Susan Cornwell
Reuters
6/14/2011
(Reuters) – House Speaker John Boehner warned President Barack Obama on Tuesday that he was skating on thin legal ice by keeping U.S. forces involved in Libya for nearly three months without the authorization of Congress.
The letter from the Republican leader of the House of Representatives to the Democratic president threatened to turn lawmakers’ unease over the Libyan conflict into a clash between Congress and the White House over constitutional powers.
Boehner accused Obama of “a refusal to acknowledge and respect the role of Congress” in military operations and a “lack of clarity” about why the U.S. was still involved in Libya.
He asked Obama to explain the legal grounds for the war by Friday, adding that by Sunday Obama would be in violation of the 1973 War Powers Resolution if nothing changed.
The Constitution says that Congress declares war, while the president is commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The War Powers Resolution sought to resolve the tensions in these roles and was passed by Congress over a veto by President Richard Nixon.
No sitting president has ever recognized the resolution, which prohibits U.S. armed forces from being involved in military actions for more than 60 days without congressional authorization, and includes a further 30-day withdrawal period. Boehner said the 90 days expires on Sunday.
“It would appear that in five days, the administration will be in violation of the War Powers Resolution unless it asks for and receives authorization from Congress or withdraws all U.S. troops and resources from the mission,” Boehner said in the letter, which was released by his office.
“Have you … conducted the legal analysis to justify your position?” he asked. “Given the gravity of the constitutional and statutory questions involved, I request your answer by Friday, June 17, 2011.”
The article continues at Reuters.
