ARLINGTON, Va.—Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) Executive Director, Nate Anderson, applauded bipartisan efforts in Congress to repeal outdated Authorizations for the Use of Military Force (AUMF), which would signal a step toward ending America’s endless wars and Congress reclaiming its constitutional powers in matters of war and peace:
“We are glad to see the increasing efforts to rescind outdated force authorizations that have been twisted beyond their original intent and no longer serve American interests. Repeal of these measures will rein in nearly unfettered executive branch war-making power and begin to reassert the American people’s voice in matters of where, when, and why we send our women and men in uniform into harm’s way. We applaud Rep. Lee’s determined leadership that has paved the way for the bipartisan progress we are seeing on this issue. We hope her efforts and those of others in the House and Senate will lead to further debate, oversight, and the eventual repeal of similarly obsolete authorizations.”
BACKGROUND
CVA recently led a coalition in sending a letter to members of Congress urging support of a bipartisan resolution introduced by Sens. Kaine and Young to repeal a pair of obsolete AUMFs. The group was joined on the letter by Defense Priorities Initiative, FreedomWorks, and the R Street institute.
CVA has been working to repeal the outdated 2001 and 2002 AUMFs for years, making it a priority for its grassroots and advocacy efforts in its annual policy agendas (2019, 2020, 2021). Notably, though less than a fifth of current members of Congress voted on the 2001 AUMF, it has been invoked to justify 41 operations in 19 countries since passage.
In 2019, the group partnered with VoteVets, a traditional rival, to urge lawmakers to reclaim their constitutional war powers duties. The New York Times wrote about the unlikely partnership. Setting the example for lawmakers and the administration, the groups found common ground on this issue and flew activists and volunteers in to DC to meet with their members of Congress to bring some real, lasting policy change in Washington.
CVA has been staunch in its support of lawmakers who have taken a principled stand and worked to repeal these measures in the past. In 2019, CVA welcomed the addition of the bipartisan War Powers Caucus to Congress, applauding lawmakers for prioritizing the issue. CVA also launched a digital ad campaign thanking lawmakers for standing against endless war, praising lawmakers for voting to ensure proper Congressional input before any offensive military force against Iran.
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