[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 28 (Tuesday, February 23, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1771-S1773]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
USE OF FORCE IN KOSOVO
Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I had intended to offer a joint
resolution on the subject of the use of force in Kosovo for this bill,
but events have overtaken this issue as the picture is now unfolding. I
did want to put this joint resolution in the Record. I did want to talk
about it for a few minutes. I discussed it with the distinguished
chairman of the committee.
The concern I have is on the repeated use of force that constitutes
acts of war by the President of the United States without authorization
by Congress, in violation of the constitutional provision that only the
Congress of the United States has the authority to involve the United
States in war.
We have seen an erosion of the congressional authority in modern
times on many, many occasions. Perhaps the strongest, sharpest example
is the Korean war, a subject on which I have questioned nominees for
the Supreme Court of the United States, trying to get a delineation on
the power of the Commander in Chief under the Constitution, contrasted
with the authority of Congress. But where we have had the air and
missile strikes recently in Iraq, I raised the same question
challenging or questioning the authority of the President. And as it
has appeared in the past several days, there has been discussion of
using force, air-strikes, perhaps missile strikes, in Kosovo, and it
seems to me this is a matter that ought to be decided by the Congress.
I do think there is a good bit to be said in support of the United
States participating in the air-strikes in light of what has gone on
there, and I shall not speak at any length. The issues are submitted in
this joint resolution. I
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would like to engage my colleague, the distinguished Senator from
Virginia, as to his sentiments on this subject.
Mr. WARNER. Senator, you and I came to this marvelous institution
roughly two decades ago, give or take a year or so. We have witnessed
on this floor spirited debates on the very issues that you raise, more
or less circling around the War Powers Act legislation that followed
the war in Vietnam and legislation which, in the judgment of many, is
questionable to constitutional standing. I think it is time that we had
another debate on this issue because it is very important.
Mr. President, had we used force in Kosovo, it would have been the
fourth time President Clinton has directed force against a sovereign
nation. Now, I must say, in the course of the deliberations in
Rambouillet, France, and prior thereto, I think the administration
tried to take an almost unmanageable situation and do the best they
could. Frankly, I am relieved that force at this moment is not to be
used. I have not had the opportunity in the last 4 or 5 hours to get
the latest situation, given that I have been on the floor managing this
bill. But I believe the talks are at a virtual stalemate; am I not
correct?
Mr. SPECTER. I think the Senator is correct. It does not appear that
the United Nations, with the United States' participation, will engage
in strikes.
Mr. WARNER. Well, Mr. President, I think it is timely that the Senate
went back and, once again, as we did in years past, take a look at the
War Powers Act, take a look at the proposal that the distinguished
Senator from Pennsylvania has, not by way of criticism at the moment of
the President, because you have two situations--one in Kosovo, and, of
course, the parallel in Bosnia, and then you have Iraq.
I have said from time to time, as we have had deliberations among
ourselves in small groups, if anybody has a better idea how to manage
it, come forward. They are the most complex situations that I have had
in my tenure here in the Senate, and prior thereto in the Department of
Defense, in terms of the complexity and the difficulty to resolve it.
I would encourage the Senator, and I would be happy to participate in
that debate at some future date.
Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I thank my colleague from Virginia for
those comments. It was 8 years ago in early January--I believe January
10--where we had a much publicized debate on this floor about the use
of force in the gulf war. A number of the people who are on the floor
today, the Senator from Michigan, the Senator from Virginia, and I,
participated in that debate with our distinguished then-colleague,
Senator Nunn.
I do believe, as I have said, there is much to recommend of U.S.
participation in Kosovo. But I do not like to see further erosion of
the congressional authority. I think too often the Congress stepped
aside.
About a year ago this time there was a key issue about the use of
force against Iraq. We discussed it on the floor to some extent. We had
a winter recess. By the time we got back, the issue had not matured.
But force was used in Iraq in December. It was not authorized by the
Congress. I think that the Congress ought to take a stand one way or
another before force is used in accordance with the Constitutional
provisions.
