The Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity : Congress Alert

Congress Members Demand Trump Seek Approval Before Military Action In Syria

Tuesday September 18, 2018

A group of over 40 Congress members have sent President Trump a bipartisan letter reminding him that the US Constitution requires that the president seek Congressional approval before taking military action in Syria or elsewhere. Congressman Justin Amash (R-Mich.) announced via Twitter on Monday that the letter had been sent to the White House.

Ironically Rep. Amash made the announcement just as Monday's evening's massive Israeli strike on Syria was underway, which resulted in a downed Russian surveillance plane carrying 14 troops amidst the confusion of missiles flying over the Mediterranean as it was hit by Syrian defense attempting to stave off the attack by Israel.
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Rep. Thomas Massie: Congress Would End Marijuana Prohibition Today if Leadership Would Allow Vote

Friday July 27, 2018

“If the vote were today” in Congress, says United States House of Representatives Member Thomas Massie (R-KY) in a new interview with host Matt Welch at Reason, “the federal prohibition [on marijuana] would go away.” The catch, says Massie, is that leadership will not allow such a vote to occur. “A change in leadership could mean that issue gets resolved tomorrow,” asserts Massie.
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Senate Minority Leader Introduces ‘Democrats Only’ Marijuana Prohibition Roll-back Bill

Friday June 29, 2018

In October, a Gallup poll found, for the first time, majority support among Republicans for legalizing marijuana. Such majority support had already existed among Democrats and independents. Then, this month, huge majorities of delegates at the Republican Party of Texas state convention approved party platform planks calling for decriminalizing marijuana possession; moving marijuana from Schedule 1 to Schedule 2 of the United States government’s Controlled Substances Act; allowing the cultivation, manufacture, and sale of hemp and hemp products; and expanding the state’s low-THC cannabis oil medical program. And, this week, voters approved a medical marijuana ballot measure in Oklahoma, another “conservative” state, making it the 30th state to legalize medical marijuana.
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Rep. Ro Khanna Says Fellow Democrats Should Support Diplomacy with North Korea

Wednesday June 13, 2018

On Monday, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), joined by 14 fellow Democratic United States House of Representatives members, sent a letter to President Donald Trump supporting Trump pursuing diplomacy and “incremental progress” with North Korea. The letter also expresses concern about efforts toward peace being hindered by people — both Republican and Democrat, and both inside and outside the Trump administration — seeking “to scuttle progress by attempting to limit the parameters of the talks, including by insisting on full and immediate denuclearization or other unrealistic commitments by North Korea at an early date.”
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Law Prof. Jonathan Turley Tells Senators Proposed AUMF Would ‘Put Our Endless War on Autopilot’

Wednesday June 6, 2018

George Washington University Law Professor Jonathan Turley, at a Wednesday hearing of Sen. Rand Paul's Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Federal Spending Oversight and Emergency Management, presented written testimony arguing that a proposed authorization for use of military force (AUMF) sponsored by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-TN) (S.J.Res 59) “would literally put our endless war on autopilot.”
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Sen. Paul to Hold Hearing on 'Unauthorized War’s Effect on Federal Spending'

Monday June 4, 2018

Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) announced today that on Wednesday, June 6th, he will be holding a hearing on the enormous costs of the endless wars which continue to be fought under the 2001 Congressional Authorization for the Use of Military Force passed after the 9/11 attacks.
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Praise for Rep. Walter Jones after His Republican Primary Victory

Thursday May 10, 2018

On Tuesday, Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC), who is seeking reelection for what he has indicated will be his final term in the United States House of Representatives, won his Republican Party primary. Jones defeated two other candidates — a Washington, DC lobbyist who holds elective office in the district and one of Jones’ primary opponents from 2016.
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Why 55 US Senators Voted for Genocide in Yemen

Saturday March 24, 2018

That's the headline of a blog. It’s a good question. There are six factors involved: Iran, sales of arms, Israel, the CIA, indifferent cruelty, and the system of empire. These are all bad reasons that shouldn’t persuade right-thinking and honorable U.S. senators, but votes for genocide do not come from right-thinking and honorable senators.

Iran. The idea is that Saudi Arabia is thwarting Iran in Yemen. The evidence for this is very, very thin, but even if the Saudis want to thwart Iran somehow in Yemen, that doesn’t justify either a war initiated by Saudi Arabia, a war of the type and scale being waged by the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, and a U.S. presence in that war.
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Reps. Barbara Lee and Justin Amash Lay Out a Case for Terminating the 2001 AUMF

Thursday March 1, 2018

In the days following the 9/11 attacks, Congress passed into law a 60-word sentence that set the stage for perpetual war. This 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) contains no time limits, no geographic constraints, and no exit strategy. It has effectively become a blank check for any president, at any time, to wage war without congressional consent or oversight.

According to the Congressional Research Service, the 2001 AUMF has been cited as statutory authority for unclassified military or related actions at least 41 times in 18 countries. Both President George W. Bush and President Obama used it, and now President Trump is following the same path.

That is a portion of the cogent analysis Reps Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Justin Amash (R-MI) offer in their Wednesday The Hill editorial explaining why they support repealing the AUMF that has facilitated members of the United States Congress abdicating their authority over US wars and three presidents exercising unrestrained use of military force abroad. The editorial came the day after Lee and Amash hosted a joint hearing of the United States House of Representatives Progressive Caucus and Liberty Caucus focused on exploring repealing the AUMF.
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Breaking: Congressional Progressive Caucus, Liberty Caucus to Meet on War Authorization

Tuesday February 27, 2018

In a very encouraging sign, the US House Progressive Caucus and Liberty Caucus will hold a joint meeting today (Feb. 27th) at 2:30 Eastern time to discuss strategies to repeal the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Force (AUMF) against forces that attacked the US on Sept. 11, 2001.

According to an email sent out by the office of US Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), the "overly broad and outdated AUMF represents a critical deterioration of congressional oversight of military operations."
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Congress Alert