The United States Congress are set to approve President Barack Obama's plan to arm and train Syrian rebels as a major part of the effort he announced this week to fight Islamic State militants, according to Reuters.
The measure was unveiled by lawmakers on Monday and sets conditions including barring the use of U.S. ground forces and requiring the administration to submit regular progress reports on the plan and its vetting of the rebels receiving the training and equipment, Reuters reported.
The House of Representatives began debating an amendment to a stopgap funding bill that would authorize support for the moderate rebels, who are fighting both the Islamic State and the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Reuters reported.
Both houses of Congress must pass the stopgap spending bill to keep the government open after the fiscal year ends on Sept. 30, according to Reuters.
House members were expected to pass the amendment on Wednesday, congressional aides and lawmakers said, according to Reuters.
They added that it would then be sent to the U.S. Senate for expected approval this week, before lawmakers leave Washington to spend the next six weeks campaigning for the Nov. 4 congressional elections, Reuters reported.
There are pockets of opposition to the plan, especially among Republicans who hold a majority of seats in the House, according to Reuters.
Representative Walter Jones, a North Carolina Republican, said he would vote against the amendment, estimating that 10 or 15 other members of the party would join him, although he said he expected it would pass, Reuters reported.
"Here we go again ... We train the Syrians today who are supposed to be our friends, but tomorrow they're our enemies," Jones said, after leaving a party meeting at the Capitol on Tuesday morning, according to Reuters. "We need to let these other countries take care of their own region."
