War Powers Resolution

Floor Speech

Mr. QUIGLEY. Mr. Speaker, the Constitution makes clear: Only Congress can declare war. While no one can dispute that we are at war, Congress has never been asked to make this declaration.

I disagree with the Congressman from Ohio's policy position; to leave Afghanistan at this moment would undermine our national security and imperil our troops. However, the War Powers Resolution is an important check on unfettered executive authority.

It is worth remembering the period in our Nation's history during which this act of Congress was passed. In 1973, during the height of the Vietnam War and following the Gulf of Tonkin, Congress overrode a Presidential veto to pass this measure into law. It did so because it was concerned with the erosion of congressional authority to decide when the United States should become involved in a war. While Vietnam was a very different war, the frustration felt by the American public and Members of Congress at that point in time is similar to that of today.

In overriding a presidential veto and passing the War Powers Resolution, Congress was reclaiming a critical responsibility the Founding Fathers had granted to it: that such a declaration would be a product of robust discourse, one in which our leaders would identify the nature of the threat posed by our enemy, define the objective of the mission before us, and fully weigh the prudence of sending our troops into harm's way.

Source