Equal Branches
In the next week, millions of Americans will celebrate our Independence Day. The fourth day of July is the day that we celebrate our declaration of independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. It was the last time America was ruled by a monarch.
In the place of a King or Queen, our forefathers created three separate branches of government. Each of those branches had checks and balances over the other two so that no one branch of government would become supreme.
The President is the commander in chief of our Armed Forces. However, Congress has the sole power to declare war. Franklin Delano Roosevelt came to the Capitol on December 8, 1941, and asked a joint session of Congress to declare war on the Japanese after their surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.
Somewhere along the line, Presidents started committing American troops, but stopped asking for the consent of Congress. Congress then passed the War Powers Act over President Nixon's veto in 1973. It required the President to get the authorization of Congress for the use of military force within 60 days of committing troops.
The law is very clear. American troops have now been engaged in an operation against Libya for more than 60 days without the consent of Congress.
If the President believes it is in our national interest to commit troops to the Libyan operation, he should come and make his case to Congress. In order for our government to work as it was intended, each branch of government must follow the law.
Sincerely,
