War powers must be clarified

Sending American service members into battle is the most important decision civilian leaders can make. That is why I entered the Senate with a personal conviction to work on war powers. With nearly one in three Virginians directly connected to the military, decisions about when to use force affect us very deeply. After thirteen years of conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan, we owe it to our troops, and the public, to be clear about how we make these critical decisions.

The framers of the Constitution had a clear view: Congress must formally approve the initiation of significant military action and the president, as commander-in-chief, is responsible for the day-to-day management of a military action once initiated. While the Constitution is clear, the process has been anything but consistent.

The 1973 War Powers Resolution is often ignored, and many argue it is unconstitutional. In our nation’s history, Congress has declared war only five times, while presidents have initiated military action more than 120 times, often without Congressional approval.

In 2011, President Obama ordered U.S. forces to support NATO’s campaign in Libya without approval from Congress. Moving forward, the American public deserves a much clearer dialogue between the president and Congress concerning decisions about war and peace.

It’s time to create a workable process. Sen. John McCain and I, both members of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees, have joined together to address this issue. In January, we introduced the War Powers Consultation Act of 2014 to clarify the consultation process between the legislative and executive branches of government.

Under this proposal, all members of Congress eventually would be asked to vote on decisions regarding entry into armed conflict. This will ensure a deliberate discussion in full view of the American people, increasing public awareness and the accountability of our elected officials.

The proposal would also create a permanent Consultation Committee in Congress consisting of majority and ranking members of the national security committees, who would have regular access to information on national security matters and meet with the president periodically to discuss pertinent issues.

Many of the ideas behind our legislation took shape in Charlottesville, where the National War Powers Commission, empanelled by the Miller Center at the University of Virginia, deliberated about this issue. The commission, chaired by former secretaries of state James Baker and Warren Christopher, was composed of a bipartisan group of talented policymakers from Congress, the executive branch, the military, the diplomatic corps and academia.

In 2008, they proposed legislation designed to allow the president and Congress to each exercise their full constitutional role in a clear and practical process on war powers issues. Their hard work was the blueprint for our bill.

I’m used to talking about the issue in the abstract, but I was confronted with a real test case in my first eight months in the Senate. It came in August in response to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s use of chemical weapons against his own people.

The question everyone began asking was whether America would respond with military force. Many presidents would have acted unilaterally to do so. But in discussions with the White House and my colleagues, I urged the president to respect the constitutional framework and seek Congressional approval because we send a stronger signal when the executive and legislative branches are unified on matters of war.

The process showed Syria and Russia that we were resolved to punish the atrocious use of chemical weapons against civilians, which led to a diplomatic breakthrough and the ongoing destruction of one of the largest chemical weapons stockpiles in the world.

Our work is just beginning. Senator McCain and I are now engaging our colleagues in Congress on this critical issue. I’m hopeful they will agree it is wrong to ask our service members to risk their lives in battle without a clear political consensus, and that we must reform the consultation process between the legislative and executive branches of government. We owe this to our troops and the American public.

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