You would think they made enough money on selling journalists. Tying it to another continuing resolution.

The White House is pushing Congress for authority to arm and train moderate Syrian rebels as part of a stopgap spending bill lawmakers hope to pass this week.

President Obama and Vice President Biden are calling members of Congress Wednesday to push them to include the Title 10 authority as part of the continuing resolution (CR), and counterterrorism czar Lisa Monaco is meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Title 10 authority is the part of the U.S. code that governs military powers.

The White House says the additional authorization could allow the U.S. to ramp up assistance to the Syrian opposition, which is battling both terrorists with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) said Obama personally called him to request the Title 10 authority, but he thought it should be voted on separately.

"They've known about this problem for over a year," Rogers said. "It's a complicated, big-time change in policy. ... Let us go ahead with a CR to keep the government going."

The chairman acknowledged it was unusual to hear from Obama about the issue, saying he couldn't remember the last time the president had called him directly to make an appropriations request.

Democratic leaders in the House and Senate offered support for the authority, however, as did some Senate Republicans.

A Republican leadership aide noted that, since the president's original request, the White House has not submitted an operational plan detailing how the aid would be provided to rebel fighters. The official also noted three bipartisan bills that include programs to train and equip elements of the Syrian opposition have cleared committee and were awaiting Senate action.

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