Politics

Senator Feingold Weighs in and Takes Action on Iraq Escalation

Sen Feingold posted a statement on TomPaine.com today that gave me hope that Congress is finally going to stand up to the White House Administration and do the job that we, the public, pay them to do. Based on Senate Judiciary Committee hearings chaired by Senator Feingold earlier this week, he is convinced that not only does Congress have the Constitutional authority to end military engagements, it has the Constitutional responsibility to do so if the American people do not support the military action. The closing sentence of his statement really says it all to me: “If Congress doesn’t stop this war, it’s not because it doesn’t have the power. It’s because it doesn’t have the will.”

How To End The War
Russ Feingold
February 02, 2007

Our founders wisely kept the power to fund a war separate from the power to conduct a war. In their brilliant design of our system of government, Congress got the power of the purse, and the president got the power of the sword. As James Madison wrote, “Those who are to conduct a war cannot in the nature of things, be proper or safe judges, whether a war ought to be commenced, continued or concluded.”

Earlier this week, I chaired a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee to remind my colleagues in the Senate that, through the power of the purse, we have the constitutional power to end a war. At the hearing, a wide range of constitutional scholars agreed that Congress can use its power to end a military engagement.

The Constitution gives Congress the explicit power [to] declare War, [t]o raise and support Armies, [t]o provide and maintain a Navy, and [t]o make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces. In addition, under Article I, No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law. These are direct quotes from the Constitution of the United States. Yet to hear some in the Administration talk, it is as if these powers were written in invisible ink. They were not. These powers are a clear and direct statement from the founders of our republic that Congress has authority to declare, to define and, ultimately, to end a war.
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Yesterday, Senator Feingold introduced legislation that will prohibit the use of funds to continue the war six months after the enactment of the law. An outline of his legislation can be found here. Senator Feingold also posted a very interesting post on DailyKos yesterday entitled Warner/Levin Resolution a Mistake. This post helped me to understand why there are so many similar resolutions being proposed in the Senate with respect to US military involvement in Iraq, and why both binding and non-binding resolutions are in play. If you are as confused as I am about all of these resolutions and the differences between them, this post is a must read. It is not comprehensive, but it is very informative. The net of Feingold’s message is; “…we shouldn’t make the compromises made in this resolution (Warner/Levin resolution) just to beat a filibuster. Instead of trying to pass something that everyone can get behind, we should be taking a strong stand. If others want to block it, go right ahead. We have the support of a majority of Americans behind us. We should recognize that and act on it.”

© 2007 Life is an Ongoing Process.