Kaine says midterm election keeps Congress from debating war

Sen. Timothy M. Kaine, D-Va., on Tuesday criticized Congress for its refusal to debate and vote on authorizing the use of military force against Islamic State militants before the Nov. 4 elections.

“Why would we adjourn on the 18th of September, which is the second earliest recess before a midterm election since 1960, with a war underway that Virginians are serving in? Why would we adjourn without debating that?” Kaine said in a midday Public Square, hosted by the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

However, Kaine said he is hopeful that both houses will take on the issue “sometime between the middle part of November and Dec. 11,” when Congress reconvenes.

“I have had more challenges with my colleagues (in the U.S. Senate) on this one than I’ve had with the White House,” Kaine said during a discussion moderated by Thomas A. Silvestri, president and publisher of The Times-Dispatch, before an audience of about 120.

The former Virginia governor, elected to the Senate in 2012, laid out his ideas for strengthening the War Powers Act — a topic that first sparked his interest while serving as lieutenant governor in 2002, as he watched Congress debate and vote to authorize war against Iraq. Ever since, he has “obsessed” over the issue, he said.

In June, Kaine called on Congress, “in a very agitated way,” to equip President Barack Obama with the powers to use military force in going after Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria.

“The president had met with congressional leaders and said ISIL is a serious threat and that the president had all the power that he needed to do exactly what he wanted to do. And I said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me. Where is that power?’ ” Kaine said, using an acronym for the Islamic State group.

The Constitution gives the president the power to act unilaterally to repel an imminent attack on the United States, but only Congress can authorize war.

In the nation’s history, Congress has been hesitant to use its war powers, formally declaring war only five times.

But presidents have authorized military action more than 120 times, Kaine said.

“Executive overreach and (congressional) abdication have created a real problem,” the senator said. “In our history, there has not been a pattern and practice of any regular dialogue in the most fundamental decision the government makes.”

Consequently, since June, Kaine said he has been trying “to give the White House and my congressional colleagues as much hell as I can about the need to have a debate and vote in Congress about this mission (against the Islamic State) and then allow the president to be the commander in chief and execute it.”

Kaine said his persistence did not make him the most popular member in Congress.

In an effort to reform the War Powers Act in the long term, Kaine has teamed with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., to introduce legislation that would strengthen the consultative process between Congress and the president on whether and when to engage in military action.

“Congress often avoids a hard vote,” Kaine said. “Even if you’re right, there are going to be horrible consequences. And if you’re wrong, the consequences are often too horrible to contemplate in terms of the sacrifice that you’ll ask of people.”

Kaine also told the audience that he has no illusions that the nation is at war with the Islamic State.

“(Secretary of Defense) Chuck Hagel has called it a war. President Obama said we need to go on offense against ISIL. And Thomas Jefferson said that once we go from defense to offense, we got to have sanction from Congress,” he said.

Kaine spent more than half an hour taking questions from the audience.

Brad Armstrong, for example, criticized the semantics of modern warfare, citing his difficulties in understanding the difference between a “declaration of war” and “authorization of force.”

Both are essentially the same, Kaine said. “I like authorization for use of military force better, because that is a declaration of war,” he said.

Anna Strohmeyer, a student of international social justice at Virginia Commonwealth University, expressed concern with the war against the Islamic State because of the lack of a clear and recognizable enemy.

“Today, the enemy is trying to blend in with the background. We don’t know exactly who it is,” she said.

Steven Danish of Richmond wanted to know if Congress would have a different view of warfare had more members served in the military.

Kaine responded that a Congress without military experience and with a willingness to “put a war on a credit card” while avoiding a debate on war authorizations could potentially outsource a lot of its responsibilities.

“We should make this tough, if we go on the offense,” said Kaine, reiterating his push for Congress to take action. “And we should have a debate and vote.”

This was The Times-Dispatch’s 52nd Public Square, a series of community conversations about topics ranging from baseball in Richmond to health care, mental health and gun rights.

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