(07.12.2021)
Tim Kaine and Todd Young were preparing to celebrate a historic victory this month: repealing two outdated war authorizations.
But the Virginina Democrat and the Indiana Republican learned this week that their legislation to scrap the 1991 and 2002 Iraq war authorizations has become a casualty of the Senate’s year-end scramble to pass the annual defense policy bill, lift the debt ceiling and approve President Joe Biden’s social spending plan.
Should lawmakers try to force the issue of updating the 2001 AUMF by establishing an expiration date, one of their best chances would be via an amendment to the must-pass fiscal 2022 defense policy bill that both chambers will take up this fall.
In a Senate Foreign Relations Committee meeting on Wednesday, U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.) advanced a proposal to repeal two Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMF) issued in 1991 and 2002.
The legislation, which has already been passed by the House, will now go to a full vote on the Senate floor.
Three Republicans — Todd Young of Indiana, Ohio’s Rob Portman, and Rand Paul of Kentucky — voted with all the panel’s Democrats for repeal, with some Republicans who opposed the move Wednesday arguing that though they support scrapping both AUMFs, the time is not right amid rising tensions with neighboring Iran.
Pelosi says they appear „targeted and proportional“
Schiff says he believes they are „appropriate and reasonable“
Kaine said today it appears to be „classic“ self-defense
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced Wednesday that the chamber will hold a veto override vote at 1:30 p.m. It‘s expected to fall short of the two-thirds support needed, effectively ending the attempt to nix Trump‘s veto.
(11.03.2020)
The bipartisan measure amounts to an unusual rebuke of the president’s expansive war powers. President Trump has promised to veto it.
(13.03.2020)
Sen. Tim Kaine introduced the resolution after President Donald Trump ordered an airstrike that killed a top Iranian general.
The vote was 55-45. Eight Republicans voted in favor of it: Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Todd Young of Indiana, Mike Lee of Utah, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Jerry Moran of Kansas.
The U.S. Senate are expected to hold a final vote on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2020 on a War Powers resolution that is aimed at restricting President Donald Trump‘s authority to launch military operations against Iran.
Acht Republikaner schlossen sich der Initiative der Demokraten bereits an. Die von den Republikanern dominierte Kammer votierte mit 51 zu 45 Stimmen dafür, die Abstimmung über die Resolution zuzulassen.
The resolution underscores that Congress has the sole power to declare war, as laid out in the Constitution. The resolution also requires that any hostilities with Iran must be explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or specific authorization for use of military force. It does not prevent the U.S. from defending itself from an imminent attack.
The U.S. Senate has begun debating a war powers resolution, which was introduced by Senator Tim Kaine.
On Wednesday, Kaine spoke on the Senate floor, urging other members of the congressional chamber to pass the resolution to „prevent further escalation of hostilities with Iran without congressional authorization.“
The U.S. Senate advanced legislation on Wednesday intended to limit President Donald Trump’s ability to wage war against Iran, paving the way for a final vote as eight Republicans joined Democrats in supporting the war powers resolution.
On January 9, 2020, the House passed their war powers resolution and this week it is the Senate’s turn. The vote will happen soon. Contact your Senators now and tell them to vote for Sen. Kaine’s war powers resolution! Ensure that trump can not take any further military actions against Iran without congressional approval.
Fill out the form below to send an email to your senators — overseas supporters can scroll down to sign the petition below.
(17.01.2019)
Kudos to Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Todd C. Young (R-Ind.), Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) for their integrity in standing up for the resolution put forward by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) that joins the House to remind the administration that the Constitution gave Congress the right to declare war.
The junior senator from Virginia spoke to a full house of students and faculty about war powers and its history, and how we have gotten to where we are now.
Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) are calling on their Senate colleagues to support a proposed resolution aimed at reining in President Trump‘s war powers against Iran.
(1) Congress has the sole power to declare war under article I, section 8, clause 11 of the United States Constitution.
(2) Congress has not yet declared war upon, nor enacted a specific statutory authorization for use of military force against, the Islamic Republic of Iran. The 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public Law 107–40; 50 U.S.C. 1541 note) against the perpetrators of the 9/11 attack and the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 (Public Law 107–243; 50 U.S.C. 1541 note) do not serve as a specific statutory authorization for war against Iran, and neither authorize any such action.
Kaine filed a draft of his resolution the day after the Iranian commander, Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, was killed in a U.S. drone strike, and he has been working with Republicans to amend the measure so they would support it. As a result, the updated, bipartisan version removes all references to Trump and his administration’s statements and policies regarding Iran.
The resolution, which would give Mr. Trump a 30-day deadline to come to Congress for authorization for military action in Iran, would still need to be passed by the House. And it would be unlikely to overcome a veto from the president.
Mr. Kaine introduced the measure, which invokes the War Powers Act of 1973, as a privileged joint resolution, which allows him to force a vote on the measure and win over the support of a simple majority of senators.
Senate Democrats hoping to rein in President Trump’s ability to wage war against Iran secured majority support Tuesday for Sen. Tim Kaine’s (D-Va.) war powers resolution, but the timing of the measure is now in flux.
In a procedural snafu, Democrats won’t be able to force a vote on the measure until Tuesday at the earliest — the same day the Senate is expected to start Trump’s impeachment trial.
Lee said that the language of the resolution is unobjectionable, saying it simply states that „additional hostilities against Iran need to be authorized by Congress.“ He added, „That is a perfectly unremarkable statement. […] The fact that this would be objectionable to anyone in either political party is really saying something.“ That‘s particularly true after Kaine agreed to amendments from Republicans to make the resolution applicable to any president, and to ensure that it wouldn‘t force a withdrawal of troops in areas where proxy forces of Iran are present.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) is circulating a bipartisan resolution that would direct Trump to remove U.S. forces from any hostilities against Iran within 30 days of its enactment.
