On September 13, the United States Senate voted (61-36) to table an amendment to the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act introduced by Sen. Rand Paul, that called for repealing the 2001 and 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMF).
Yasmine Taeb, FCNL Legislative Director for Human Rights and Civil Liberties made the following statement:
“FCNL denounces the vote in the U.S. Senate to table this AUMF amendment, when it’s Congress’s constitutional duty to guide decisions over war and peace.
“FCNL urges Congress to both debate and vote on war. Over the past 16 years, the 2001 AUMF has provided three administrations with a blank check for war. As FCNL has noted many times, the 2001 AUMF is a deeply flawed, staggeringly overbroad piece of legislation, and it is past time for Congress to put it to rest.
“Sen. Rand Paul’s amendment stands as a strong statement against endless warfare but also promotes debate and compels Congress to reckon with its history of inaction on this issue.
“It is long past time for Congress to reclaim its Constitutionally-designated war authority. We urge all members of Congress, particularly those invested in Congress’s power to determine when and where our nation goes to war, to engage in a rigorous debate on war authority, and to take the critical step of repealing both the 2001 and 2002 war authorities as soon as possible.
“We hope that future attempts to repeal the 2001 and 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force are greeted with more support.”
Click the link below to see how your Senator voted: Senate Vote on Tabling AUMF Amendment
