Congress, Not Trump, Has the Authority Over War - Bernie Sanders

MARCH 29, 2018, 3:36 PM

Excerpts:

On March 20, by a vote of 55-44, the U.S. Senate tabled a resolution that I introduced along with two of my colleagues, Republican Mike Lee of Utah and Democrat Chris Murphy of Connecticut, calling on the president to withdraw U.S. participation in the war in Yemen.

We offered this resolution for two reasons. First, the Saudi-led war in Yemen has led to one of the worst humanitarian crises in modern history. Second, the time is long overdue for Congress to reassert its constitutional authority in matters of war. Article I of the U.S. Constitution states clearly that the people’s representatives in Congress, not a single person residing in the White House, shall have the power to declare war.

In voting to table our resolution, the chair and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee committed to hold hearings on this three-year-old military intervention. I hope that these hearings will happen soon, and that they will ask the necessary tough questions about the administration’s justifications for this war. If not, I reserve the right to bring our resolution to the floor of the Senate for consideration again.

If Congress supports U.S. participation in the war in Yemen, let them have the courage to vote for it. If they support an expanded role for U.S. troops in Syria or anywhere else, let them vote for it. But for the future of our country, the credibility of our commitments, and the well-being of our armed forces, Congress cannot continue to abdicate the constitutionally mandated war-making responsibilities which the founding fathers gave to them.

http://foreignpolicy.com/2018/03/29/congress-not-trump-has-the-authority-over-war/