Reps. Levin and Massie Introduce Bill to Make Clear that Congress Has Not Authorized Attack on Iran
The bipartisan AUMF Clarification Act affirms that the Trump Administration does not have an authorization to use military force against Iran.
WASHINGTON, DC (May 17, 2019) — The bipartisan AUMF Clarification Act affirms that the Trump Administration does not have an authorization to use military force against Iran.
Congressman Andy Levin (MI-09) and Congressman Thomas Massie (KY-04) today introduced the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) Clarification Act, a bill to reaffirm that the Trump Administration would have to receive an explicit authorization from Congress before engaging in military action against Iran.
“Only Congress has the Constitutional authority to declare war, and the Trump Administration has to respect that,” Congressman Levin said. “The bipartisan AUMF Clarification Act will ensure there is zero ambiguity about the fact that Congress has not authorized the use of military force against Iran. In light of this Administration’s ever-escalating rhetoric, it’s clear we need to pass this bill to prevent a reckless and costly war that the American people don’t want.”
“Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution clearly gives Congress the sole power to declare war,” Congressman Massie said. “Our Founding Fathers believed that Congress—not the President—should possess this power, and that giving such authority to the executive branch presents a direct threat to liberty. As the AUMF Clarification Act states, Congress has never authorized military force against Iran, and any such action would be illegal and unconstitutional without an up-or-down vote.”
The AUMF Clarification Act expresses the Sense of Congress that the neither the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force passed after 9/11, the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002, nor any other existing law gives the legal authority to use force against Iran, and clarifies that none of these laws may be construed to provide that authority.
Congressman Levin earlier this month sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressing concerns about the Secretary’s testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, during which Secretary Pompeo failed to state unequivocally that the Administration will not use military force against Iran without Congressional authorization.
To clarify that Congress has not provided authorization for the use of military force against Iran.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
116TH CONGRESS, 1ST SESSION
Mr. LEVIN of Michigan introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on _____
A BILL
To clarify that Congress has not provided authorization for the use of military force against Iran.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘AUMF Clarification Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public Law 107–40; 50 U.S.C. 1541 note) authorizes the President to use ‘‘necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons’’.
(2) Iran and Al Qaeda historically have been adversaries. A 2018 analysis of declassified documents obtained during the 2011 raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound found that ‘‘[Al Qaeda] views Iran as a hostile entity’’ and ‘‘examined documents provide no evidence of cooperation between [Al Qaeda] and Iran on planning or carrying out terrorist attacks’’.
(3) The Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 (Public Law 107– 243; 50 U.S.C. 1541 note) authorizes the President ‘‘to use the Armed Forces of the United States as he determines to be necessary and appropriate in order to (1) defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq; and (2) enforce all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions regarding Iraq’’.
(4) On May 5, 2019, National Security Advisor Ambassador John Bolton announced the deployment of the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and a bomber task force to the United States Central Command region as a response ‘‘to a number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings’’ from Iran and ‘‘to send a clear and unmistakable message to the Iranian regime that any attack on United States interests or on those of our allies will be met with unrelenting force’’
(5) Congress has not authorized the use of military force against Iran.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that Congress has not authorized the use of military force against Iran under the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 (Public Law 107–243; 50 U.S.C. 1541 note), the Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public Law 107–40; 50 U.S.C. 1541 note), or any other provision of law enacted before the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 4. CLARIFICATION.
Nothing in the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 (Public Law 107–243; 50 U.S.C. 1541 note), the Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public Law 107–40; 50 U.S.C. 1541 note), or any other provision of law enacted before the date of the enactment of this Act may be construed to provide authorization for the use of military force against Iran.
