[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 112 (Monday, June 28, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H3176-H3178]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




REPEAL OF JOINT RESOLUTION TO PROMOTE PEACE AND STABILITY IN THE MIDDLE 
                                  EAST

  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 3283) to repeal the joint resolution entitled, ``A joint 
resolution to promote peace and stability in the Middle East'', as 
amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3283

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. REPEAL OF JOINT RESOLUTION TO PROMOTE PEACE AND 
                   STABILITY IN THE MIDDLE EAST.

       Effective on the date that is 90 days after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, the joint resolution entitled ``A 
     joint resolution to promote peace and stability in the Middle 
     East'' (Public Law 85-7; 22 U.S.C. 1961 et seq.) is hereby 
     repealed.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Meeks) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. McCaul) each will 
control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York.


                             General Leave

  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 
5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on H.R. 3283, as amended.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 3283 to repeal 
the joint resolution entitled ``A joint resolution to promote peace and 
stability in the Middle East,'' offered by Representative Meijer.
  Earlier, I made the case for continuing this Chamber's hard work of 
reclaiming congressional war powers, started less than 2 weeks ago by 
our vote to repeal the 2002 AUMF and continued by our debate today to 
repeal the 1991 AUMF and the 1957 AUMF.

                              {time}  1545

  I will keep my remarks short so as not to belabor the points I made 
earlier, as the case for repealing the 1941 AUMF similarly applies to 
the 1957 AUMF, if not more so.
  Going way back, I was barely a toddler when this authorization was 
passed, and I have been here for a while. The fact that this 
authorization still exists as good law today indicates the vital need 
for Congress to take seriously its responsibility over war and peace 
and repeal AUMFs once their purpose has been served or expired.
  Good legislative housekeeping requires us not to just authorize force 
when needed to protect and defend this Nation, but to recall and repeal 
authorities when their usefulness has passed.
  The Soviet Union this authorization was meant to counter no longer 
exists. There is no Soviet Union now. The 1957 AUMF is a relic of the 
Cold War. It is outdated and obsolete.
  We, as Members of Congress, have been granted the responsibility to 
make decisions on matters of war and peace by the Constitution, a 
responsibility none of us takes lightly. However, for far too long we 
have failed to make those decisions at all. Instead, we have ceded our 
Article I authority to administrations that have reinterpreted old 
AUMFs. The threat of that abuse continues so long as we allow these 
authorizations to remain in the U.S. Code.
  I thank again the ranking member for working with us to bring this 
bill forward. I thank Representative Meijer for authoring this 
legislation. And I urge all of my colleagues to support this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  First of all, I thank the chairman for, again, exercising our Article 
I constitutional responsibilities. That is what leadership is all 
about, and this one is very bipartisan, and again, I think historic. 
Because in my memory we have never done this before successfully.
  I also thank the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Meijer) for introducing 
this bill to repeal an aging AUMF that has never been used in the 64 
years since it was enacted.
  Now, I have to say, Mr. Speaker, I wasn't even born when this AUMF 
was enacted. Just barely, though. I was born not long after that. But 
that is amazing as I stand here at almost 60 years old. That law gave 
the President authority to ``use Armed Forces to assist any Middle East 
nation requesting assistance against armed aggression from any country 
controlled by international communism.''
  This unused relic of the Cold War should not be left on the books or 
on the shelf for a creative President to dust off and put to unexpected 
use. So I think we all agree, if a President was to commit U.S. troops 
to new hostilities in the Middle East, he or she should come to the 
Congress for authorization.
  Mr. Speaker, for that reason I support this repeal, and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Virginia (Ms. Spanberger), a very valued member of our committee on the 
House Foreign Affairs Committee.
  Ms. SPANBERGER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of repealing the 
1957 AUMF. Mr. Chairman, Mr. Ranking Member, I was also not born when 
this Authorization for Use of Military Force was put in place.
  In addition to considering my legislation to repeal the 1991 Gulf war 
AUMF, I am pleased that we are considering a separate bill that I co-
led with Congressman Meijer to repeal an open-ended resolution from 
1957 that authorized the use for military force in the Middle East.
  This Cold War-era authorization still on the books today is more than 
60 years old, and it provides outdated, blank-check authorities to an 
executive branch or Presidential administration that might seek to 
justify expanded operations in the Middle East. It is not necessary, 
and we must repeal it.
  Repealing this resolution would not undermine any existing U.S. 
military operations, but it would help ensure that its significantly 
outdated authorities are not used or abused by any future President. 
Additionally, it would show that Congress is ready to exercise its 
responsibilities under the Constitution.
  I was pleased to see this bill pass out of the Foreign Affairs 
Committee on a voice vote, and I appreciate Congressman Meijer's 
leadership, as well as the bipartisan cosponsors who have joined him.

