There's a path in the War Powers Resolution to end the Yemen war without Trump's signature.
Urge Congress to pass a concurrent resolution to end the war.
Urge Congress to pass a concurrent resolution to end the war.
On May 2, the Senate failed to override Trump’s “veto” of the Bernie Sanders – Mike Lee – Chris Murphy joint resolution to end unconstitutional U.S. participation in the Saudi war in Yemen. 53 Senators voted yes, including all Democrats voting and seven Republicans. [Democratic Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado missed the vote.] But 67 votes were required to override the “veto.”
In his statement following the vote, Senator Bernie Sanders said:
“The bad news today: we were unable today to override Trump’s veto regarding U.S. intervention in this horrific war in Yemen. The good news: for the first time in 45 years, Congress used the War Powers Act to reassert its constitutional responsibility over the use of armed forces. Let me be clear: this is the beginning of a bipartisan process to take back our responsibility over these most important matters. My likeminded colleagues and I, in a bipartisan fashion, will utilize all of the legislative tools at our disposal—including further use of the War Powers Act."
There’s another path in the War Powers Resolution to ending the Yemen war: for Congress to pass a concurrent resolution, rather than a joint resolution, to end the war. The difference between a concurrent resolution and a joint resolution is that a concurrent resolution isn’t subject to a presidential veto.
There are two key reasons that this should happen now:
One reason this is urgent is that, if past is prologue, every means of trying to end the war that doesn’t use the War Powers Resolution is likely to take at least five months, and that means that many, many more Yemenis will die. Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy recently met with the UN and aid groups working in Yemen. He reported on the Senate floor:
[...]
Sen. Christopher S. Murphy, D-Conn., who spent part of the Easter recess on a congressional trip to the Middle East, said he met in Amman, Jordan, with a delegation of the major humanitarian aid groups working in Yemen and was alarmed by what he was told. “Today in Yemen, there are 250,000 Yemenis who are so malnourished and so sick that they are beyond saving, they will die,” Murphy said from the Senate floor. “Another 10 million are on the cusp of entering that category.”
[...]
The second reason this is urgent is, if Congress now concedes that Article I of the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution are no longer relevant, that would imply that Trump could now bomb wherever he wants until Congress cuts off the money. He could bomb Venezuela, he could bomb Iran, he could bomb wherever he wants, until Congress cuts off the money, if now Congress concedes that Article I of the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution are no longer relevant.
Urge Congress to pass a concurrent resolution now to end unconstitutional U.S. participation in the Saudi war in Yemen by signing our petition.
In his statement following the vote, Senator Bernie Sanders said:
“The bad news today: we were unable today to override Trump’s veto regarding U.S. intervention in this horrific war in Yemen. The good news: for the first time in 45 years, Congress used the War Powers Act to reassert its constitutional responsibility over the use of armed forces. Let me be clear: this is the beginning of a bipartisan process to take back our responsibility over these most important matters. My likeminded colleagues and I, in a bipartisan fashion, will utilize all of the legislative tools at our disposal—including further use of the War Powers Act."
There’s another path in the War Powers Resolution to ending the Yemen war: for Congress to pass a concurrent resolution, rather than a joint resolution, to end the war. The difference between a concurrent resolution and a joint resolution is that a concurrent resolution isn’t subject to a presidential veto.
There are two key reasons that this should happen now:
One reason this is urgent is that, if past is prologue, every means of trying to end the war that doesn’t use the War Powers Resolution is likely to take at least five months, and that means that many, many more Yemenis will die. Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy recently met with the UN and aid groups working in Yemen. He reported on the Senate floor:
[...]
Sen. Christopher S. Murphy, D-Conn., who spent part of the Easter recess on a congressional trip to the Middle East, said he met in Amman, Jordan, with a delegation of the major humanitarian aid groups working in Yemen and was alarmed by what he was told. “Today in Yemen, there are 250,000 Yemenis who are so malnourished and so sick that they are beyond saving, they will die,” Murphy said from the Senate floor. “Another 10 million are on the cusp of entering that category.”
[...]
The second reason this is urgent is, if Congress now concedes that Article I of the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution are no longer relevant, that would imply that Trump could now bomb wherever he wants until Congress cuts off the money. He could bomb Venezuela, he could bomb Iran, he could bomb wherever he wants, until Congress cuts off the money, if now Congress concedes that Article I of the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution are no longer relevant.
Urge Congress to pass a concurrent resolution now to end unconstitutional U.S. participation in the Saudi war in Yemen by signing our petition.
Thanks for all you do to help make U.S. foreign policy more just,
Robert Reuel Naiman
Just Foreign Policy
Just Foreign Policy
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/donate
© 2019 Just Foreign Policy
Comments
Post a Comment