Successive presidents and Congresses have conspired to rob the American people of the Constitution’s guarantee that they be heard in the decision to send the nation to war.
In national debates, it is Congress, not the president, that represents the American people. The president’s job is to execute the law after Congress has debated and written it.
Members of Congress are elected by the people of our districts and states to represent, within constitutional bounds, their interests in national debates. We live in the communities we represent. We hear regularly from constituents and are accountable to them for our decisions.
By giving Congress, not the president, the authority to declare war—to decide whether acts of war may be commenced against a foreign power—the Founders ensured that the American people would be involved in the debate.
When a president engages in war without congressional authorization and Congress does nothing to stop him, the two branches cut the American people out of the process, in violation of our Constitution’s design. This undermines both the liberty and the safety of the people.
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