Sen. Tim Kaine
Timothy (Tim) Michael KaineWarner: White House to ‘keep additional sanctions open’ against the Saudi prince Night defense: Biden sends message with air attack on Syria | US intelligence points to Saudi crown prince in Khashoggi assassination | Pentagon launches civilian-led sexual assault commission on the Biden administration to give Congress complete confidential information about the attacks in Syria next week (D-Va.), A longtime advocate of giving Congress more power over a president’s ability to wage war unilaterally, says he will begin this week to revoke or amend the Congressional authorizations used to justify numerous foreign military conflicts in recent years. two decades.
Kaine, who expressed frustration that Congress had not received prior notice President biden
Joe BidenSenate Democrats negotiating changes to the coronavirus bill Rural Americans are the future of clean energy savings – policymakers must follow WHO official says it is “premature” to think the pandemic will end by the end of the year approved air strikes in Syria last week, said lawmakers need to regain some of their war powers authority. He plans to present a bipartisan resolution to revoke the 1991 and 2002 authorizations for the use of military force against Iraq.
“I simply believe strongly – and that goes back to the constitution’s writing and the first understandings of it – is that if a president is defending himself against an ongoing attack or an imminent attack, the president has some unilateral power and that’s a good thing. But the idea of offending groups is traditionally where you should be attending Congress, ”he said.
The senator said he “was not notified” about the strike in Syria and neither “many of the people” in Congress who should have been consulted.
Kaine was also the sponsor of a joint resolution directing the removal of US armed forces from hostilities against Iranian forces that were not authorized by Congress, which before President Trump
Donald TrumpProsecutors focus Trump Organization investigation on the company’s chief financial officer: WHO official report says it is ‘premature’ to think the pandemic will end by the end of the year Romney was discharged from the hospital after the fall weekend MORE vetoed last year.
Biden last week ordered air strikes against Iran-backed militias in Syria that hit “multiple facilities” and resulted in nearly two dozen deaths, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The Pentagon described the attack as “proportional” and “defensive” after US forces were attacked by rockets in Iraq, causing the death of a civilian contractor.
“This is the beginning of a government, and it is a government where, as President Biden was the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, with jurisdiction over issues of war powers, he should understand more than most, more than that practically anyone, that Article I the branch has to have a role here, so I will insist on that, ”said Kaine, referring to the legislative branch.
Kaine said that on Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon he “will likely present a bipartisan resolution with Republican colleagues that would revoke Iraq’s two authorizations, the First Gulf War and then Iraq ’02”.
“Congress does not revoke these things. We have overtaken them and they are floating to be used – they can be used in malicious ways to justify actions long after the original crisis has passed, ”he said.
He said the first step is to “revoke unnecessary authorizations” for the use of military force, such as the two resolutions passed by Congress against Iraq, and then work to update and reform the 2001 authorization to use military force against “those nations. , organizations or people ”who planned, authorized or helped the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The 2001 authorization was used to send American troops to Afghanistan in October of that year and the military conflict against Al Qaeda and the Taliban has spread to other countries like Pakistan, Syria, Somalia, Libya and Yemen.
Kaine says that “step three” is to update the 1974 Powers of War Act.
“This instance shows us that the 1974 Powers of War Act is not sufficient in terms of consultation requirements, so I have a bill to rewrite the Powers of War Act which is a long-term reform that I think we will also introduce in the first of the year with Republican colleagues, ”he said.
Kaine said he hopes to speak with Biden government officials on Tuesday afternoon about last week’s strike.
“I think I will talk to them later today,” he said.
Kaine said he received the same letter that all of his colleagues received two days later, informing them of the strike.
“I was like everyone else in the country, I heard about it on the news. I’m on the Foreign Affairs and Armed Services committee[s]. I don’t think I should learn about it that way, ”he said.
“We will probably have some kind of meeting with the White House on this,” he said.