Congressman Sherman Opposes Excessively Broad Elements of AUMF Proposal

Washington DC - Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA), senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, released the following statement regarding President Obama's proposal for the authorized use of military force.

"I applaud the President for coming to Congress for authorization for the continuing operations against ISIS. However, I oppose the draft he has put forward. First, the limitation on ground troops is not strong enough – ‘enduring offensive ground operations' is a highly elastic phrase which the next president may interpret broadly.

President Obama has taken a very expansive view of his powers under the War Powers Act of 1973 and the AUMFs dealing with al Qaeda and Iraq. By failing to repeal the 2001 AUMF, his 2015 proposal reaffirms that AUMF and President Obama's very broad reading of his authority. The 2001 legislation provides virtually unlimited authority for the President to do anything he wants to fight al Qaeda and associated groups, including commit ground troops, without any limits in scope or duration. The President asserts that the 2001 AUMF also authorizes unlimited military actions against ISIS. We should repeal and replace the 2001 AUMF, not reaffirm it.

I look forward to working with the Administration and my colleagues to draft an AUMF that allows us to combat ISIS and Al Qaeda, and their allies, but that has sufficient and effective limits on the use of ground forces."

We need to make sure that the next president cannot commit hundreds of thousands of ground troops to the Middle East without congressional approval.