Bob Wise: “I happen to be one of the most ardent supporters of the War Powers Act. I have been frustrated that Presidents of both…”

“I happen to be one of the most ardent supporters of the War Powers Act. I have been frustrated that Presidents of both parties have disregarded it in years past. Be that as it may, I think this situation that the President is in is difficult enough already. I note with interest that a previous speaker talked about President Bush going to the United Nations six or seven times. That is true. There was a vote in Congress. That was over a 6-month period, as we slowly built troops up to a 500,000 person level. In this case, we have surface-to-air missiles winging at our airplanes during the last couple of days. We have Saddam Hussein drawing direct provocations, lines in the sands. I do not remember, in the case of an immediate action, I do not remember President Bush or President Reagan coming to Congress to announce in advance the details of how they are going to invade Grenada, perform the air raid on Libya, or invade Panama, all actions which received bipartisan support. I suggest that may be the reason Congress has not received a full briefing today on the details about what probably will be upcoming military action in Iraq.”