On the recordMarch 9, 2010
In 2001 I joined the House in voting for the authorization for the use of military force. In nearly 9 years, it has become clear that the authorization for the use of military force is being used carte blanche for circumventing Congress' role as a coequal branch of government. Both the Bush and the Obama administrations have cited that the 2001 authorization of the use of military force is justification for the military escalation in Afghanistan, for holding prisoners indefinitely in Guantanamo or at Bagram Air Force Base, and even for mass domestic spying on U.S. citizens in violation of our most basic constitutional principles. Tomorrow, the House will consider H. Con. Res. 248, a resolution that would require the President to withdraw U.S. Armed Forces from Afghanistan by December 31, 2010. As U.S. Armed Forces and our allies begin the first in a series of large military operations in Afghanistan, this House must be heard from. We must reclaim our constitutional responsibility and our responsibility to the American people.
