Jayapal, Massie Lead Bipartisan Effort to Repeal 2001 AUMF, End Forever Wars
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Representatives Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) and Thomas Massie (KY-04) are leading a bipartisan group of lawmakers to fully repeal the 2001 Authorized Use of Military Force (AUMF). Notably, the 2001 AUMF is the only AUMF in American history that does not have a named enemy, geographic scope, a duration for which the authorization is active, or a list of specifically authorized operations.
“The United States has used the nebulous term ‘War on Terror’ to conduct military operations around the world for more than two decades. It is long overdue that we overhaul these broad authorities that enable the Executive Branch to conduct these operations with little to no oversight,” said Jayapal. “The American people do not want these forever wars. As the Trump Administration threatens military force in Nigeria and as they conduct strikes against alleged narcoterrorists, Congress must reassert our constitutional power to declare war to protect our servicemembers and our national security.”
“For almost a quarter of a century, this AUMF has been used to justify open-ended military operations across multiple countries, against groups and individuals that did not even exist in 2001 and were not connected to 9/11, without congressional authorization or oversight,” said Rep. Massie, “Too many American lives and too much American treasure has been expended on these endless foreign conflicts.”
In the decades since the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001, the original action authorized by this AUMF, numerous presidential administrations have used it as justification for actions against more than half a dozen groups around the world, including “associated forces” and “successor entities” of al-Qaeda, even in instances where there are negligible or no ties to the actors that carried out the September 11th attacks.
While the ability to engage in counterterror operations is vital to U.S. national security interests, this AUMF is overly broad and abdicates Congress’ constitutional role to authorize hostilities. This authority must be updated to meet the current terror landscape and give clear guidance to the Administration on where hostilities can occur. With the House passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Congress is on track to repeal a 1991 AUMF that authorized the Gulf War and a 2002 AUMF that authorized the Iraq War. However, the legislation failed to address the larger 2001 AUMF.
The legislation is also cosponsored by Representatives James P. McGovern (MA-02), Morgan Griffith (VA-09), Greg Casar (TX-35), Eli Crane (AZ-02).