Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, continued his longtime efforts to return war making powers to Congress by forcing the Senate to vote on his amendment to repeal the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF). The final vote tally was 9-86.
“Today, I offered the U.S. Senate a chance to repeal the 9/11 2001 Authorization for War to reclaim our constitutional power and send a message to the world that we are a nation of peace. That when provoked to war, the gentle giant that is America will respond lawfully according to the Constitution, that when war is absolutely necessary, America will obey the Constitution, which requires us to debate and vote upon war and not hide beneath another generation’s deliberations. Today, we should have risen above symbolism and repealed the 9/11 authorization for war and shown our respect for the Constitution, our fealty to the rule of law, and our sincere desire that peace, not perpetual war, be our legacy,” said Dr. Paul.
Dr. Paul’s amendment would have formally ended the authorization for the Afghanistan war – nearly 22 years after the AUMF was first passed. It would also sunset the 2001 AUMF after six months, during which time Congress could debate exactly where and how to authorize future force.
The amendment was put up for a vote ahead of the Senate voting on bipartisan legislation to repeal the 1991 and 2002 AUMFs, formally ending the Gulf and Iraq wars, which Dr. Paul cosponsored.
