Rep. Mike Turner said last week that he is unsatisfied with President Barack Obama’s report to Congress on Libya.

Obama last week asserted that he does not need congressional authorization for the military operation in Libya. Critics, including Turner, have said that U.S. involvement in Libya violates the 1973 War Powers Resolution, which requires presidents to obtain Congress’ authorization when inserting U.S. forces into hostilities.

“The President’s report to Congress is an attempt to evade Congressional approval of military action in Libya,” Turner, R-Centerville, said. “His response also fails to answer the questions I and many other members have been asking for months. We still do not know who the rebel forces are, what the plans are if Muammar Gaddafi’s regime falls, and the time frame of our commitment to this conflict.”

Two weeks ago, the House passed a resolution giving Obama until Sunday to respond to congressional queries about U.S. involvement in Libya. “If the president does not formally seek Congress’ approval to continue military action, we must act to disapprove of the U.S. operations in Libya immediately,” Turner said.

Turner earlier this month authored a resolution formally disapproving of U.S. military involvement in Libya. The resolution has 77 co-sponsors.

Brown says no to trade agreements

Sen. Sherrod Brown officially broke with President Obama last week on the issue of trade, saying the president “is wrong’’ by supporting free trade agreements with South Korea, Panama and Colombia.

In a news conference with reporters on Capitol Hill, Brown, D-Ohio, accused the Obama administration of engaging in a “continuation ... slightly changed,’’ of the trade policies of former President George W. Bush. “The president is wrong on this,’’ Brown said.

In a debate in Cleveland during his 2008 campaign, Obama vowed to withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico unless they agreed to substantial revisions. Once in office, Obama dropped the idea.

Obama is now urging Congress to approve free trade agreements with South Korea, Panama and Colombia that were largely negotiated by the Bush administration. But Obama also wants Congress to extend financial help to workers who lose their jobs because of trade.

Brown, a consistent opponent of NAFTA and permanent normal trade relations with China, wants Congress to approve the financial help for workers before taking on the trade pacts themselves. He said he would vote against the South Korean pact.

House has ‘guest pastor’ for a day

The president of Circleville-based Ohio Christian University gave the opening prayer last week at the U.S. House of Representatives.

Mark A. Smith served as the House “guest pastor” for the day. He was invited to give the opening prayer by U.S. Rep. Steve Austria, R-Beavercreek.

Smith has been the president of Ohio Christian University for five years. During that time, the university has grown from 380 to 1,350-plus students. Before coming to Ohio Christian University, he was vice president for adult and graduate studies at Indiana Wesleyan University for five years.