Lawmaker calls for Benghazi committee to address 'stunning' lack of info from Obama

By Pete Kasperowicz - 02/11/13 11:24 AM ET

Rep. Jim Gerlach (R-Pa.) on Monday called on House GOP leaders to vote on a resolution that would create a select committee to investigate the September attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, which left four U.S. officials dead.

"An American ambassador has been killed for the first time in 30 years," Gerlach said Monday. "I cannot think of any other instance in which the exercise of thorough and effective congressional oversight of an administration would be more appropriate."

Republicans said testimony from Obama administration officials last week failed to answer their questions about whether the administration was prepared for the attacks and whether it could have responded more immediately to help.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey testified last week that no one in the White House called them for an update on the U.S. reaction to the attack. That led some on the Senate Armed Services Committee to openly question whether there was any concern at the White House over the safety of the officials.

"The administration's lack of accountability and transparency about exactly what happened during the deadly eight-hour siege is stunning and it is an absolute outrage that Americans have been waiting five months now for honest answers," Gerlach said.

"This administration made time to help write the scripts for two Hollywood movies about how it captured and killed terrorist Osama bin Laden but refuses to let Americans know exactly what the president was doing the night Ambassador Stevens and three public servants were executed," he added. "That's unacceptable, and House leadership has an obligation to the families of those killed and the public to pursue the truth about the events in Benghazi because I do not believe we've heard an accurate account yet from this Administration."

Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) and a few dozen House Republicans — including Gerlach — have already put forward a resolution to set up a congressional committee to investigate and report on the Benghazi attack.

That resolution would set up a 19-member select committee that would be tasked with investigating the details of the attack no later than 90 days after its first meeting.

The resolution, H.Res. 36, was introduced in the middle of January, but as of this week, GOP leaders have not indicated whether they will consider it on the House floor.