Response

In 2014, the armed offensive of the Islamic State (also known as ISIL, ISIS, or Daesh) in northern and western Iraq and northeastern Syria raised significant concerns for the United States. After first ordering multiple deployments of U.S. troops to Iraq to provide security to diplomatic personnel and facilities, advise Iraqi security forces, and conduct intelligence gathering and reconnaissance, President Obama began ordering U.S. military airstrikes on IS forces in Iraq in August 2014. Later in September, after laying out plans for expanded use of military force against the Islamic State in a televised speech to the American people, the President ordered U.S. military airstrikes in Syria against both IS forces and forces of the "Khorasan Group," identified by the President as part of Al Qaeda. In 2015, the President ordered new deployments to Iraq, and the Administration announced deployment of a small number of special operations forces to Syria to conduct military operations that involve advising regional partner armed forces but also can include "unilateral" U.S. operations. The intensified U.S. military engagement has raised numerous questions in Congress and beyond about the President's authority to use military force against the Islamic State. Some efforts began near the end of the 113 th Congress to consider enactment of a new authorization for use of military force targeting the Islamic State, and have continued into the 114 th Congress; the issue, however, remains contentious. In addition, the President provided Congress a new authorization proposal in February 2015, and in his 2016 State of the Union address again called on Congress to enact a new AUMF targeting the Islamic State. In 2016, both U.S. military operations and deployments of U.S. Armed Forces increased to continue the campaign against the Islamic State, and hostilities are ongoing. Obama Administration officials and the President Obama's September 2014 notifications to Congress for airstrikes and other actions in Iraq and Syria, however, stated that two enacted authorizations for use of military force (AUMFs), the Authorization for Use of Military Force (2001 AUMF; P.L. The fact that the Islamic State has asserted a split between itself and Al Qaeda does not divest the President of his previous authority to use force against the Islamic State, as the Islamic State's conflict with the United States and its allies has continued. Congress has supported military action against the Islamic State by specifically funding the military campaign and providing authority to assist groups fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The Report does not reference the 2002 AUMF as authority for the use of military force against the Islamic State. 4208 ) in the House. IS AUMF-Related Proposals in the 115th Congress

Early in the 115 th Congress, the issue of a new IS-specific AUMF remains of interest to many Members of Congress. Comparison of IS AUMF Proposals from the 113 th Congress
Near the end of the 113 th Congress, a number of Members proposed several new authorizations to use military force against the Islamic State:
The analysis provided below compares similar types of provisions included in IS AUMF proposals from the 113 th Congress and issues related to those provisions.
Since the United States embarked on a strategy to counter the Islamic State (also known as ISIL or ISIS) in 2014, some Members of Congress have raised concerns about the President's underlying authority to engage in anti-IS military operations. In the 114th Congress, both houses of Congress took steps to revisit the possibility of considering legislation to provide authority for the use of military force (AUMF) against the Islamic State. Interest has continued into the first session of the 115th Congress and with the start of the Trump Administration.
In 2014, the armed offensive of the Islamic State in northern and western Iraq and northeastern Syria raised significant concerns for the United States. After first ordering multiple deployments of U.S. troops to Iraq to provide security to diplomatic personnel and facilities, advise Iraqi security forces, and conduct intelligence gathering and reconnaissance, President Obama began ordering U.S. military airstrikes on IS forces in Iraq in August 2014. Later in September, after laying out plans for expanded use of military force against the Islamic State in a televised speech to the American people, the President ordered U.S. military airstrikes in Syria against both IS forces and forces of the "Khorasan Group," identified by the President as part of Al Qaeda. In 2015, the President ordered new deployments to Iraq, and the Administration announced deployment of a small number of special operations forces to Syria to conduct military operations that involve advising regional partner armed forces but also can include "unilateral" U.S. operations. In 2016, both U.S. military operations and deployments of U.S. Armed Forces increased to continue the campaign against the Islamic State.
As military action against the Islamic State has evolved and increased, many observers, including a number of Members of Congress, have raised numerous questions and concerns about the President's authority to use military force against the Islamic State. Some efforts began near the end of the 113th Congress to consider enactment of a new authorization for use of military force targeting the Islamic State, and have continued into the 114th Congress; the issue, however, remains contentious. The President provided Congress a new authorization proposal in February 2015, and in his 2016 State of the Union address again called on Congress to enact a new authorization for use of military force (AUMF) targeting the Islamic State. The Obama Administration's official position on presidential authority to use force against the Islamic State, however, has remained consistent, relying on the previous 2001 AUMF against those who perpetrated the September 11, 2001, terror attacks (and, to a lesser extent, the 2002 AUMF against the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq).
This report focuses on the several proposals for a new AUMF specifically targeting the Islamic State made during the 113th and 114th Congresses as well as those made thus far in the 115th Congress. It includes a brief review of existing authorities and AUMFs, as well as a discussion of issues related to various provisions included in existing and proposed AUMFs that both authorize and limit presidential use of military force. Appendices provide a comparative analysis of similar provisions in the numerous AUMFs proposed in the 113th and 114th Congresses. This report will be updated to reflect congressional activity. For more information on the Islamic State, see CRS Report R43612, The Islamic State and U.S. Policy, by Christopher M. Blanchard and Carla E. Humud.