AUMF

On this twentieth anniversary, I’m contemplating the fact that my country has been at war for the past two decades, nearly my entire life.

If anything, the last 20 years has taught us that endless wars are harming people and the planet as well as the generations that come after us. Today, it is our fervent hope that endless war will be no more.

Following two years of sustained advocacy by FCNL’s professional lobbyists and Advocacy Teams, a congressional committee approved a bill to repeal a dangerous, outdated war authorization that has been used to justify military actions never approved by Congress.

These days, getting Democrats and Republicans — Congress and the President — to agree on anything meaningful seems like a pipe dream. But now there is a rapidly growing consensus throughout Washington on one important matter: the constitutional responsibility of Congress to decide when — and if — our country goes to war.

A small group of determined advocates with the moral high ground can make a big difference.

FCNL applauds today’s vote in the House to repeal the outdated and overstretched 2002 AUMF used for the Iraq War.

The Biden Administration has announced its support for passage of H.R. 256, Rep. Barbara Lee’s (CA-13) bill to repeal the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq.

Yesterday, for the first time, a congressional committee advanced a bill to repeal one of the war authorizations that successive presidents have relied on to keep the United States at war for the last two decades.

For nearly two decades, the United States has relied on two congressional war authorizations to serve as the legal basis for military operations against suspected terrorist groups abroad. The Constitution provides the president with inherent powers to use military force without congressional authorization for defensive purposes. While this power is necessarily limited, it is significant and ensures that, even absent an AUMF, the president retains the ability to use military force in order to defend the national security of the United States.

A year ago today, the Trump administration assassinated Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani and nine other people, committing an act tantamount to war without congressional approval.