In the interest of brevity, Mr. President, I send this joint
resolution to the desk and ask that it be printed since it makes a
fuller statement on this subject.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
S.J. Res. 12
Whereas, Congress strongly supports the men and women of
our military forces;
Whereas, bomber and missile strikes constitute acts of war;
Whereas, only Congress has the Constitutional prerogative
to authorize war;
Whereas, the unilateral Presidential authorization of
military strikes, however well-intentioned, undercuts that
power established clearly in the Constitution for Congress to
make such decisions;
Whereas, the autonomy of Kosovo, a region in southern
Serbia, was abolished by the Serbian leader, Yugoslav
President, Slobodan Milosevic in 1989 and 1990;
Whereas, conflict between ethnic Albanians in Kosovo and
Serbian police led by President Slobodan Milosevic has
resulted in over 2000 deaths since the end of February 1998
and has displaced nearly 400,000 people;
Whereas, over one-third of Kosovo's villages and an
estimated 4,000 homes have been deliberately damaged or
destroyed;
Whereas, the assault on the civilian population has been
reported to include atrocities which could be considered war
crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide;
Whereas, the international community has spoken out
repeatedly against Serbian human rights abuses in Kosovo;
Whereas, the instability in the Kosovo represents a
significant regional threat;
Whereas, Yugoslav and Serbian officials, reportedly led by
Slobodan Milosevic, similarly instigated, organized and
directed aggressive action against civilians in Croatia in
1991, and in Bosnia-Herzegovina from 1992 to 1995;
Whereas, peace was only restored to the region of the
former Yugoslavia in 1995 when Yugoslav and Serbian
officials, including Slobodan Milosevic, were confronted with
the clear resolve of the international community to use force
against them;
Whereas, on Jan. 30, 1999, the NATO allies authorized
Secretary-General Solana to order air-strikes anywhere in
Yugoslavia, if a peace settlement was not accepted by the
deadline of February 20, 1999 and subsequently extended to
February 23, 1999;
Whereas, the United States participation in NATO military
operations is important in maintaining the strength of the
NATO alliance generally;
Whereas, Congressional support and cooperation with our
NATO allies will send an important signal of national resolve
that would strengthen the ability of the United States to
bring the two sides together toward a peace agreement in
Kosovo;
Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America Congress assembled, That the
President is authorized to conduct air operations and missile
strikes against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia
and Montenegro) for the purpose of bringing about a peaceful
resolution of the conflict in Kosovo.
Mr. SPECTER. I thank the Chair. I yield the floor.
Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, before the Senator departs, I think the
Record should reflect that in connection with the action taken against
Iraq in the fall, and then in connection with the proposed sending of
ground troops as part of the NATO force and U.S. contingent of up to
4,000, there was confrontation with leadership in the Senate and the
House in both instances. I think there has been a level--whether it is
up to the expectations of my colleagues, it is individually for them to
say --a level of confrontation in both sequences. We must bear in mind
that under the Constitution, the President is the Commander in Chief.
He has the right to direct the deployment of our Armed Forces in harm's
way when he thinks hopefully it protects the vital security interests
of the United States, and only under those situations because
oftentimes the Congress has dispersed--it is in recess, and the like--
and those decisions have to be made quickly. Nevertheless, we have a
coequal responsibility with the President regarding the welfare and the
state of our men and women in uniform and the circumstances under which
they are employed, particularly in harm's way.
I commend the Senator.
Mr. SPECTER addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Pennsylvania.
Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, by way of a very brief supplemental
comment, it is true that the President has authority as Commander in
Chief. When he exercises his authority in the deployment of some 4,000
U.S. troops, it is another question. He has a stronger claim to do that
under his power as Commander in Chief than he does to have air-strikes
or missile strikes, in my opinion. Those air-strikes and missile
strikes are acts of war. If he deploys U.S. troops, if they go into a
hostile situation, that may trigger the War Powers Act, which is a
little different consideration with the Constitutional provision which
authorizes only the Congress to declare war. But I do think that we in
the Congress do need to consider these issues, debate them, and make
decisions about them. We have the authority by restraining spending in
the Department of Defense to stop the deployment of troops. I am not
saying we should do it, but I think there is too much of a tendency on
the part of Congress to sit back and not to make these kind of tough
decisions. If things go wrong, there is always the President to blame.
If things go right, we haven't impeded Presidential action.
But these raise very, very serious Constitutional issues. There is a
continuing erosion. Before the President
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uses force, we have a chance to intervene. If it is an emergency
situation, that is different; he has to act as Commander in Chief.
But we have had ample opportunity to consider this Kosovo issue. And
it is on the back burner now. But if it reappears, I will reactivate my
resolution.
Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I again commend our colleague. I thank him
for recalling the history of the 1991 debate. I recall it well because
I was one of the floor managers. It was legislation that I had drawn up
in accordance with the directions of Senator Dole, then-leader. We had
a vigorous debate for some 3 days, and it is interesting. There we had
in place a half million men and women in the Armed Forces. We had seen
the most atrocious form of aggression by Saddam Hussein down through
the gulf region, primarily Kuwait. Yet, that debate took 3 days. And by
only a mere margin of five votes did the Senate of the United States
express its approval for the President of the United States, in the
role as Commander in Chief, to use force in that situation.
I thank the Chair. I thank my colleague.
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