WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), members of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), sent a letter to SASC Chairman James M. Inhofe (R-OK) and Ranking Member Jack Reed (D-RI) calling for a repeal of the outdated 2002 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF). The 2002 AUMF authorized U.S. military operations against Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq and in the years since expansive interpretations have been used to continue and expand U.S. military presence in the region. If left unchallenged, the 2002 authorization will erode Congress’s ability to check an increasingly aggressive Executive Branch. With tensions rising around the world, our troops need clarity on their mission as they seek to defeat our enemies.
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In part, the letter states, “Despite clear congressional intent and the plain language of the 2002 AUMF, successive administrations have sought to weaken the Legislative Branch’s Article I power to declare war by claiming that the 2002 AUMF provides authority for counter-ISIS operations initiated long after the death of Saddam Hussein, and more recently, as an authorization to address threats to, or stemming from, Iraq.”
It goes on to say, “Repealing the 2002 AUMF will achieve what is already clear: that it was never an unlimited authorization for use of military force that could justify military operations against new adversaries and fought by U.S. Servicemembers who may have been born after the 2002 AUMF was signed into law.”
A full copy of the letter is available below and online here.
The Honorable James M. Inhofe The Honorable Jack Reed
Chairman Ranking Member
Senate Armed Services Committee Senate Armed Services Committee
228 Russell Senate Office Building 228 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510 Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Chairman Inhofe and Ranking Member Reed:
We write to request that the Committee leadership include the legislative language in Section 1270W of H.R. 2500 repealing the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 [Public Law 107-243; 50 USC 1541 note] (“2002 AUMF”) in the final conference report.
As the Committee is aware, the 107th Congress passed the 2002 AUMF to authorize military operations against Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq. It permits the President to use the Armed Forces “as necessary and appropriate” to “defend U.S. national security against the continuing threat posed by Iraq” and to “enforce all relevant Security Council resolutions regarding Iraq.” Consistent with clear legislative language, congressional intent was reflected in the debate surrounding the vote on the 2002 AUMF that focused on whether to authorize a singular war against Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq.
Despite clear congressional intent and the plain language of the 2002 AUMF, successive administrations have sought to weaken the Legislative Branch’s Article I power to declare war by claiming that the 2002 AUMF provides authority for counter-ISIS operations initiated long after the death of Saddam Hussein, and more recently, as an authorization to address threats to, or stemming from, Iraq. Expansive interpretations of the 2002 AUMF not only fail to accurately reflect the reality that Congress authorized a war in Iraq that formally concluded in 2011 but if left unchallenged, weaken the Legislative Branch’s ability to check an increasingly aggressive Executive Branch.
Repealing the 2002 AUMF will achieve what is already clear: that it was never an unlimited authorization for use of military force that could justify military operations against new adversaries and fought by U.S. Servicemembers who may have been born after the 2002 AUMF was signed into law. It would also be an important first step in initiating a comprehensive congressional review of existing AUMFs and promoting debate over whether additional authorizations are necessary to protect our national security.
As always, we are grateful for your bipartisan leadership of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and we appreciate your commitment to ensuring that Congress’s primary role in employing military power is preserved in statute and practice.
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