Kevin Kiley

California independent Rep. Kevin Kiley said Congress needs to play more of a role in the ongoing conflict in Iran.

"We are well past the time where Congress needs to be more centrally involved in defining the scope and objectives of this conflict going forward," Kiley said during a CNN appearance Thursday. "If we come up with an acceptable arrangement to make sure that Iran doesn't reach nuclear capability, for that to be durable, we actually need to have buy-in from Congress."

"We need to make sure that whatever is agreed to isn't just going to be changed by the next administration," Kiley added. "We need to have buy-in from our international partners and allies as well."

"I think we're at a stage right now where trying to get Congress and our international allies — especially the Gulf states — more centrally involved is going to be very important to the resolution," he continued.

Kiley said his constituents and people throughout the country are hurting from high gas prices.

"People are feeling enormous pain right now, which is one of several reasons why we need to get a quick and expeditious end to this conflict," Kiley said.

He added that he has called for suspending or capping gas taxes or making it easier to import gasoline from around the world.

"Any cause of an increase in gas prices is a very bad thing for our country," Kiley said. "But we should solve the ones that we can."

Kiley has called for oversight hearings on the war, particularly as they consider whether to give the Pentagon more funding for the conflict.

"We need to be using the tools we have at our disposal right now to work in a bipartisan way to see that our objectives are as achieved here as quickly as possible and in a way that will be durable going forward," Kiley said.