(Washington) - Congressman John B. Larson sent the following letter to Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Harry Reid today urging them to bring Congress back into session immediately.

Dear Speaker Boehner and Majority Leader Reid,

With the recent air strikes in Syria, we are once again a nation at war. During such times, it is irresponsible for Congress to be out of session campaigning for seven weeks. Therefore I prevail on you to bring Congress back into session immediately.

It is during these early days that Congress is most instrumental in determining the trajectory of our military action. Not only does Congress have the constitutional responsibility to decide when to provide authorization to use military force, it must also have a hand in defining the size and scope of the U.S.’s involvement. We must lay out the principles, the policies, and the justification for action. This can only happen through an open and vigorous debate on the floors of both the House and Senate, where the American public can tune in and hold their elected officials accountable.

If there was ever one issue that needed to be separated from Washington’s highly politicized environment, it is this one. We ask our men and women in uniform to perform without regard to elections and no less should be required of members of Congress in carrying out our constitutional duties.

This obligation becomes all the more apparent in light of President Obama’s speech before the United Nations General Assembly this past week. In that speech, the president called upon the nations of the world to join us in the fight against extremism. If we are to gather the international support that is needed to beat this threat, our government must be a model of careful deliberation and not give into the rhetoric and tone of a campaign season.

As the House was making haste to adjourn as quickly as possible last week, I introduced legislation that would provide a responsible framework for authorizing the use of military force as a part of a coalition of allies. This is only one of a number of proposals put forth by my colleagues on both sides of the aisle that deserve to be fully considered and debated in a deliberate and open manner. Again, I prevail on you to bring Congress back into session immediately so that we can provide the American public an open and focused debate on the ramifications of actions needed in the Middle East.

Sincerely,
John B. Larson
Member of Congress