[[Page H3177]]

  It is far past time for Congress to reassert our war powers. I 
welcome the bipartisan and diverse coalitions that have mobilized 
around this shared goal of constitutional responsibility, Congress 
demonstrating its sense of responsibility as it relates to authorizing 
war powers in moving forward with repealing these outdated and unused 
authorizations.
  We owe it to our constituents, especially those who have served in 
uniform. While they time and time again demonstrate their willingness 
to serve our Nation, there should never be a worry that they may be 
deployed under a 60-year-old-plus authority. It is important that every 
time we send servicemembers off to war, we here in the United States 
Congress are taking the step of being responsible by voting on 
authorizations.
  Today, it is time to vote to take this outdated resolution off the 
books. I urge my colleagues to join me in voting to do so today.
  Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Oklahoma (Mr. Cole), the ranking member of the House Rules Committee, a 
man who has dedicated quite a bit of time to this issue, and I would 
say is one of the leaders in the House on Authorizations for Use of 
Military Force and the War Powers Act and reasserting Congress' role.
  Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Texas for yielding, and 
I want to be the first to admit I was alive when both of these 
authorizations were passed.
  The Congress' current effort to review the existing authorities for 
military force for which the original purposes have been achieved or 
are no longer appropriate is an important exercise of this body's 
authority under the Constitution and pursuant to the War Powers Act.

