross said. Boehner voted in favor of that effort.
— With assistance from Billy House, Mike Dorning and James Rowley in Washington.
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