Senator Paul, in a Friday letter, urges Reid to call a vote:
Today, Senators Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) issued a Dear Colleague letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). The letter requests the Senate take up the pending business of Sen. Paul’s sense of the Senate, which quotes Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) in 2007, saying “The President does not have the power to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve an actual or imminent threat to the nation.” Sens. Paul and Lee also outline their intention to object to further votes on S. 493 amendments until the motion on presidential war authority is scheduled for a vote.
“Establishing whether the President has the constitutional power to attack another country without congressional authority is the most important issue we can discuss given the President’s recent actions,” Sen. Paul said. “I implore our Senate leadership to make this a priority before we continue work on other matters in the chamber.”
“The President has failed to receive congressional authorization before committing troops to a conflict that does not imminently threaten the national security interests of the United States,” Sen. Lee said. “With our men and women in harm’s way, there is no more important matter on which to focus the Senate’s time. We should begin debate immediately.”
Here is the letter, via a press release from Paul’s office:
Dear Leader Reid and Leader McConnell:
As you know, Senator Paul recently made a motion to have the Senate vote on the following sense of the Senate:
“The President does not have the power to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve an actual or imminent threat to the nation.”
The motion Senator Paul made has the vote as the pending business in the Senate, ready for a vote at any time. He did not ask for extended debate, and his motion would take up a maximum of 30 minutes of the Senate’s time.
Though brief, it would be an important 30 minutes for the Senate. It will be the only 30 minutes spent on discussing and voting on whether or not the President has the power under the Constitution to attack another country without congressional authorization.
We believe the answer is that he does not. We also believe Congress has an obligation to stand up and declare whether or not we intend to hold the President to his constitutional oath.
While we realize there are other matters the Senate had planned to work on, it is our belief that there is very little we are doing that rises to the level of a constitutional question regarding war. Voting for whether or not to send our sons and daughters to war is the most important and most difficult decision we should ever make as a nation and as senators. We do not take this responsibility lightly, and we believe the Senate is abdicating its responsibility at this very moment.
The bombing and military action against the Libyan government will be two weeks old by the time we return to session next week. That means congressional debate on this war is two weeks overdue.
We feel strongly enough about this matter that we are writing to inform you of our intentions. The Senate has already agreed to move a bill on Tuesday morning. In order to ensure our rights are protected, we will serve notice now that upon completion of H.R. 4, we will object to further votes on amendments to S. 493 until such time as the motion on presidential war authority is scheduled for a vote. We are happy to work with the leaders of both parties on the timing of the vote for next week, and would be happy to allow other business to proceed as soon as an agreement is reached.
problem here is Rand Paul believes in a Liberal interpretation(i.e. re-writing) of the Constitution(i.e. Obama's 2007 position, the Dems out of power position since 1973).
this is not fidelity to the constitution, its Fidelity to a pacifist ideology and total disrespect for the Constitution like paul's friends on the Left.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse@JonathanP Is that an April Fool's Day joke? You made a huge inferential leap in the wrong direction from Article I Section 8 to your confusing comment.
Do you understand the War Powers Act? The War Powers Resolution of 1973 (50 U.S.C. 1541–1548) was a United States Congress joint resolution providing that the President can send U.S. armed forces into action abroad only by authorization of Congress or in case of "a national emergency created by attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces."
Help us understand the basis for your accusation against the esteemed Senator from Kentucky, Dr. Paul.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseSince every single President since its passage has considered the War Powers Act unconstitutional (and this has been the position of most conservatives as well), I would say JonathanP is not only serious, but correct.
Libertarians are dangerous allies, despite their small number, who like other noxious philosophies highlight the palatable aspects of their extreme agenda like smaller, limited government. What they don't like to tell you is their long-standing opposition to any foreign involvement absent a direct attack. No foreign bases, no military deployments on foreign soil without a formal declaration of war, no alliances at all, no covert actions without a DoW.
Their policies, had they been in place after WWII, would have us a Soviet America today. Isolationist nuts, they are, and nothing Rand Paul has said on the subject convinces me he is very far from the LP and his father's position.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"its Fidelity to a pacifist ideology"
Wrong: the War Powers Act extended the powers of the President.
JonathanP and Estragon are hypocrites, because they do not aknowloedge that, while Rand Paul is wrong on the Constitution, all the others are even much more. The only one who is true to the Constitution is his father.
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"Truth is Treason in an Empire of Lies"
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