Veterans group supports effort to repeal outdated AUMFs, reclaim congressional war powers
ARLINGTON, Va.— Concerned Veterans for America’s Senior Adviser Dan Caldwell issued the following statement regarding the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s pending markup of S.J. Res 10 – a bill sponsored by Sens. Kaine (Va.) and Seator Young (Ind.) which would repeal the 1991 and 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMF):
“The 1991 and 2002 AUMFs are obsolete, not necessary for American security, and should have been repealed years ago. Leaving these authorizations in place only creates more opportunities for the executive branch to conduct military action abroad without consent from our representatives in Congress. We applaud Sens. Kaine and Young for driving this legislation and their leadership to ensure Congress reclaims its constitutional war powers. We hope the Senate Foreign Relations Committee passes this legislation in its present form and the full Senate swiftly follows suit.”
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CVA has been working to repeal the outdated 2001 and 2002 AUMFs for years, making it a priority for its grassroots and advocacy efforts in its annual policy agendas (2019, 2020, 2021).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 into 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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