Under the War Powers Act of 1973, a president has to obtain permission from Congress to continue any military actions longer than 30 days. The ISIS war has lasted nearly a year at this point, but there has yet to be a vote on the war in Congress.
Last week, the House rejected the Schiff Amendment, which would’ve forced a vote by March 31 of next year. Today, in a 139-288 vote, the House rejected another resolution, this time from Rep. Jim McGovern (D – MA) which, failing a vote approving the war would’ve required the Obama Administration to follow US law and end the war by the end of this year.
With both rules votes failing by fairly wide margins, it seems increasingly probable that the ISIS war will never get even a token vote in the US Congress, but that the president will continue to be allowed to illegally continue it without any objections from the legislative branch.
The White House insists that they fulfilled their obligations, more or less, by asking Congress to approve a resolution on the war which they openly bragged was so deliberately vague as to allow them to do anything. That resolution never got much support in Congress, and never got out of committee.
"We don't need no stinkin' constitution."
And the citizenry slept.
Our "law-makers" as always unwilling and incapable of following the law.
More US troops to die in vain…sad
What would happen if a large segment of the American people got together and filed a lawsuit against the Congress for breach of contract and failure to abide by the law (that they wrote?)
It won't happen but it definitely would be interesting to watch.
The various courts would no doubt rule that 'we the people' have no standing.
We the people don't rate. We are chaff-floatsam-junk take you pick. Guess what they re VERY VERY wrong…