On the recordJune 19, 2019
We spent many hours in this Chamber talking about the amendments to the appropriations bill, this combination of several appropriations bills, that we will pass later this week. What I would like to take a minute to talk about is an amendment I didn't offer because we got the material in the base text. Our Constitution creates a tension between Article I and Article II when it comes to the power to wage war: the Commander in Chief on the one hand versus the authority of Congress to declare war on the other. Thomas Jefferson determined that it was necessary to get the approval of Congress before he deployed Marines to the shores of Tripoli, our first non-declared war, our first intervention in the Middle East, and a precedent that should have been followed by subsequent Presidents. But in fact, since the days of Jefferson, on many occasions, Presidents just sent our troops in without seeking authority from Congress. That is why in 1973, in the wake of the Vietnam war, this Congress passed the War Powers Act, also known as the War Powers Resolution. It provides that the President cannot deploy for more than 60 or 90 days without an authorization to use military force. Now, that act of 1973 is not everything it should be because it did not encompass the idea of bombing without deploying troops for periods of 60 or 90 days. It is unclear, perhaps.…
