Murphy, Cardin Introduce Legislation to Sunset 13-year-old War Authorization

Press Release

U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), along with Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), has introduced legislation (S. 526) that would sunset the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) that was passed by Congress in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. Both members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Cardin and Murphy have set out a three-year timeline that would allow Congress and the next President to review what is being accomplished, have appropriate consultations, and decide on a forward course of action. This legislation is similar to a Cardin amendment included in the ISIL AUMF resolution approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in December 2014.

"It just doesn't make sense for us to keep looking for ways we can use a 13 year-old bill for the authority to go after terrorist groups that didn't even exist when the bill was passed," said Senator Murphy. "Having learned from both our successes and failures over the past decade, Congress can wipe the slate clean by sunsetting the 2001 military authorization and using the intervening time to debate whether or not we need a new authorization to continue hunting down terrorists who threaten the United States."

"After more than 13 years, it is time we close this chapter of unending war and modernize our approach to terrorist threats in a thoughtful and concise way," said Senator Cardin. "While the ISIL AUMF outlined by President Obama is limited to three years that sunset means little if the 9/11 AUMF is still in effect as a potentially boundless, all--encompassing authorization. By leaving in place the 2001 AUMF, Congress could be authorizing a state of perpetual war, and giving this President and future presidents a blank check to keep America at war."

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