Senate Panel Votes To Authorize Force In Syria

    Rand Paul, John McCain, Jeff Flake, Ron Johnson

    A Senate committee has approved the use of force in Syria with a vote of ten-to-seven.

    FOX News Radio’s Jared Halpern reports from Capitol Hill:

    The vote tally means the full Senate will get a say on authorizing military use of force against Syria’s Assad regime.

    (Menendez) “It sends a clear message that the world cannot and will not tolerate the use of chemical weapons anywhere.”

    Committee Chairman Democrat Bob Menendez helping craft a resolution that limits U.S. action for no more than 90 days and prohibits any boots on the ground.

    (Paul) “Now some will say this isn’t a war. That bombing is not a war, that sailors and ships are not war.”

    Kentucky Republican Rand Paul joined by four GOP colleagues and two Democrats in opposition.

    On Capitol Hill, Jared Halpern, FOX News Radio.

    READ a statement by the White House Press Secretary on the Syria resolution:

    “This afternoon, on a bipartisan basis, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved a resolution authorizing U.S. military action in Syria. We commend the Senate for moving swiftly and for working across party lines on behalf of our national security. We believe America is stronger when the President and Congress work together. The military action authorized in the resolution would uphold America’s national security interests by degrading Assad’s chemical weapons capability and deterring the future use of these weapons, even as we pursue a broader strategy of strengthening the opposition to hasten a political transition in Syria. We will continue to work with Congress to build on this bipartisan support for a military response that is narrowly tailored to enforce the prohibition on the use of chemical weapons, and sufficient to protect the national security interests of the United States of America.”

    Click HERE to read the formal, full text of the amended Senate Foreign Relations Committee resolution on Syria