[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 148 (Wednesday, September 13, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H7320-H7321]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    16TH ANNIVERSARY OF 2001 AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF MILITARY FORCE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Lee) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to really challenge my colleagues 
to restore Congress' constitutional oversight on matters of war and 
peace. Tomorrow marks the 16th year since Congress has passed an open-
ended blank check for endless wars. That is the 2001 Authorization for 
Use of Military Force.
  First, I just have to say that my thoughts and prayers are with the 
families, friends, and communities who lost loved ones, and our deepest 
gratitude to the first responders who so bravely saved lives. We will 
never forget you.
  Three days after this horrific attack--actually, September 14, 3 
days--I couldn't vote for this blank check because it surrendered 
Congress' constitutional authority and paved the way for perpetual war, 
the authorization to use military force. It is deeply disturbing to me 
that 16 years later this Congress has failed to revisit this war 
authorization and have an informed debate on the cost and consequences 
of endless war.
  I opposed the 2001 AUMF because I feared it would become a blank 
check for any President to wage war anywhere in perpetuity. In those 
tragic days in the wake of 9/11, I was just as devastated and outraged 
as everyone. I wanted to protect our country from further attacks 
against terrorism. I wanted to bring the terrorists to justice. But 
looking at the authorization to use military force, I knew then that 
such an open-ended resolution would not make us any safer.
  The resolution was 60 words, it was overly broad, and it set the 
framework for perpetual war. It was passed just 3 days after the 
attacks, with little debate, and has been used to wage endless war 
around the globe. In the 16 years since its passage, that is the only 
input, really, that Congress has provided.
  This is just disgraceful.
  Three hundred Members of the United States House of Representatives 
today were not serving when we voted on the 2001 AUMF, two-thirds of 
this Chamber that has never had an opportunity to cast a vote on going 
to war. For years, I have been trying to change that.
  While Congress has been missing in action, these wars have spiralled 
out of control, just as I feared. A recent report from the 
Congressional Research Service shows that this authorization has been 
used more than 37 times in 14

[[Page H7321]]

countries to justify military action. These include operations at 
Guantanamo Bay, warrantless wire tapping, and recent military actions 
in Libya, Syria, Somalia, Yemen, and many more. This report only looked 
at unclassified military actions. How many more military actions are 
happening without the knowledge of the American people?
  In the 16 years since the AUMF was enacted, three Presidents have 
used this legislation to wage endless war; and as long as this AUMF 
stays on the books, any President will be able to use this blank check 
to wage war anywhere, anytime, in perpetuity.
  I have been trying to end this AUMF for years, and this summer we got 
closer than ever before when the Appropriations Committee agreed, in a 
bipartisan vote, to adopt my amendment sunsetting the AUMF--that is 
after 8 months upon signing of the legislation, not right away. It 
would take 8 months for it to sunset.
  The 2001 resolution was passed in 3 days. Certainly, we can debate 
and vote on a new AUMF in 8 months. Members of both parties agreed at 
the time that it was time for Congress to debate and vote on a new 
AUMF, one that reflected the national security needs of 2017, not 2001.

  But then my bipartisan amendment was stripped out of the bill in the 
dead of night by Speaker Ryan and the Republican leadership with no 
debate or vote in the Rules Committee. They just wiped it out, an over 
326-page bill. It just vanished.
  But here is the bottom line: Republicans want a new AUMF. So do 
Democrats.
  So my question to the Speaker is: What is the holdup? Why have you 
not scheduled a debate on this vital national security issue? What, 
Speaker Ryan, are you afraid of? And also, why won't the President 
submit a new one?
  In 2017, American servicemembers have been killed in Yemen, Somalia, 
Iraq, and Afghanistan. At what point will congressional leadership say 
enough is enough? How many young lives do we have to lose before 
Congress steps up to do its job? We owe this to our brave troops.
  In 2001, when I opposed this authorization, I recalled the words of 
Reverend Nathan Baxter, dean of the National Cathedral. ``As we act,'' 
he said, ``let us not become the evil that we deplore.''

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