Bill Lee: “I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his clarity on this issue. Mr. Chair, in the nearly 15 years, according to a…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his clarity on this issue. Mr. Chair, in the nearly 15 years, according to a Congressional Research Service report, the AUMFs that we are discussing today--the 2001 and the 2002--have been used more than 37 times in 14 countries to justify military actions. They have been used 18 times by President Bush and 19 times by President Obama. This report only examines the unclassified incidents. How many other operations have been conducted without the knowledge of Congress or the American people? These authorizations have not only been used to justify wars that are thousands of miles away, but they have also been used closer to home to justify warrantless surveillance and wiretaps and the targeted killings by drones, including of American citizens. How can we ask our brave men and women in uniform to fight a war while this Congress can't even muster the courage to debate it? Again, every hour, we spend $615,000 on this war. Every day, more bombs fall, the battlefield expands, and more American servicemembers are put in harm's way. How many more days until we do something about this complete and utter abdication of our responsibility? This is not a new issue for me or a new effort. I have been working on this for years to end the reliance on the overly broad 2001 authorization blank check. That is why I couldn't vote for it. I am pleased to say that this effort is growing in strength in bipartisan numbers.…”