POGO Urges House Foreign Affairs Committee to Support Iraq War Authorization Repeal

Congress must reassert its power to declare war

Media Contacts:Dan Grazier, Jack Shanahan Military Fellow at the Project On Government Oversight (POGO), [email protected]; or Caitlin MacNeal, Communications Manager at POGO, [email protected]

(WASHINGTON)—The House Foreign Affairs Committee should pass H.R. 256, which would repeal the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force. The authorization should have been repealed years ago, and its continued abuse by the executive branch to justify military action infringes on Congress’s constitutional authority to declare war.

The decision to initiate military action is a solemn duty held by Congress, and any move toward war should be debated by our elected representatives. Yet three presidential administrations have used the Iraq War authorization to illegally justify military action unrelated to the conflict that spurred the 2002 authorization.

It’s time for Congress to claw back its power by repealing a war authorization passed 10 congresses ago.

Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA) has been a leader on this issue for years, and her bill repealing the Iraq War authorization, H.R. 256, would ensure that future presidents cannot misuse the authorization for yet more unrelated military actions.

“Congress must step up and reassert its power to declare war and deliberate U.S. military action,” said Dan Grazier, Jack Shanahan Military Fellow at the Project On Government Oversight. “The executive branch has misused the Iraq War authorization to justify unrelated military actions without the appropriate congressional approval. Repealing the authorization would be a crucial step in returning this important authority to its rightful place: Congress.”

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Founded in 1981, the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) is a nonpartisan independent watchdog that investigates and exposes waste, corruption, abuse of power, and when the government fails to serve the public or silences those who report wrongdoing.

We champion reforms to achieve a more effective, ethical, and accountable federal government that safeguards constitutional principles.