Levin predicts vote to authorize ISIS fight in lame-duck session

Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) on Wednesday predicted that lawmakers would vote on giving President Obama the authorization to use military force against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) when they reconvene after the midterm elections.

“There is no way that issue is not going to be addressed, I believe. It should be addressed,” he said during a Defense Writers Group breakfast. “One way or another, the AUMF issue has got to … be resolved.”

He said that the Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) would be taken up as a stand-alone measure or possibly as an amendment to an omnibus spending bill or another continuing resolution.

The spending bills are “the most logical place for Congress to express an opinion” because lawmakers can decide to use the measures to cut off funding for any military campaign, Levin told reporters.

The debate over whether Congress should hold an up-or-down vote on authorizing military action against the terror group has been reignited after the U.S. and allies began conducting airstrikes against ISIS targets in Syria.

Levin said he would support a new authorization, even though he believes the president already has the authority to battle ISIS.

“I’m for an AUMF. I think we should speak on the subject. We don’t have to, but we ought to,” he said.

Levin predicted that any eventual authorization measure would be approved on a bipartisan basis.