[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 105 (Wednesday, June 16, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S4558]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                Authorization for Use of Military Force

  Mr. President, 2 days ago, the Biden administration became the first 
administration since the beginning of the Iraq war to support repealing 
the authorization for the use of military force in Iraq, passed in 2002 
and now in effect for 19 years.
  The Iraq war has been over for nearly a decade. An authorization 
passed in 2002 is no longer necessary in 2021. It has been nearly 10 
years since this particular authorization has been cited as a primary 
justification for military operations. It no longer serves a vital 
purpose in our fight against violent extremists in the Middle East.
  So I strongly and fully support repealing the 2002 authorization for 
the use of military force in Iraq. This is the first time I am formally 
announcing my support for repeal.
  I want to be clear. In no way will America abandon our relationship 
with Iraq and its people as they rebuild their country after years of 
war in our shared fight against ISIS, but there are very good reasons 
to repeal the specific legal authority.
  For example, it will eliminate the danger of a future administration 
reaching back into the legal dustbin to use it as a justification for 
military adventurism. At the beginning of last year, we saw that danger 
become frightfully real when President Trump ordered an airstrike 
against an Iranian target in Iraq without transparency, without proper 
notification to Congress, and without a clear strategy. President Trump 
cited the 2002 AUMF as partial justification, ex-post facto--a claim 
that legal scholars and foreign policy experts resoundingly rejected. 
There is no good reason to allow this legal authority to persist in 
case another reckless Commander in Chief tries the same trick in the 
future.
  Tomorrow, the House of Representatives will vote on whether to 
formally repeal the authorization. Next week, Chairman Menendez and the 
Senate Foreign Relations Committee will mark up a resolution led by 
Senators Young and Kaine which will repeal the Iraq war AUMF. It is my 
intention, as majority leader, to bring this matter to a floor vote 
this year, and we will discuss the precise timing with Chairman 
Menendez