[update] In a Sept. 23 emailed statement to LBREPORT.com, Congressman Lowenthal says: "I made it clear in my vote on the McKeon Amendment (Roll Cal vote 507) that I do not support federal funds being used to train or arm vetted elements of the Syrian opposition. I also do not favor shutting down the government. This is why I was in favor of passing the continuing appropriation for fiscal year 2015, even though it contained an amendment within the overall appropriation bill that I did not support." [end update]

Cong. Lowenthal didn't ask to change his vote (a procedure the House allows before a cast vote is officially recorded), and his officially cast "no" votes on both the Syrian-rebel arms/training amendment and the spending bill remain his officially recorded votes. (Once a vote is gaveled, the Congressmember can't change their vote; before it's gaveled and voting is still taking place, votes can be changed. Thus, the only option after gaveling was to submit a statement for the Congressional Record, which doesn't change the vote but puts one's intention in the Record.

Congressman Lowenthal's Congressional Record statement that he intended to vote "yes" on the spending bill carrying the Syrian-rebel aid wasn't heard on the House floor, wasn't seen on C-SPAN and is only visible if one checks the daily Congressional Record itself (lower right corner of text below) [which LBREPORT.com did, since we were curious to see if Lowenthal spoke during floor debate, which he didn't.]

Congressional Record, Sept. 17, 2014; p. 7662, see lower right corner

The Congressional Record text states:

So the joint resolution was passed.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
Stated for:
Mr. LOWENTHAL. Mr. Speaker, I inadvertently voted on rollcall 509, H.J. Res. 124. I intended to vote ``yes'' on rollcall 509, H.J. Res. 124.

The Syrian arms/training bill was rollcall 507. The spending bill carrying the Syrian rebel aid text was rollcall 509.

Both measures had the backing of House Repub and Dem leadership...but a number of rank and file Dems and Repubs dissented on the Sept. 17 votes. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R., OC) voted "no" on both measures. Congresswoman Linda Sanchez (D., Lakewood) voted for the Syrian-rebel measure while her sister, Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (D., OC) voted against it (and spoke on the House floor against it.)

Cong. Lowenthal's office also forwarded to us the text of a July 9,. 2014 New York Times story, titled "Yea, Oops, Nay: Voting Mistakes in Congress," in which reporter Derek Willis writes that House members have said they made mistakes in voting at least 112 times since the start of 2011 ("about one in every 10,000 individual votes taken during that span, and no member of the House has done it more than four times.") Reporter Willis adds, "In all, 84 of the 519 people who have served in the House since 2010 have registered an incorrect vote since the beginning of 2011," including Cong. Michele Bachmann (R., MI) and Cong. Steve Cohen (D., TN)

The Syrian rebel aid measure carried 273-156 (159 Repubs and 114 Democrats voted for it; 85 Repubs and 71 Dems voting against it.) To view the full vote tally, click here.)

The spending bill carrying the Syrian rebel aid then passed 319-108 (143 Dems and 176 Repubs voting for it; 55 Dems and 53 Repubs voting against it.) To view the full vote tally, click here.

The House-passed spending bill carrying the Syrian rebel aid went on to pass the Senate on a 78-22 vote (44 Dems, 33 Repubs and 1 Ind voting for it; 9 Dems, 12 Repubs and 1 Ind voting against it.) CA's two U.S. Senators, Boxer and Feinstein, both voted "yes." Full vote tally, click here.

The salient text of the measure is:

Section 149 (a) The Secretary of Defense is authorized, in coordination with the Secretary of State, to provide assistance, including training, equipment, supplies, and sustainment, to appropriately vetted elements of the Syrian opposition and other appropriately vetted Syrian groups and individuals for the following purposes:

(1) Defending the Syrian people from attacks by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), and securing territory controlled by the Syrian opposition.

(2) Protecting the United States, its friends and allies, and the Syrian people from the threats posed by terrorists in Syria.

(3) Promoting the conditions for a negotiated settlement to end the conflict in Syria.

(b) Not later than 15 days prior to providing assistance authorized under subsection (a) to vetted recipients for the first time--

(1) the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Secretary of State, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees and leadership of the House of Representatives and Senate a report, in unclassified form with a classified annex as appropriate, that contains a description of--

(A) the plan for providing such assistance;

(B) the requirements and process used to determine appropriately vetted recipients; and

(C) the mechanisms and procedures that will be used to monitor and report to the appropriate congressional committees and leadership of the House of Representatives and Senate on unauthorized end-use of provided training and equipment and other violations of relevant law by recipients; and

(2) the President shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees and leadership of the House of Representatives and Senate a report, in unclassified form with a classified annex as appropriate, that contains a description of how such assistance fits within a larger regional strategy.

