Wendy Sherman: “I want to commend the subcommittee and the full committee for including in the base text a provision that says that no…”

“I want to commend the subcommittee and the full committee for including in the base text a provision that says that no funds shall be used in contravention of the War Powers Act. This is a provision I originally proposed in 2011 as a floor vote. We lost at first, but it was adopted in 2011 and has been part of the base text ever since. The War Powers Act is the one restraint on a President who seeks to, on their own accord, send our troops into harm's way for permanent warfare. It says that troops cannot be deployed for more than 60 or 90 days without an Authorization for Use of Military Force, but every President since the Vietnam war has claimed that the War Powers Act was an unconstitutional, nonbinding provision on the President's power to send our troops. That is why I am pleased to report to the House that, when he testified before our committee, former Attorney General Mukasey said, But with this provision, the President has to abide by the War Powers Act.”