Tim Kaine: “I rise in opposition to the amendment. I support the notion of dialogue, of course, with our strategic partners and…”

“I rise in opposition to the amendment. I support the notion of dialogue, of course, with our strategic partners and allies, but the purpose of this AUMF repeal is for Congress to reclaim war powers and not outsource them to the Executive but also not outsource them to other nations. When we passed the Iraq war authorization in 2002, there was no requirement that it only went into effect if we then went out and had dialogue with other nations. Why would we declare war unilaterally but then say the only way to repeal it is following dialogue with other nations? Our allies and partners are very aware of this bill. It has been on the floor for 2 years. There have been floor debates about it in the House. There have been two separate markups in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. They are very aware of it. All of us meet with Ambassadors. All of us meet with Parliamentarians. If nations in the region felt that there was any danger to this, they would have let us know. I will conclude and just say that the American Legion also strongly opposes this amendment. I would ask my colleagues to oppose it as well. Vote on Amendment No. 30 The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question occurs on agreeing to the amendment.”