[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Pages 4235-4236]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 13--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS THAT 
THE PRESIDENT SHOULD NOT INITIATE MILITARY ACTION AGAINST IRAN WITHOUT 
              FIRST OBTAINING AUTHORIZATION FROM CONGRESS

  Mr. SANDERS submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                            S. Con. Res. 13

       Whereas article I, section 8 of the United States 
     Constitution grants Congress the power to ``declare war'', to 
     ``lay and collect taxes'', to ``provide for the common 
     defence and general welfare of the United States'', to 
     ``raise and support armies'', to ``provide and maintain a 
     navy'', to ``make rules for the government and regulation of 
     the land and naval forces'', to ``provide for calling forth 
     the militia to execute the laws of the Union, suppress 
     insurrections and repel invasions'', to ``provide for 
     organizing, arming, and disciplining, the militia'', and to 
     ``make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for 
     carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other 
     powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the 
     United States, or in any department or officer thereof'';
       Whereas the Constitution also grants Congress exclusive 
     power over the purse, stating, ``No money shall be drawn from 
     the Treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by 
     law . . . .'';
       Whereas the sole war power granted to the executive branch 
     through the President can be found in article II, section 2, 
     which states, ``The President shall be the Commander in Chief 
     of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia 
     of the several States, when called into the actual Service of 
     the United States . . . .'';
       Whereas President George W. Bush and his Administration 
     have argued that this ``Commander in Chief'' clause grants 
     the President wide latitude to engage United States military 
     forces abroad without prior authorization from Congress;
       Whereas the President further argues that previous 
     unilateral actions by Presidents of both political parties 
     add credence to this interpretation of the Constitution;
       Whereas, in reality, nothing in the history of the 
     ``Commander in Chief'' clause suggests that the authors of 
     the provision intended it to grant the executive branch the 
     authority to engage United States forces in military action 
     without any prior authorization from Congress, except to 
     allow the President to repel sudden attacks and immediate 
     threats;
       Whereas in the Federalist Paper Number 69, while comparing 
     the lesser war-making power of the President of the United 
     States with the war-making power of the King of Great 
     Britain, Alexander Hamilton wrote, ``The President is to be 
     commander in chief of the army and navy of the United States. 
     In this respect his authority would be nominally the same 
     with that of the king of Great Britain, but in substance much 
     inferior to it. It would amount to nothing more than the 
     supreme command and direction of the military and naval 
     forces, as first general and admiral of the confederacy; 
     while that of the British king extends to the declaring of 
     war, and to the raising and regulating of fleets and armies; 
     all which, by the constitution under consideration, would 
     appertain to the legislature.'';
       Whereas James Madison declared that it is necessary to 
     adhere to the ``fundamental doctrine of the Constitution that 
     the power to declare war is fully and exclusively vested in 
     the legislature'';
       Whereas, in 1793, President George Washington, when 
     considering how to protect inhabitants of the frontier of the 
     United States, instructed his Administration that ``no 
     offensive expedition of importance can be undertaken until 
     after [Congress] have deliberated upon the subject, and 
     authorized such a measure'';
       Whereas, in 1801, when Thomas Jefferson sent a small 
     squadron of frigates to the Mediterranean to protect against 
     possible attacks by the Barbary powers, he told Congress that 
     he was ``unauthorized by the Constitution, without the 
     sanction of Congress, to go beyond the line of defense'', and 
     further noted that it was up to Congress to authorize 
     ``measures of offense also'';
       Whereas, according to the most definitive United States 
     intelligence report, Iran is several years away from 
     developing a nuclear weapon, and even the most pessimistic 
     analysis by outside experts predicts that Iran is at least 3 
     years away from developing a nuclear weapon, assuming Iran 
     suffers no setbacks during development, which would be 
     unprecedented;
       Whereas diplomatic efforts involving Iran, the United 
     States, the European Union, Russia, the People's Republic of 
     China, the International Atomic Energy Agency, and the United 
     Nations Security Council continue; and
       Whereas, despite these diplomatic efforts and statements by 
     President Bush and other members of his Administration that 
     diplomacy is the preferred route, there are an increasing 
     number of reports that preparations for war are underway: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) strongly affirms that initiating military action 
     against Iran without congressional approval does not fall 
     within the President's ``Commander in Chief'' powers under 
     the Constitution;
       (2) rejects any suggestion that the Authorization for Use 
     of Military Force (Public Law 107-40; 50 U.S.C. 1541 note), 
     approved in response to the terrorist attacks of September 
     11, 2001, explicitly or implicitly extends to authorizing 
     military action against Iran, including over its nuclear 
     program;
       (3) rejects any suggestion that the Authorization for Use 
     of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 (Public Law 
     107-243; 50 U.S.C. 1541 note) explicitly or implicitly 
     extends to authorizing military action against Iran, 
     including over its nuclear program; and
       (4) strongly and unequivocally affirms that seeking 
     congressional authority prior to taking military action 
     against Iran is not discretionary, but is a legal and 
     constitutional requirement.

  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, the issue of American presence in the 
Middle East is of great importance. We are currently engaged in a war 
in Iraq from which, according to poll after poll, a majority of the 
American people believe we should withdraw.
  In the face of the momentous elections of this past November, in 
which the American electorate indicated their dissatisfaction with the 
President's policies in Iraq, President Bush has responded with a call 
for more troops, not less. At this moment, he is

[[Page 4236]]

escalating the war, not redeploying our brave men and women out of 
harm's way. He is sending these troops into the middle of a civil war.
  Now there are reports that the President may be considering expanding 
this tragic war into Iran. The President has no constitutional 
authority to make war on Iran, nor has he historical precedent. I offer 
today a resolution ``expressing the sense of Congress that the 
President should not initiate military action against Iran without 
first obtaining authorization from Congress.'' It sets forth the 
constitutional grant of authority to Congress for declaring war and 
funding any war, which cites Federalist paper number 69 on the 
intention of the drafters of the Constitution, and which cites 
Presidents Washington and Jefferson on the power reserved to Congress 
to authorize war.
  The resolution strongly and unequivocally affirms that the President 
does not have the power to initiate military action against Iran 
without first obtaining authorization from Congress, that neither of 
the existing authorizations to use military force in Iraq gives him 
such authority, and that the President must seek congressional 
authority prior to taking any military action against Iran.

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