"Today I am today introducing an alternative that will ensure that the United States does not remain in an endless cycle of wars or cede constitutional authorities to the President," Merkely said in a statement on Wednesday. "We need to restore the vision of the Constitution and make sure that Congress, not the President, has the ultimate say in the decision to send our troops into battle."
Merkely’s bill provides an alternative to another AUMF measure, which was introduced by Senators Bob Corker and Tim Kaine, and is currently being debated by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The Trump and Obama administrations cited the two AUMF resolutions approved by Congress following the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, DC as the legal basis for US forces fighting terrorists in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and parts of Africa.
However, members of Congress have claimed that a new AUMF is needed to satisfy a constitutional requirement that Congress declares war and not the president.
