The House Committee on Foreign Affairs today passed U.S. Representative Peter Meijer’s (R-MI) bills to repeal the 1957 and 1991 Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMFs). Representative Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) helped lead these efforts, which now await consideration by the full House.
The 1957 AUMF was enacted 64 years ago to defend Middle East nations from armed aggression by “any country controlled by international communism.” Congress passed this law at the urging of President Eisenhower, who feared the Soviet Union would attempt to fill the power vacuum in the Middle East after the Suez Crisis. The Soviet Union no longer exists, and laws since passed by Congress have rendered this AUMF obsolete.
The 1991 AUMF was originally passed to authorize U.S. military force in the Gulf War to implement a UN resolution demanding Iraq’s withdrawal from Kuwait. That mission was accomplished long ago; repealing this AUMF would have no impact on ongoing military operations.
The bills are supported by Concerned Veterans for America, VoteVets, Foreign Policy for America, Project on Government Oversight, and the R Street Institute.
“We applaud Rep. Meijer and Rep. Spanberger for their determined leadership to repeal outdated Authorizations for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) which have been twisted beyond their original intent and no longer serve America's interests. We’ve made significant progress by committing to end an endless war in Afghanistan, but it is only a start. Now Congress must reclaim its constitutional powers, and clean repeals of outdated military authorizations are a clear next step. We hope both parties can unite in passing legislation that will rebalance constitutional war powers for the wellbeing of our nation and its citizens.” – Nate Anderson, Executive Director, Concerned Veterans for America
“Repealing all outdated AUMFs is of utmost importance, as we continue our efforts to shift war-making powers back to Congress, where they belong. If troops are worth deploying, it is worthy of a fresh debate, and a vote, before a commitment. What cannot be allowed to happen is that a president has a blank check to send troops all around the world, based on an authorization passed before many troops were even born. We’re proud to support these bills and urge the House to immediately pass them.” – Mary Kaszynski, Director of Government Relations, VoteVets
“Today’s vote is an important step toward reshaping America’s foreign policy to meet today’s challenges. Repealing these generations-old use of force authorizations is a necessary first step toward restoring Congress’s war powers authority and reining in the forever wars that have defined the last twenty years. We thank Representative Meijer and Representative Spanberger for their leadership on this important issue.” – Andrew Albertson, Executive Director, Foreign Policy for America
"As long as these authorizations remain on the books, the danger persists that the executive branch could inappropriately use them as legal justification to send American troops into harm's way without seeking the current Congress's approval. Doing so would clearly violate the spirit of the Constitution's war powers clause. The 1957 and 1991 authorizations have served their purpose and it is long past time to consign them to history. Representatives Spanberger, Gallagher, Golden, and Meijer should be commended for taking on this important work." – Dan Grazier, Center for Defense Information, Project on Government Oversight
"Both the 1957 and 1991 AUMFs are outdated authorizations irrelevant to any current national security challenge. Their continued presence on the books can only lead to potential abuse. A bipartisan effort to scrutinize outdated authorizations is a welcome step and a return to Congress's proper constitutional role." – Anthony Marcum, Resident Fellow, R Street Institute
Rep. Meijer’s remarks as prepared are below.
1957 AUMF:
“Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Mr. McCaul, and my friend Ms. Spanberger for leading this effort with me. I also want to thank Congressmen Mike Gallagher and Jared Golden for helping to introduce legislation with me and Ms. Spanberger to repeal this 1957 AUMF along with the 2002 AUMF and the 1991 AUMF, which is also being considered today.
“Our bill is simple: it repeals an outdated and irrelevant authorization for the use of military force to defend Middle East nations from armed aggression by ‘any country controlled by international communism.’
“This authorization was enacted in 1957 at the urging of President Eisenhower, who feared the Soviets would attempt to fill the power vacuum in the Middle East after the Suez Crisis.
That was 64 years ago. The Soviet Union no longer exists, and subsequent laws passed by Congress have rendered this AUMF obsolete.
“The only purpose this authorization serves is to provide current and future presidents opportunity to abuse it to justify a military intervention in the Middle East against China or other communist countries.
“Repealing it would prevent this type of abuse. It would also send a clear message that Congress is serious about reclaiming its constitutional responsibilities and gets us one step closer towards restoring congressional oversight over war powers more generally.
“Our work is not done today. Congress also has a responsibility to repeal and replace the 2001 AUMF. Allowing our current military operations overseas to be guided by a 20-year-old AUMF is a disservice to our service members and the American people and represents a dereliction of congressional responsibilities. I urge this committee to take up a new AUMF that carefully considers threats and potential boundaries, such as a defined mission, target groups, geographical constraints, and more.
“The Constitution provides Congress the ultimate power to declare war. It’s time we fulfill that responsibility to the American people.
“I urge passage of this bill, and I yield back.”
1991 AUMF:
“Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I support the en bloc package, and I want to speak particularly on the 1991 AUMF repeal, which I was proud to lead with Congresswoman Spanberger.
“Like our bill to repeal the 1957 AUMF, this bill is about restoring Congress’s role over matters of war and peace and cleaning up the U.S. code to eliminate any potential for abuse by future administrations.
“The 1991 AUMF was originally passed to authorize military forces in the Gulf War to implement a UN resolution demanding Iraq’s withdrawal from Kuwait. That mission was accomplished long ago, and repealing this AUMF would have no effect on ongoing military operations.
“It would, however, send a clear message that Congress is committed to restoring its constitutional role that has unfortunately been ceded to the Executive Branch over the past 20 years. Passing this legislation is a necessary act of congressional hygiene that will help restore that balance. I yield back.”
Original source can be found here.
