Congressional inconsistency continues regarding war powers
By Robert Moore, opinion contributor — 07/15/20 09:30 AM EDT
This month, the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) voted to approve the annual National Defense Authorization Act — more commonly known as the defense spending bill. This legislation authorizes funding for the Department of Defense for budgets that include: military pay increases; buying new ships and airplanes; and the military health care system for the next fiscal year. Tucked away inside the House version of this year's bill is a widely supported amendment that limits funds to reduce the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, a stated goal of President Trump since the 2016 campaign.
This amendment is quite stunning to observers of Congress's role in foreign relations and national security issues over the past two decades. Even at the height of criticism and sinking voter confidence over the Iraq War in the mid-2000s, Congress was not able to muster the will to limit President Bush from increasing the American troop's presence there. During the Obama administration, our legislators weren't able to reach a consensus on either authorizing or disapproving of the president's strategically futile actions in Libya and Syria, despite massive public opposition and the outright violation of constitutional war-making authorities.
https://thehill.com/opinion/international/507411-congressional-inconsistency-continues-regarding-war-powers?utm_source=&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=31567
