War Powers Act of 1973

War Powers Resolution

Long title	Joint resolution concerning the war powers of Congress and the President.
Enacted by	the 92nd United States Congress
Effective	November 7, 1973
Citations
Public law	93-148
Statutes at Large	87 Stat. 555
Legislative history
Introduced in the House as H.J.Res. 542 by Clement J. Zablocki (D-WI) on May 3, 1973 Committee consideration by House Foreign Affairs Passed the House on July 10, 1973 (244–170) Passed the Senate on July 20, 1973 (75-20) Reported by the joint conference committee on October 4, 1973; agreed to by the Senate on October 10, 1973 (75–20) and by the House on October 12, 1973 (238–122) Vetoed by President Richard Nixon on October 24, 1973 Overridden by the House on November 7, 1973 (284–135) Overridden by the Senate and became law on November 7, 1973 (75–18)

The War Powers Resolution (also known as the War Powers Resolution of 1973 or the War Powers Act) (50 U.S.C. 1541–1548) is a federal law intended to check the president's power to commit the United States to an armed conflict without the consent of the U.S. Congress. The Resolution was adopted in the form of a United States Congress joint resolution. It provides that the U.S. President can send U.S. Armed Forces into action abroad only by declaration of war by Congress, "statutory authorization," or in case of "a national emergency created by attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces."

The War Powers Resolution requires the President to notify Congress within 48 hours of committing armed forces to military action and forbids armed forces from remaining for more than 60 days, with a further 30-day withdrawal period, without a Congressional authorization for use of military force (AUMF) or a declaration of war by the United States. The resolution was passed by two-thirds of Congress, overriding the veto of the bill from President Nixon.

It has been alleged that the War Powers Resolution has been violated in the past – for example, by President Bill Clinton in 1999, during the bombing campaign in Kosovo. Congress has disapproved all such incidents, but none has resulted in any successful legal actions being taken against the president for alleged violations.

Under the United States Constitution, war powers are divided. Congress has the power to raise and support the armed forces, control the war funding (Article I, Section 8), and has "Power … to declare war", while the President is commander-in-chief of the military, and the militia (armed citizenry) "when called into the actual Service of the United States" (Article II, Section 2). It is generally agreed that the commander-in-chief role gives the President power to repel attacks against the United States and makes the President responsible for leading the armed forces. In addition and as with all acts of the Congress, the President has the right to sign or veto congressional acts, such as a declaration of war. However, the war power was intentionally split between Congress and the Executive to prevent unitary executive action counter to the nation's direct interests.

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