Crow, Bipartisan Coalition of Lawmakers Introduces Legislation to Restore Congressional War Powers

House Armed Services Committee Vice Chair Anthony G. Brown (D-MD), Reps. Jason Crow (D-CO), Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), Tom Cole (R-OK), Don Bacon (R-NE), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Francis Rooney (R-FL), Ted Yoho (R-FL), Jared Golden (D-ME), and Rob Woodall (R-GA) introduced bipartisan legislation to establish limits on the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF).

The "Limit on the Expansion of the Authorization for Use of Military Force Act," H.R. 7500, would reassert Congress' Constitutional role in the declaration of war. For nearly two decades, the 2001 AUMF, which passed in response to the September 11th terrorist attacks, has been used by three presidents as the legal justification for the deployment of American servicemembers into new countries, each time without a debate or vote in Congress.

Since the initial operations by the United States and our allies in Afghanistan, the 2001 AUMF has been used to authorize the use of force in at least 19 countries. This legislation would provide new guardrails on its use, limiting existing authorization to countries with ongoing hostilities. In the event a President acts to defend the United States in a country where we are not operating today, the executive branch would be required to seek Congressional approval under the War Powers Resolution of 1973. The President would retain other authorities, such as train and assist, to continue working with partners and allies to address terrorist threats to the United States.

"As someone who was deployed to Iraq, I understand the cost of war on a personal level. For too long, Congress has abdicated its Constitutional responsibilities. We will continue to counter ISIS, international terrorism other national security threats, but we cannot do so with a nearly two decades old authorization that doesn't recognize the current landscape," said Congressman Anthony Brown. "We have a responsibility to the men and women who wear the uniform to ensure the authorized missions they execute are targeted, defined and achievable. This debate is long overdue."

"The most solemn responsibility of Congress is the decision to send our men and women into harm's way," said Congressman Jason Crow. "My military career started as an enlisted soldier and I will never forget being Private Crow as I make decisions in Washington. For too long, we've heard the same political argument that the time is not right to have the hard discussions about our foreign military involvements. This bill reasserts Congress' constitutional authority over matters of war and diplomacy. We must prevent another endless war."

Since 9/11, more than 2.7 million troops service members have served on 5.4 million deployments across the world– more than 700,000 of those who deployed did so multiple times. Federal spending on post-9/11 military action in Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries is estimated to exceed $6.4 trillion. In March 2019, the Department of Defense estimated that the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria have cost each US taxpayer more than $7,600.