(c) The plan required in subsection (b)(1) shall include a description of--

(1) the goals and objectives of assistance authorized under subsection (a);

(2) the concept of operations, timelines, and types of training, equipment, and supplies to be provided;

(3) the roles and contributions of partner nations;

(4) the number of United States Armed Forces personnel involved;

(5) any additional military support and sustainment activities; and

(6) any other relevant details.

(d) Not later than 90 days after the Secretary of Defense submits the report required in subsection (b)(1), and every 90 days thereafter, the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Secretary of State, shall provide the appropriate congressional committees and leadership of the House of Representatives and the Senate with a progress report. Such progress report shall include a description of--

(1) any updates to or changes in the plan, strategy, vetting requirements and process, and end-use monitoring mechanisms and procedures, as required in subsection (b)(1);

(2) statistics on green-on-blue attacks and how such attacks are being mitigated;

(3) the groups receiving assistance authorized under subsection (a);

(4) the recruitment, throughput, and retention rates of recipients and equipment;

(5) any misuse or loss of provided training and equipment and how such misuse or loss is being mitigated; and

(6) an assessment of the effectiveness of the assistance authorized under subsection (a) as measured against subsections (b) and (c).

(e) For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:

(1) The term 'appropriately vetted' means, with respect to elements of the Syrian opposition and other Syrian groups and individuals, at a minimum, assessments of such elements, groups, and individuals for associations with terrorist groups, Shia militias aligned with or supporting the Government of Syria, and groups associated with the Government of Iran. Such groups include, but are not limited to, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Jabhat al Nusrah, Ahrar al Sham, other al-Qaeda related groups, and Hezbollah.

(2) The term 'appropriate congressional committees' means--

(A) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Appropriations, and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives; and

(B) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on Appropriations, and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate.

(f) The Department of Defense may submit a reprogramming or transfer request to the congressional defense committees for funds made available by section 101(a)(3) of this joint resolution and designated in section 114 of this joint resolution to carry out activities authorized under this section notwithstanding sections 102 and 104 of this joint resolution.

(g) The Secretary of Defense may accept and retain contributions, including assistance in-kind, from foreign governments to carry out activities as authorized by this section which shall be credited to appropriations made available by this joint resolution for the appropriate operation and maintenance accounts, except that any funds so accepted by the Secretary shall not be available for obligation until a reprogramming action is submitted to the congressional defense committees: Provided, That amounts made available by this subsection are designated by the Congress for Overseas Contingency Operations/Global War on Terrorism pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985: Provided further, That such amounts shall be available only if the President so designates such amounts and transmits such designations to the Congress.

(h) The authority provided in this section shall continue in effect through the earlier of the date specified in section 106(3) of this joint resolution or the date of the enactment of an Act authorizing appropriations for fiscal year 2015 for military activities of the Department of Defense.

(i) Nothing in this section shall be construed to constitute a specific statutory authorization for the introduction of United States Armed Forces into hostilities or into situations wherein hostilities are clearly indicated by the circumstances.

(j) Nothing in this section supersedes or alters the continuing obligations of the President to report to Congress pursuant to section 4 of the War Powers Resolution (50 U.S.C. 1543) regarding the use of United States Armed Forces abroad...

President Obama thanked Congress for passing the measure, saying "American forces that have been deployed to Iraq do not and will not have a combat mission." The President has authorized air strikes but has said he won't send U.S. combat troops to fight the Islamic militants in Iraq and Syria.

The request for Congressional authority for the Syrian rebel aid came after President Obama made remarks [after two American journalists had been beheaded] that his administration "didn't have a strategy yet" for confronting the Islamic State group. A wave of criticism followed, and a few days later, President Obama announced that the U.S. "plans to fight Islamic State until it is no longer a force in the Middle East... [O]ur objective is clear and that is to degrade and destroy (Islamic State) so that it's no longer a threat not just to Iraq but also the region and to the United States."

Two days after the House vote on the Syrian rebel aid measure, Cong. Rohrabacher (who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats) announced that he has authored a two measures backing Kurdish forces now battling jihadist forces now threatening their homeland.

"The ISIL nightmare, which in addition to the filmed beheading of two American journalists has presented us with the slaughter, mutilation, and even crucifixions of countless indigenous people, including Christians, must be defeated and destroyed as quickly as possible," said Rohrabacher in a release.

The first bill expresses a "sense of the House of Representatives" that it supports the intention of the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq to hold a referendum on independence; the second bill would let Kurdistan sell its crude oil more freely and to send arms to its regional government, bypassing Baghdad.

"Unfortunately, said Rohrabacher in a release, "working with the pro-mullah government in Iraq has impeded the necessary flow of arms and other military provisions to those who can use them most effectively. We must work directly with the Kurds to get the job done. The Kurds’ courage and friendship with the United States of America should be reciprocated. Let the message go out that we are and will be loyal to our friends, and the Kurds are our proven friends."