Jim Webb: “I rise today to address perhaps the most important constitutional challenge facing the balance of power between the…”

“I rise today to address perhaps the most important constitutional challenge facing the balance of power between the Presidency and the Congress in modern times, and also to offer a legislative solution that might finally address this paralysis. It is an issue that has for far too long remained unresolved. And for the past 10 years, the failure of this body to address it has diminished the respect, the stature, and the seriousness with which the American people have viewed the Congress--to the detriment of our country and to our national security. The question is simple: When should the President have the unilateral authority to decide to use military force, and what is the place of the Congress in that process? What has happened to reduce the role of the Congress from the body which once clearly decided whether the Nation would go to war, to the point that we are viewed as little more than a rather mindless conduit that collects taxpayer dollars and dispenses them to the President for whatever military functions he decides to undertake? We know what the Constitution says. Most of us also know the difficulties that have attended this situation in the years that followed World War II. We are aware of the debates that resulted in the war powers resolution of nearly 40 years ago in the wake of the Vietnam war, where the Congress attempted to define a proper balance between the President and this legislative body.…”