Senate eyes vote next week on US military involvement in Yemen

BY JORDAIN CARNEY - 03/14/18 06:59 PM EDT


Excerpt:

Coming out of a closed-door briefing early Wednesday evening, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said his resolution with Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) will be brought up before Congress leaves for a two-week recess.

"I think what our job now in Congress is to ... accept responsibility for issues of war," he said. "I hope Congress and the Senate next week votes to get the United States out of aiding Saudi Arabia in this very terrible war."

Under a provision of the International Security and Arms Export Control Act of 1976, they can get a vote on the Senate floor within 10 days of its introduction. It is subject to up to 10 hours of debate. The resolution calls for any U.S. forces not involved in fighting al-Qaeda or related groups to be out of the country within 30 days.

The Senate held a closed-door, all-members briefing on Yemen, which appeared to grow contentious. Murphy called the briefing a "blatant effort to ignore reality. That is the most frustrating briefing I have been in since I have been a member of Congress. That wasn't a briefing, it was spin," he said. He added "that's the most angry I've been at a briefing in all my time here" and that he told the administration officials during the meeting that he thought "they were misleading the Senate."

http://thehill.com/policy/defense/378495-senate-eyes-vote-next-week-on-us-involvement-in-yemen