The president, the congress, and use of force: legal and political considerations in authorizing use of force against international terrorism

摘要

Since September 11, 2001, the U.S. Congress has worked closely with President George W. Bush to respond to the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. Based on the horror of the attacks themselves, fears of further attacks against their constituents, and the virtually unanimous support for the President expressed by the American people, Congress has been receptive to rapid enactment of a number of legislative initiatives proposed by the Bush Administration to create a statutory framework to respond to these horrendous events and their aftermath. In this political environment, virtually any legislation put before members in either chamber is difficult to oppose, and much of the consideration on how to modulate the President's proposals is left to closed-door discussions between the President, the congressional leadership, and their respective representatives. As Chief Democratic Counsel of the Committee on International Relations in the House of Representatives, I participated in discussions regarding one of these proposals that became law: the statutory authorization to use force related to the events of September 11 (S.J. Res. 23,1 attached as Appendix I to this Essay). While consideration of such legislation would normally have gone through the Committee, in this case the majority and minority leaders of both chambers conducted the negotiations. My role was to advise the staffs of both Senator Thomas Daschle and Representative Richard A. Gephardt during the course of the discussions.