The region's U.S. senators, expected to vote next week on supporting military action, are split along party lines, with Democrats backing President Barack Obama's call to action and Republicans saying they're undecided.
Pennsylvania and New Jersey’s U.S. senators are split along party lines over whether to attack Syria, with Democrats backing President Barack Obama’s call to action and Republicans saying they’re undecided.
In the House of Representatives, the delegation from the Lehigh Valley and northwestern New Jersey almost uniformly opposes military action in response to chemical weapons use.
“I think it’s important to be very honest about what we are considering. Missile strikes — or any other such action — against a sovereign nation is an act of war,” Rep. Scott Garrett, a Republican whose 5th Congressional District covers parts of Warren County, said in a statement, adding that Obama “has not yet demonstrated why military action is in our best interest.”
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Friday formally introduced the resolution that would support Obama in the use of military force against Syria. Lawmakers return from their five-week recess Monday and will begin to debate the resolution.
A vote to move ahead on the resolution is expected Wednesday. Congressional aides to local lawmakers said a House vote would likely follow Senate action, and differences between any authorization given would have to be discussed further in committee.
U.S. Sens. Bob Casey, D-Pa., and Robert Menendez, D-N.J., say the choice is clear.
‘Direct response’ needed
“When a dictator or a terrorist organization uses chemical weapons in violation of international law, there must be a direct response,” Casey, a member of the National Security Working Group and a co-chairman of the Weapons of Mass Destruction and Terrorism Caucus, said in a statement Friday. “We cannot simply condemn this crime; it is in the (United States’) interest to act.
“The Iranian regime, the terrorist organization Hezbollah and the regime in North Korea are watching closely, and it is imperative that we send a message.”
Menendez, who is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released a statement after negotiating the text of the authorization resolution saying: “We have an obligation to act, not witness and watch, while a humanitarian tragedy is unfolding in plain view.
“With this agreement, we are one step closer to granting the president the authority to act in our national security interest,” he stated.
A spokesman for Sen. Jeff Chiesa, R-N.J., declined earlier this week to say where Chiesa stands, and his office did not immediately respond to an email request for comment Friday.
The office of Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., said Friday he is undecided on how he’ll vote.
Toomey on Aug. 28 said “it appears” the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad “used chemical weapons repeatedly in an indiscriminate slaughter of his own civilians” but that “the president must explain to Congress and the American people the objectives and risks of any action.”
Obama said Friday he planned to make his case to the American people in an address Tuesday night.
Policies questioned
Those opposed to action include U.S. Rep. Leonard Lance, a Republican whose 7th Congressional District covers Hunterdon and parts of Warren counties, though he does have one caveat:
“If there was to be new information that came to light that posed an immediate threat to the United States, that would cause him to reconsider,” spokesman John Byers said Friday.
Joining Lance and Garrett, fellow Republican U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent in an op-ed piece wrote: “The upcoming vote in Congress is not so much a vote to authorize military action on Syria; the stakes have grown beyond that. It’s much more a vote of confidence on the president’s Syrian and broader Middle East policies. On that score, I have no confidence.”
Dent, whose 15th Congressional District covers Lehigh and parts of Northampton counties, believes the only way to secure Syria’s chemical weapons or topple the regime is “boots on the ground,” said spokesman Shawn Millan.
“There’s absolutely no desire amongst the American public to do that,” Millan said Friday. “Are we just going to be tossing missiles for the sake of tossing missiles, or what?”
Joining the undecided camp is Rep. Matt Cartwright, a Democrat whose 17th Congressional District covers parts of Northampton County. He could reach a decision following a classified briefing scheduled Monday, spokesman Shane Seaver said.
“The congressman at this point is ‘undecided,’ and is still collecting information and input from constituents,” Seaver said. “He has approached the subject of military action in Syria with a healthy amount of skepticism, but is committed to hearing out the administration’s case before deciding on the vote.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Syrian-Americans from the Lehigh Valley plan to travel aboard six buses Monday morning from Allentown to Washington, D.C., to protest military action in demonstrations outside the White House and the Capitol. Participants also hope to meet with U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., and U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent, a Republican from the Lehigh Valley.