Require Congressional Approval for the Use of Military Force - Passed House
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UPDATE (01/30/19): The House has passed an amendment to HR 550 to include a repeal to the 2001 AUMF. The legislation will now return to the Senate for passage.
UPDATE (01/27/20): This Thursday, House Democrats are expected vote to add an amendment with the same text as HR 2456 to non-controversial legislation (HR 550) already passed by the Senate. This procedural method stops the GOP from blocking the insertion of the legislation.
On September 14, 2001, in the days following the largest ever terror attack on American soil, Congress passed the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), granting the President the authority to use “all necessary and appropriate force” against those who “planned, authorized, committed or aided” the attacks of September 11th “in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States.”
Since 2001, the AUMF has been used as the legal basis for military action against a broad range of groups extending far beyond those implicated in the September 11th attacks. According to the Congressional Research Service, the 2001 AUMF has been used in at least 14 different countries to justify military intervention. For 18 years, the executive branch has used this overly broad and outdated authorization to wage unending war against terrorism with little or no appropriate congressional oversight.
To end the President’s ability to use the 2001 AUMF, members of both the House and Senate have introduced legislation that would repeal the authorization. In the House, Representative Barbara Lee has introduced H.R. 2456, while Senator Tim Kaine has introduced S.J. Res. 13 in the Senate. Thought the details of the legislation are different, both bills achieve the same significant step towards reinstating congressional oversight for military intervention and ending the executive branch’s overly broad power to wage war.
