War Powers Act
The article on Congress and the government provides information on the operations of the Congress and the presidency. In the recent past, the presidency has appeared to be controlled to some extent by the Congress. Therefore, a need has arisen for information to be sought concerning the relationship between the presidency and the Congress. The decision to choose the article comes from the need for information concerning the War Powers Act, which has caused several debates on its application by different governments.
The US has a high reputation that has taken several years to build. Destroying such a reputation is a mistake that no American is willing to make. The presidency was associated with powers to make crucial decisions, including sending military forces to war. However, a need arose after the Vietnam War, that the powers of the president had to be controlled by Congress to prevent the presidents from making mistakes that would cost the reputation of the US. The War Powers Act was enacted in 1973 as a resolution by the Congress to limit the president from initiating military actions outside the American borders. The application of the War Powers act as led to several debates concerning its authenticity, and several presidents have been in the spotlight for failing to comply with the specifications of the bill.
Presidency in the US had been known for its wide application of the veto power in making a crucial decision. The enactment of the War Powers act came as a result of the veto power applied by the then president, Richard Nixon, in 1973. The main objective of the president’s decision was to limit the powers held by the president over the military. Generally, the Act required that the opinion of the president will only stand where it agrees with the idea of Congress. Therefore, the Act requires that the president consults the legislature on matters of state security before making any decision on the initiation of military operations. Moreover, the Act requires that Congress should be notified at least forty-eight hours before a military service is conducted to allow for the opinions of the Congresspeople concerning the decision.
The War Powers act originates from the US constitution. Generally, the constitution leaves the power on the declaration of wars to be shared by the executive and the legislature. Moreover, the president is allowed to practice their role as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces by being able to control the deployment of troops in times of war (Nzelibe, 2018). However, the decision to declare war is left to the legislature, which is also responsible for offering support to the warring troops. Initially, the presidency was trusted with the power to control the forces. For example, the Korean war was controlled by President Harry Truman, and the operations went as Congress would have wanted. However, the situation changed during the Vietnam war when President Nixon was found to be planning secret bombing programs without the knowledge of the Congress. The exposure forced the legislature into championing the War Powers Act in a bid to have control over the operation of foreign wars.
Several presidents have attempted to challenge the authenticity of the War Powers act. Some of the presidents, such as President Ronald Reagan, went ahead and acted against the specifications of the Act and deployed troops to participate in El Salvador (Scigliano, 2017). However, the first primary challenge was passed by President Nixon, who was in power during the enactment of the Act. The president owned the veto power and would do everything within his reach to see the Act fail. However, the legislature was determined and overturned the vetoed attempts to block the enactment of the Act. President Nixon had argued that the Act was an unconstitutional attempt to put his powers under check and did not consider the interests of the Americans.
The effectiveness of the War Powers act has been questionable all along. Critics have held their stand that the Act is a selfish way of the legislature to deny the presidents their rights of reacting to external emergencies. On the other hand, advocates of the bill believe that the Act has done well in restricting the powers of the president from making decisions without consulting the Congress. However, the War Powers act has not been firm enough to keep the powers of the presidents under watch since most presidents have taken several military actions without consulting the Congress.
In sum, the application of the War Powers act as led to several debates concerning its authenticity, and several presidents have been in the spotlight for failing to comply with the specifications of the Act. Generally, the Act requires that the Congress should be notified at least forty-eight hours before a military operation is conducted to allow for the opinions of the Congresspeople concerning the decision. The War Powers act has gone through challenges posed by different presidents who attempt to act against the specifications of the Act. Generally, the War Powers act explains the relationship between the president and the Congress in making decisions involving the military.
Reference
Nzelibe, J. (2018). Appearing Unbiased about Presidential War Powers. U. St. Thomas LJ, 14, 591.
Scigliano, R. (2017). The War Powers Resolution and the war powers. In The presidency in the constitutional order (pp. 115-153). Routledge.