War Powers Crisis; Congress Must Place a Check on Executive War-Making

Byline: Eugene G. Windchy, SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES

The United States of America is in a constitutional crisis. Will Congress regain the sole authority to initiate war as specified by the Constitution, or will the executive branch continue to assume that right for itself?

At issue is the war in Libya. The 1973 War Powers Resolution (WPR) gave President Obama 60 days in which to obtain a congressional authorization for his action in Libya. The deadline was May 20. At this writing, the war remains unauthorized. Therefore, it is unconstitutional.

Some reporters and commentators have said that on May 20, the president requested or even urged authorization, but I find no evidence of that. On the final day of the grace period, Mr. Obama sent to the congressional leadership a letter that discussed the hostilities and concluded, I am providing this report as part of my efforts to keep the Congress fully informed, consistent with the War Powers Resolution. I appreciate the support of the Congress in this action. The letter neither requested an authorization, nor …

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Publication information: Article title: War Powers Crisis; Congress Must Place a Check on Executive War-Making. Contributors: Not available. Newspaper title: The Washington Times (Washington, DC). Publication date: June 7, 2011. Page number: B01. © 2009 The Washington Times LLC. COPYRIGHT 2011 Gale Group.

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