  I am pleased to note that Chairman McGovern and I, along with my 
friends, Chairman Meeks and Ranking Member McCaul, helped initiate an 
evaluation of the War Powers Act, its strength and limitations and its 
need for modernization in a hearing on this topic in March. It is 
fitting, and frankly overdue, that the House is considering these 
issues and is now poised to repeal a second and third outdated AUMF 
this year with strong bipartisan support.
  The joint resolution to promote peace and stability in the Middle 
East was enacted in 1957, 2 years after the signing of the Warsaw Pact, 
in response to the concerns about the potential spread of communist 
influence in the Middle East and, therefore, threats to U.S. economic 
and political interests in the region is long overdue. Needless to say, 
much has changed in the 64 intervening years. The Berlin Wall has 
fallen, and six of the seven former Eastern Bloc countries are now 
allied with the United States through NATO. The Soviet Union, of 
course, is no more. Communism obviously remains in the world, but it is 
no longer the driving force for most threats to the United States, 
particularly in the Middle East.
  Similarly, the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq 
Resolution of 1991 is not related to the current situation in Iraq, and 
therefore, defunct. United Nations Resolution 678 authorized member 
states to use force to restore peace and order in response to Saddam 
Hussein's invasion of Kuwait in 1990. President Bush stated on multiple 
occasions at the time, including in his signing statement of this AUMF, 
that he believed he had sufficient constitutional authority to use 
force in this case. However, he did not test the question, and 
requested and welcomed the AUMF. With or without the United Nations 
approval, in spite of the action's intent to enforce international law 
and, regardless of my support for the action taken by President Bush at 
that time, it was the initiation of a war, and in my opinion, the 
President was obligated to seek Congressional approval. However, since 
the issue has been long-since settled, it is time to revoke the 
outdated authority.
  Let us reinforce with this action today, Mr. Speaker, that should the 
President find reason to initiate military action subject to the War 
Powers Act in Iraq or anywhere in the Middle East, he or she must come 
to Congress with information, justification, and request for approval.
  Also going forward, I strongly suggest this and future Congresses 
consistently establish a sunset of future authorizations either by a 
firm expiration date in the authorization or triggered by satisfaction 
of clear and specific objectives.
  Once again, I support the passage of H.R. 3283 and H.R. 3261.
  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Meijer), the author of this repeal.
  Mr. MEIJER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my bill today to repeal 
the outdated and unnecessary 1957 Authorization for Use of Military 
Force.
  We have heard from many on just how this bill originally designed to 
defend Middle East nations against ``armed aggression from any country 
controlled by international communism,'' how far it has outstripped its 
usefulness, no longer serving any purpose, but still retains that 
potential to be abused by any current or future administration to 
launch unwarranted military operations in the Middle East and doing an 
end run around Congress.
  The repeal we are discussing today would have no impact on ongoing 
operations, and is all the more reason to take it off the books 
immediately, but, Mr. Speaker, a decades-long war on terror and the 
lack of oversight, the lack of that reaffirming action on behalf of 
Congress has demonstrated to us the risks when we neglect our 
constitutional duty to oversee matters of war and peace. It is time 
that Congress get back in the habit of vigorously debating and voting 
on these matters because the Constitution and the American people 
demand it.
  I applaud the work of my colleagues to help lead this bipartisan 
effort to restore Congress' authority. Congresswoman Spanberger's bill 
to repeal the outdated 1991 AUMF is another critical step in this 
effort, and I am proud to support her on this matter.
  I also thank Congressman   Mike Gallagher and Congressman Jared 
Golden for helping to lead the effort to repeal the 1957 and 1991 
AUMFs. And lastly, I thank Chairman Meeks and Ranking Member McCaul for 
helping to bring these bills to the House floor for a vote and for 
their leadership on reprising Congress' authority in this area.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge passage on this bill.
  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, while the chairman was a toddler when this was enacted, 
I still was not born. I want to make that point. That is how old this 
thing is. And it is time. It is great to exercise our constitutional 
responsibilities and repeal these outdated AUMFs so that they can never 
be manipulated or exploited by a future President.
  Again, I view this as a historic moment that Congress and this 
committee are exercising its powers as the Founding Fathers had wanted 
us to.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the author of this, Mr. Meijer, I thank the 
chairman for his leadership, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker I yield myself the balance of my time.
  I thank Mr. Meijer for this piece of legislation. Again, I thank Mr. 
McCaul for working together, and I have no come back; yes, I was just a 
toddler, you weren't here yet.
  There seems to be a theme, and if you think there is a theme that is 
going on today, there is a theme. The theme is that we in the United 
States Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, are acting to reclaim 
our Congressional war powers. First, we voted to repeal the 2002 AUMF, 
then the 1991 AUMF, and now the 1957 AUMF. These authorizations serve 
no current national security purpose and only risk to strip Congress of 
its Article I authority to decide matters of war and peace. That is the 
theme here today.
  The work is not over. We still have to work, as I have said, and I 
pledge to work with Mr. McCaul to repeal and replace the 2001 AUMF. But 
it is our solemn responsibility to decide when, where, and how we 
deploy members of our armed services and not take a back seat on such 
decisions to the executive branch.

[[Page H3178]]

  


                              {time}  1600

  Mr. Speaker, working together, we will indeed do what Article I tells 
us to do: To determine when, where, and how we go to war.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this very important 
piece of legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Courtney). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Meeks) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3283, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mrs. GREENE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and 
nays.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3(s) of House Resolution 
8, the yeas and nays are ordered.
  Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion 
are postponed.

                          ____________________