{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://bit.ly/2hZkJn7", "Colorado delegation condemns attacks in Syria, pushes Obama to be honest to Americans in military response", "2013-08-27", "2013", "2013-08", "Republican", "House", "CO", "Mike Coffman", "C001077", "bit.ly", null, null, "legacy", "By Allison Sherry  Denver Post  August 27, 2013\nColorado\u2019s Congressional delegation pushed President Barack Obama Tuesday to explain his plan to the American people on how he will respond in Syria after the country\u2019s alleged use of chemical weapons against rebels last week.\nAmericans are \u201cunderstandably reluctant to support further military engagement,\u201d said Democratic Sen. Mark Udall. \u201cThe president needs to explain his plan.\u201d\nRep. Cory Gardner, R-Yuma, said if members needed to return to Washington to approve military action, \u201cthen so be it.\u201d\nCongress is adjourned until Sept. 9 for a five-week recess.\n\u201cPresident Obama must not act unilaterally,\u201d Gardner said.\nRep. Mike Coffman, R-Aurora, said he wouldn\u2019t support extended involvement since the United States is not \u201cin danger of an imminent attack.\u201d\n\u201cI will support the president should he conduct a limited strike on Syria in order to deter (Syrian President) Assad from further use of chemical weapons, but I would not support involvement beyond that because this is an intractable sectarian struggle,\u201d Coffman said.\nSen. Michael Bennet, a Democrat, said through a spokesman \u201cwe must be careful and measured\u201d in a response \u201cdue to the enormous challenges in the region and the complexity of the situation.\u201d\nRep. Scott Tipton, R-Cortez, encouraged the president \u201cto fulfill his obligation to consult with Congress before authorizing the use of military force and explain the reasons for proposed actions to the American people.\u201d\nRep. Diana DeGette, a Denver Democrat, called the use of chemical weapons \u201cabhorrent\u201d and said the United States needed to work with its allies to \u201cfigure out the appropriate response and I think that\u2019s what the White House is doing right now,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m waiting to see what the Obama administration is going to come up with on something that would be appropriate in this situation.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://bit.ly/2hZkJn7"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9454172104597092, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}