Feingold: The Voice Of Americans Must Be Heard

By Jonathan Bronstein, Talk Radio News

Since World War II, not once has Congress utilized its Constitutional right to declare an official act of war. Though this violates both the Constitution and the War Powers Act of 1973, which restricted Presidential power in times of war, America still goes to war.

However, now America goes to war without the consent of the representative body of the people.

“Since the War Powers Resolution was enacted, several presidents have introduced troops into battle without obtaining prior approval of Congress,” said Senator Russell Feinfold (D-W.I.).

“The simple solution of this problem would be for the president to honor the Constitution and seek the prior approval of Congress in such scenarios,” he said

In an effort to make the president more accountable to the American people, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations heard the recommendations of the National War Powers Commission, created in February 2007, report: the War Powers Consultation Act. This commission was led by two former Secretaries of State James A. Baker, III and Warren Christopher, and they sought to change what they believed to be the flawed War Powers Act of 1973.

The main issue with the War Powers Act of 1973, is that this debate will linger until a decision is made. “Only a Constitutional Amendment or a decisive Supreme Court opinion is likely to resolve the debate, and neither of these is likely to be forth coming anytime soon,” said Christopher.

Therefore, this commissions goal was not to reform the War Powers Act, but to create a completely knew draft.

One of the main recommendations of the committee was that the President must have an advisory body, which must be consulted before any soldiers are sent into battle.

Yet, such a move frightened Feingold because “If this bill had been in place before the war in Iraq, President Bush could have begun the war after consulting with a ‘gang’ of twelve members of Congress, thereby depriving most of the senators in this room of the ability to participate in these consultations.”

Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) voiced similar concern about the role of an advisory committee and the effect that it would have on Congressional influence, “I think in the process of giving the President one place to go (for information), I think that the other (Congressional) committees of jurisdiction end up becoming more irrelevant.

“The decision to go to war is the most profound ever made by the government,” said Feingold. “History teaches that we must have the support of the American people if we are to successfully prosecute our military operations.”

So while the current War Powers Act is flawed, Feingold worried that the new War Powers Consultation Act committed just as large of a sin–silencing the voice of the American people.