At ISIL Hearing, Garamendi Finds Agreement Among Experts on Congress's Power of the Purse to Guide Scope of War

Press Release

Today at a House Armed Services Committee hearing on legal authorization for America's war against the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Congressman John Garamendi (D-Fairfield, CA) asked a panel of experts if the people's elected representatives in Congress could prevent the use of rank-and-file ground combat troops through their "power of the purse." The experts agreed that this inherent power of Congress to decide how to fund the government could be used to provide direction for our war. A transcript of the exchange is available below and by clicking here.

"The American people must have a voice in our nation's security and in committing our brave military servicemembers to war. That is why Congress is granted the power to declare war in the Constitution," said Garamendi. "The American people should also be able to decide, through their elected representatives, the basic scope and goals of this war. Do we want to commit tens of thousands of American ground troops for an open-ended war fought all over the world? Or do we want a targeted fight that will degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL? The experts agree that Congress can assert its authority to answer these fundamental questions using their power to appropriate money. It's time for us to step up to the plate."

Today's House Armed Services Committee hearing was titled Outside Perspectives on the President's Proposed Authorization for the Use of Military Force Against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The witnesses were General Jack Keane, USA (Ret.), Former Vice Chief of Staff, U.S. Army; Robert M. Chesney, Professor in Law at University of Texas; and Benjamin Wittes, Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings Institution.

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