Bipartisan House Group (led by Rep. Kucinich) Pushing For Enforcement Of War Powers Act

[bigtree]

12-15-09

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) has pulled together a group of five Republicans and eight Democrats who plan to introduce a special resolution on the House floor compelling the president to comply with the War Powers Act as he wages war in Afghanistan.

Congress has largely ceded its constitutional duty to declare war and has instead been relegated to approving or disapproving war funds -- it hasn't cut off money for a war since Vietnam.

While Kucinich was on the House floor Tuesday debating the war, Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) gathered reporters in the Rayburn House Office Building to decry Obama's proposed troop escalation, which Grayson said will only waste lives and money in pursuit of an impossible goal. Grayson had just come from the floor, where he inserted 100,000 names petitioning for an end to the war into the congressional record.

If a war is being waged without a declaration, the War Powers Act allows any representative to introduce a joint resolution forcing the House Committee on Foreign Relations to vote on that resolution within 15 days; Kucinich is hoping to force such a vote. The resolution would then be sent back to the House floor.

"Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution of the United States makes it Congress' responsibility to determine whether or not we go to war or stay at war. Consistent with Article 1, Section 8, the privileged resolutions will invoke the War Powers Resolution of 1973. I ask for your support of these resolutions, which will be introduced in the House in January," Kucinich wrote to his colleagues last week.

read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/15/bipartisan-hou...

[G_j]

1. Congress has the power nt

[NightWatcher]

2. how dare he compell Obama to comply with the Constitution

time to throw Dennis under the bus

[MuseRider]

16. Man if he ever read here

he would realize he lives under that bus. I suspect he would not care because the constitution means more to him than popularity unlike many politicians we know.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

3. This is a good idea in light of what Pretraeus is putting out there about Iran. nt

[RufusTFirefly]

4. Amen. Let's prove that the Constitution isn't just a goddamned piece of paper

Honoring Article II, Section 4 would've done wonders a few years ago, but we have to start somewhere, I guess.

[Ozymanithrax]

5. Very very smart.

We are in Afghanistan under the The Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists and Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002. (Kucinich signed the The Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists.) Up until now, these two authorizations have carried the force of law. It will be interesting to see if they stand up to an attempt stop the war.

I suspect this will go nowhere. I don't think the Democratic Majority in the House and the Senate have the stomach to allow this to go very far.

[bigtree]

6. .

[bigtree]

7. kick

[slipslidingaway]

8. knr nt

[marmar]

9. I'm fine with this, but where was this "bipartisan" group in 2003?

Lots of Repugs rushing over to stop Bush, right?

[bigtree]

10. they likely didn't have strong midterm challenges from the left

I suspect that's what's motivating these republican converts right now.

[Kitty Herder]

11. I suspect what's motivating them is a desire to stick to Obama.

I wouldn't give the Republicans credit for virtuous motives.

[bigtree]

12. nothing more 'virtuous' here than protecting their political hides

A challenge from a Democratic candidate on the left, for example, has prompted Arlen Specter to adopt an anti-war facade.

[debbierlus]

13. Kick

[bigtree]

14. kick

[Vidar]

15. Kudos to Kucinich & Grayson.