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GOP Sens. Mike Lee (Utah) and Rand Paul (Ky.) have already voiced their support for the measure, and Kaine says about eight more Republicans, including Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Todd Young (Ind.) and Mitt Romney (Utah), are reviewing it.
@GOP @SenateGOP @SenateDems @DNC #TrumpsWar
“It should be voted on when everybody’s in the chamber,” he said, noting Tuesday’s presidential debate. “A, I want to pass it. But B, it is the kind of a vote that should not happen with people absent.”
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Tuesday’s debate will include Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.).
Lawmakers looking to limit Trump’s ability to take military action against Iran face a tight time frame with little room for error after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced she will send the articles of impeachment to the Senate this week. Once the trial begins, all legislation is expected to be delayed for weeks.
But a resolution from Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) can come to the Senate floor as soon as Tuesday morning, and he has been trying to win over the four GOP votes needed, in addition to every Democratic senator, to get to 51 votes.
(1) Congress has the sole power to declare war under article I, section 8, clause 11 of the United States Constitution.
(2) Congress has not yet declared war upon, nor enacted a specific statutory authorization for use of military force against, the Islamic Republic of Iran. The 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public Law 107–40; 50 U.S.C. 1541 note) against the perpetrators of the 9/11 attack and the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 (Public Law 107–243; 50 U.S.C. 1541 note) do not serve as a specific statutory authorization for war against Iran, and neither authorize any such action.
(…)
SEC. 2. Removal of United States Forces from Hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
(a) Removal of forces.—Pursuant to section 1013 of the Department of State Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1984 and 1985 (50 U.S.C. 1546a), and in accordance with the provisions of section 601(b) of the International Security Assistance and Arms Export Control Act of 1976, Congress hereby directs the President to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran or any part of its government or military, by not later than the date that is 30 days after the date of the enactment of this joint resolution unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or specific authorization for use of military force.
He got a major break Wednesday when Republican Sens. Mike Lee (Utah) and Rand Paul (Ky.) told reporters they’d back his effort. Since then, Kaine said, he has spoken with eight or nine more senators from the 53-member GOP caucus, with more meetings planned.
He needs 51 votes for the resolution to pass. A vote could come as soon as Tuesday. Kaine said he has agreed to remove references to President Trump from the resolution — it would, of course, apply to all presidents — and to make other technical changes.
Senate Democrats are debating among themselves whether to take up a concurrent resolution passed by the House on Thursday limiting Trump’s war powers, or to stick with a proposal sponsored by Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.).
The Democratic-controlled House passed the measure on Thursday by a vote of 224-194 with just three Republicans voting in support. Eight Democrats opposed the measure.
The nonbinding war powers resolution was approved in a mostly party-line vote of 224-194. Only three Republicans and one independent joined Democrats to pass the measure. Eight Democrats opposed it.
The Senate could consider a similar measure — but one that has the force of law — as early as next week, but it is unclear if it has enough votes to clear the chamber.
„This week, the House will introduce and vote on a War Powers Resolution to limit the President’s military actions regarding Iran. This resolution is similar to the resolution introduced by Senator Tim Kaine in the Senate. It reasserts Congress’s long-established oversight responsibilities by mandating that if no further Congressional action is taken, the Administration’s military hostilities with regard to Iran cease within 30 days.
The House Resolution will be led by Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin. Congresswoman Slotkin is a former CIA and Department of Defense analyst specializing in Shia militias. She served multiple tours in the region under both Democratic and Republican Administrations.“
Kaine and other Democrats have long pushed to allow the previous AUMFs to expire and require presidents to get new authorizations from Congress for new and ongoing conflicts. His resolution states that neither of these previous authorizations allows for war with Iran. “[The previous resolutions] do not serve as a specific statutory authorization for war against Iran, and neither authorize any such action,” the resolution states.
On Wednesday, Kaine was the lead Democrat on a new bill that would repeal the authorizations for the 1991 Gulf War and the 2002 war against Iraq.
“It just creates a challenge, and for a president to think, ‘Hmm, if I want to bypass Congress, how can I do it?’” Kaine said of antiquated military authorizations that technically remain law.
(17.4.2018) the new Authorization for the Use of Military Force, introduced by Bob Corker, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman, and the Democrat Tim Kaine, may end up doing the opposite.
Senator Kaine is right that, as he said in a speech about the bill, “for too long Congress has given presidents a blank check to wage war.” The 2001 authorization, passed three days after the Sept. 11 attacks and aimed at the perpetrators of those attacks, has done just that. Three presidents in a row have warped its limited authority into an enabling act for globe-spanning presidential war.
The Corker-Kaine resolution won’t bring an end to the Forever War; it will institutionalize it.
Joining others who have already made their opposition clear, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.)—who in 2001 was the sole member of Congress to vote against the original Authorization for Use of Military Force in the wake of the the 9/11 attacks—is raising her voice once more against a bi-partisan proposal introduced this week that she says would only strengthen, not curb, the „blank check for war“ that Congress has bestowed on the president.
Saying she has „grave concerns“ about the bill introduced by Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Lee on Tuesday warned it „would continue all current military operations, allow any president to unilaterally expand our wars, and effectively consent to endless war by omitting any sunset date or geographic constraints for our ongoing operations.“
Read the text of the bill—officially titled „The Authorization for Use of Military Force of 2018″—here (pdf).