Report Urges Overhaul of the War Powers Law
By JOHN M. BRODER
NYT
WASHINGTON — Two former secretaries of state, concluding that a 1973 measure limiting the president’s ability to wage war unilaterally had never worked as intended, proposed on Tuesday a new system of closer consultation between the White House and Congress before American forces go into battle.
Their proposal would require the president to consult senior lawmakers before initiating combat expected to last longer than a week, except for covert operations or rare circumstances requiring emergency action, in which case consultation would have to be undertaken within three days.
Congress, for its part, would have 30 days to approve the military action or, if it declined to do so, could then order it ended by disapproving it.
The plan would create a new committee of Congressional leaders and relevant committee chairmen, with a full-time staff that would have access to military and intelligence material. The president would be required to consult with the group in advance of any major strike and regularly throughout any extended conflict.
The two former secretaries of state, Warren Christopher and James A. Baker III, oversaw a yearlong bipartisan study of the tension over war powers that has vexed the American government since its founding. In a report released on Tuesday, the study group concluded that the 1973 law, which is known as the War Powers Resolution and was adopted in the wake of American involvement in the Vietnam War, was lacking in a number of regards.
For one thing, the authors said, it allows the president to wage war without any Congressional consultation or approval for up to 90 days. It sets forth conditions under which a president can commit troops, including an unspecified “national emergency,” but provides no mechanism for Congress to enforce its provisions. It also requires the president to report periodically on the progress of any conflicts, a provision that has been regularly ignored.
Many scholars consider parts of the resolution unconstitutional, including the requirement that military action be ended within 90 days unless Congress specifically authorizes it.
(Continued here.)
NYT
WASHINGTON — Two former secretaries of state, concluding that a 1973 measure limiting the president’s ability to wage war unilaterally had never worked as intended, proposed on Tuesday a new system of closer consultation between the White House and Congress before American forces go into battle.
Their proposal would require the president to consult senior lawmakers before initiating combat expected to last longer than a week, except for covert operations or rare circumstances requiring emergency action, in which case consultation would have to be undertaken within three days.
Congress, for its part, would have 30 days to approve the military action or, if it declined to do so, could then order it ended by disapproving it.
The plan would create a new committee of Congressional leaders and relevant committee chairmen, with a full-time staff that would have access to military and intelligence material. The president would be required to consult with the group in advance of any major strike and regularly throughout any extended conflict.
The two former secretaries of state, Warren Christopher and James A. Baker III, oversaw a yearlong bipartisan study of the tension over war powers that has vexed the American government since its founding. In a report released on Tuesday, the study group concluded that the 1973 law, which is known as the War Powers Resolution and was adopted in the wake of American involvement in the Vietnam War, was lacking in a number of regards.
For one thing, the authors said, it allows the president to wage war without any Congressional consultation or approval for up to 90 days. It sets forth conditions under which a president can commit troops, including an unspecified “national emergency,” but provides no mechanism for Congress to enforce its provisions. It also requires the president to report periodically on the progress of any conflicts, a provision that has been regularly ignored.
Many scholars consider parts of the resolution unconstitutional, including the requirement that military action be ended within 90 days unless Congress specifically authorizes it.
(Continued here.)
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