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Floor Speech

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Mr. PAUL. How much time do I have remaining?

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Mr. PAUL. Yes.
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Mr. PAUL. It is unconstitutional for the legislature to change the Congress. While the Constitution provides a role for both the President and the Senate when entering a treaty, it is silent regarding how to exit a treaty.

When the question of treaty determination first arose in 1793, President Washington and his cabinet endorsed the view that the President's Executive power included the ability to unilaterally terminate a treaty, withdraw from the treaty obligations, permitted the U.S. to maintain neutrality in a war between France and Great Britain, and it was done unilaterally by President Washington.

The power to enter treaties is found in article 2, which vests the President with the Executive power. Unlike a legislative body, the President can act with unity and dispatch, precisely the qualities needed to negotiate a treaty. And so the Founders grounded this authority in article 2.

Passing this amendment is tantamount to altering the Constitution, because the amendment would authorize the Senate to infringe upon the Executive powers of the President. The Senate has no voice when exiting a treaty. This would amend the Constitution and is unconstitutional, and that is a good thing.

The Founders wanted it to be difficult to commit the United States to international obligations and easy to get out. We should follow the Constitution and vote ``no'' on this amendment.

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Mr. PAUL. Mr. President, I call up my amendment No. 222, and I ask unanimous consent that the debate of 4 minutes be equally divided.

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Mr. PAUL. Mr. President, my amendment reasserts that article 5 of the NATO treaty does not supersede Congress's power under article I, section 8, clause 11 of our Constitution to declare war.

According to our Constitution, we resort to war only after the people's elected representatives deliberate and determine that it is in our best interest.

My amendment is also consistent with the NATO treaty. Article 5 of the treaty commits allies to respond to an attack, but it allows each ally to determine whether to engage in military hostilities.

Article 11 of the NATO treaty states that its provisions are to be carried out by each country's constitutional process. We cannot delegate our responsibility to NATO, nor are we expected to.

Let's reaffirm that article 5 does not supersede Congress's responsibility to declare war.

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Mr. PAUL. How much time do I have remaining?

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Mr. PAUL. I think it should be an easy vote to affirm the Constitution. To vote against affirming the Constitution actually places doubt in the Constitution.

The power to declare war is the most important power and the most important vote that any legislator will ever entertain. Why is this important? Because in 2001, people voted to go to war, and this body still thinks that vote binds us to war with no further vote.

We do need to reaffirm the power and the necessity of declaring war because we are ignoring it by continuing to be involved in military activity and war around the globe without ever having voted on it as we are mandated by the Constitution.

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