The Vietnam War, and
the overall growth of executive power in foreign policy it
represented, engendered a strong reassertion of Congressional
powers in the early 1970s. The War Powers Resolution was one
of the key pieces in this process.
In reporting to the
Senate this legislation the authors formally stated that the
purpose of the law was: "...to prevent secret,
unauthorized military support activities and to prevent a
repetition of many of the most controversial and regrettable
activities in Indochina" (quoted in Wormuth: 249). The
War Powers Resolution passed Congress in October 1973. After having
vigorously opposed several pieces of legislation on the question at every
turn (Nixon Papers), and feeling it excessively to restrict the powers he assumed to
be inherent in the office of the presidency, Pres. Richard Nixon vetoed the
bill on October 24, 1973. However, the bill nevertheless was passed a second
time on November 7, 1973, over-riding the constitutional power of
presidential veto.
Count the votes:
The vote was 284 to 135 in the House (67.7% of the House; 4 members more
than the 2/3 of those voting required by the Constitution), and 75 to 18 in
the Senate (13 members more than the Constitution required). As such, the
War Powers Resolution is a misnomer: it is a U.S. law, not a mere
resolution.
Its key provisions are (link
to complete text):
"Sec 2c.: The
Constitutional powers of the President as
Commander-in-Chief to introduce U.S. Armed Forces into
hostilities, or into situations where imminent
involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated by the
circumstances, are exercised only pursuant to (1) a
declaration of war, (2) statutory authorization, or (3) a
national emergency created by attack upon the US, its
territories or possessions, or its armed forces.
Sec. 3.: The
President in every possible instance shall consult with
Congress before introducing U.S. Armed Forces into
hostilities or situations where imminent involvement in
hostilities is clearly indicated...
Sec. 4a. In the
absence of a declaration of war, in any case ...the
President shall submit within 48 hours to the Speaker of
the House of Representatives and to the President pro
tempore of the Senate a report, in writing, setting
forth:
A. the
circumstances necessitating the introduction of U.S.
Armed Forces;
B. the
Constitutional and legislative authority under which
such introduction took place; and
C. the
estimated scope and duration of the hostilities or
involvement.
...5b. Within 60
calendar days after a report is submitted or is required
to be submitted... the President shall terminate any use
of U.S. Armed Forces... unless the Congress (1) had
declared war or has enacted a specific authorization for
such use of U.S. Armed Forces, (2) has extended by law
such 60 day period, or (3) is physically unable to
meet... Such 60 day period shall be extended for not more
than an additional 30 days if the President determines
and certifies to the Congress in writing that unavoidable
military necessity respecting the safety of U.S. Armed
Forces requires the continued use of such armed forces in
the course of bringing about a prompt removal of such
forces...
5c.
Notwithstanding subsection b., at any time that U.S.
Armed Forces are engaged in hostilities outside the
territory of the US... without a declaration of war or
specific statutory authorization, such forces shall be
removed by the President if the Congress so directs by
concurrent resolution...
sources:
Gordon L. Bowen, "War Powers Resolution," The
Seventies in America (Pasadena, CA: Salem Press, 2006).
Louis Fisher, Constitutional
Conflicts Between Congress and the President (Princeton
NJ: Princeton UP, 1985).
Louis Fisher, The
Politics of Shared Power (Washington DC: CQ Press, 1993):
157-166.
Louis
Fisher.
Presidential
War Power (Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 1995).
Nixon papers:
A partial record of internal Nixon Administration documents on the War
Powers legislative history, 1969-72, including their strategic assessments
of the prospects for various pieces of preliminary draft bills pointing
toward the ultimate legislation on the war powers matter, appears in:
"The
Nixon Administration and War Powers Legislation," Foreign Relations of
the United States, 1969-1976, v. 2: 832-853.
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/77859.pdf Discussion
of passage of the actual law, deliberations on the veto, and reaction to the
over-ride of the Nixon veto, are not presented in the official history.
Francis D.
Wormuth and Edwin B. Firmage, To Chain the Dog of War: The
War Power of Congress in History and Law (Dallas TX:
Southern Methodist University Press, 1986).
Complete
text of the War Powers Resolution is to be found at the Avalon Project
(Yale University School of Law).