Two separate but closely related issues confront Congress each time
the President introduces Armed Forces into a situation abroad that
conceivably could lead to their involvement in hostilities. One
issue concerns the division of war powers between the President and
Congress, whether the use of Armed Forces falls within the purview
of the congressional power to declare war and the War Powers
Resolution (WPR). The other issue is whether or not Congress
concurs in the wisdom of the action. This report does not deal with
the substantive merits of using Armed Forces in specific cases, but
rather with congressional authorization for military action, and
the application and effectiveness of the WPR. The purpose of the
WPR (P.L. 93-148, passed over President Nixon's veto on November 7,
1973) is to ensure that Congress and the President share in making
decisions that may get the United States involved in hostilities.
Compliance becomes an issue whenever the President introduces U.S.
forces abroad in situations that might be construed as hostilities
or imminent hostilities. Criteria for compliance include prior
consultation with Congress, fulfillment of the reporting
requirements, and congressional authorization. If the President has
not complied fully, the issue becomes what action Congress should
take to bring about compliance or to influence U.S. policy. A
related issue has been congressional authorization of U.N.
peacekeeping or other U.N.-sponsored actions. For over three
decades, war powers and the War Powers Resolution have been an
issue in U.S. military actions in Asia, the Middle East, Africa,
Central America, and Europe. Presidents have submitted 136 reports
to Congress as a result of the War Powers Resolution, although only
one (the Mayaguez situation) cited Section 4(a)(1) or specifically
stated that forces had been introduced into hostilities or imminent
hostilities. Congress invoked the WPR in the Multinational Force in
Lebanon Resolution (P.L. 98-119), which authorized the Marines to
remain in Lebanon for 18 months. In addition, P.L. 102-1, enacted
in January 1991, authorizing the use of U.S. Armed Forces in
response to Iraqi aggression against Kuwait, stated that it
constituted specific statutory authorization within the meaning of
the WPR. On November 9, 1993, the House used a section of the WPR
to state that U.S. forces should be withdrawn from Somalia by March
31, 1994; Congress had already taken this action in appropriations
legislation. War powers have been at issue in former
Yugoslavia/Bosnia/Kosovo, Iraq, and Haiti. Authorizing military
actions in response to the terrorist attacks against the United
States of September 11, 2001, through P.L. 107-40 directly involved
war powers. The continued use of force to obtain Iraqi compliance
with U.N. resolutions remained a war powers issue from the end of
the Gulf War on February 28, 1991, until the enactment of P.L.
107-243 in October 2002, which explicitly authorized the President
to use force against Iraq, an authority he exercised in March 2003,
and continues to exercise for military operations in Iraq. Most
recently, issues associated with presidential compliance with the
War Powers Resolution have arisen over his use of U.S. military
forces to support a U.N. sanctioned "no-fly zone" in Libya, without
obtaining congressional authorization for such action. Debate
continues on whether using the War Powers Resolution is effective
as a means of assuring congressional participation in decisions
that might get the United States involved in a significant military
conflict. Proposals have been made to modify or repeal the
resolution. None have been enacted to date.
General
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