Thomas Massie: “I rise in support of this War Powers Resolution because the integrity of this institution is in question. Every Member…”

“I rise in support of this War Powers Resolution because the integrity of this institution is in question. Every Member of this House has a duty to uphold the Constitution's system of checks and balances by exercising its Article I powers entrusted to us. The executive's military exercise to capture the leader of Venezuela represents one of the most blatant usurpations of congressional authority we have seen in modern times. If we ignore it, then we are not merely acquiescing to executive overreach, we are rendering impotent our branch of government. Thomas Paine said in 1776: "A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right." Some of my Republican colleagues may feel obligated to acquiesce because it is our party occupying the White House. It is our party who is the Commander in Chief, but the precedents we tolerate today will inevitably be used against us tomorrow when the reins of power change hands. That is precisely why our loyalty must be to the Constitution and not to any party. If our country wants war, then Congress must vote on it. We are the voice of the people. There is a reason so many of our offices bear a Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Flag. It is a solemn reminder of the human cost of war and our obligation, not the obligation of a single executive or a private circle of special interests, to decide when to go to war. Even the executive branch knows that Congress had the authority, not them.”