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John Boehner invokes War Powers Act
By John Bresnahan
6/14/11
House
Speaker John Boehner is warning
President Barack Obama that he may be in violation of the War Powers
Act if
Obama refuses to ask Congress for authorization to overthrow Libyan
leader
Muammar Qadhafi.
In
a letter to Obama today, Boehner
noted that Friday is 90 days since U.S. forces first attacked Libyan
targets as
part of the NATO-led campaign to topple Qadhafi.
Boehner
also told House Republicans
during a closed-door session on Tuesday that GOP leaders may seek to
restrict
or cut off Libyan funding, although no decision has been made to do so
yet, GOP
sources said.
Boehner
is demanding Obama formally
seek authorization from Congress for the campaign or withdraw U.S.
forces.
“Therefore,
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 his letter
to the
president.
“Since
the mission began, the
Administration has provided tactical operational briefings to the House
of
Representatives, but the White House has systematically avoided
requesting a
formal authorization for its action,” Boehner added.
“It
has simultaneously sought,
however, to portray that its actions are consistent with the War Powers
Resolution. The combination of these actions has left many Members of
Congress,
as well as the American people, frustrated by the lack of clarity over
the
Administration’s strategic policies, by a refusal to acknowledge and
respect
the role of the Congress, and by a refusal to comply with the basic
tenets of
the War Powers Resolution.”
Boehner
suggested the White House has
made one of two determinations: “either you have concluded the War
Powers
Resolution does not apply to the mission in Libya, or you have
determined the
War Powers Resolution is contrary to the Constitution.”
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