STEWARTSTOWN -- Hours after taking some heat on CNN for his political views on foreign policy and criticism of the president, U.S. Rep. Scott Perry clarified his position on the Islamic State group.

"So the question is, is it an existential threat? And I think it is. Maybe not for the continental United States, but certainly for America's interests," he said during a town hall meeting Wednesday night in York County.

Perry, who served in Iraq and is brigadier general for the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, was asked many questions about national security and how the country should handle an Islamic terrorist network that continues to grow.

"What should we do about it? Use all instruments of power," he said.

Those instruments don't just include military force but also diplomacy and actions to restrict the flow of money to Islamic militants.

But Perry, who serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and is oversight chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, said he has concerns about a recent request from the commander in chief.

Scott Perry: Obama is working collaboratively with Islamic militants

Scott Perry tones down charge Obama is working collaboratively with Islamic militants

President Barack Obama earlier this month asked Congress for new war authority against the Islamic State group. The authorization would be retroactive and does not include the deployment of ground troops.

While Perry said he believes Congress and the American people should have a say in national security, Obama has executive war powers broader than what he's asking of the legislative branch.

"I disagree with how it restricts his authority," he said.

It's a view frequently touted by Republican lawmakers, but the service to his country runs deep for Perry.

"I've taken an oath for this country many times. I love this country and think it's the best in the world. I don't get the sense that [Obama] feels the same and wants us to be the superpower or wants us to be the best. And I do," he said to the applause of about 100 constituents who gathered for the town hall meeting at the Eureka Volunteer Fire and Ambulance Company in Stewartstown.

On medical marijuana, impeaching the president, global warming, immigration, Obama's plan to give two years of free community college, school lunches, repealing Obamacare and House Speaker John Boehner's crying, Perry had the following statements:

One of his priorities this year is to pass a bill he introduced last year that would legalize a marijuana-based oil

As for impeaching the president, Perry made it clear that was unlikely. "Not enough citizens agree with Stewartstown," he said.

There's "no doubt" climate change has been happening, Perry said, and he thinks "man contributes to it to a certain extent." But it's no reason to put coal producers out of business, he said.

Perry said immigration reform is needed and the system is broken, but how to fix it remains a sticking point between the executive and legislative branches. "We're a country of immigrants, but we're also a country of laws."

Obama's plan to offer two years of free community college probably won't go anywhere, Perry said. Because it would involve a spending plan, it would need to be approved by Congress. "It's not on our agenda. I don't think you'll see a lot from it," he said.

A local sixth grade boy complained to Perry about all the whole-grain pizza and "stale" peanut butter and jelly lunches he's had to eat in school, and the congressman agreed the federal government has gone "way too far" with its policies on school lunches.

It's unlikely Obamacare will be repealed. The House has tried to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in its entirety four times, and it's tried to repeal parts of it several more times. Those actions never make it past the Senate, and it's highly unlikely Obama would ever sign a congressional action that repeals his signature legislation. "The most we can do is improve upon it," Perry said.